When the USA takes on heavyweight Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2024, captain Monank Patel will defend his team’s bold strategy. He will also emphasize that his team will target batting great Babar Azam and veteran Pakistani bowler Mohammad Amir. How dangerous the hosts are is evident from the USA’s triumph against Canada in the opening game.
As a confident squad coming off of an exciting 2-1 series victory against Bangladesh in the lead-up to the tournament, the hosts handled themselves brilliantly, turning an otherwise hopeless scenario into a convincing victory.
The USA has an extra edge because they have played against Canada at the same venue and are relatively accustomed to the environment. When they play Asian powerhouse Pakistan on Thursday at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Patel said they will feel more confident after their seven-wicket victory over Canada.
The skipper also announced that they will concentrate on challenging Amir, the game’s best pacer, who unexpectedly decided to reverse his earlier-in-the-year retirement decision.
“The first game definitely helped us. We got good momentum. We will make sure that we carry forward that momentum in the next game. Pakistan is a good side, is a well-experienced side and we will make sure that we play the cricket we have been playing. Pakistan has good experienced bowlers. We will focus on Mohammad Amir, who is an experienced Pakistani bowler, we will try to tackle him well,” Patel said in a pre-match press conference
Babar, the captain of Pakistan, became well-known in all forms of cricket, but that he’s most notable in Twenty20 Internationals, as he already has amassed 4023 runs in 112 innings. Notably, it would be the first time Pakistan and the USA play Twenty20 International cricket together. The two teams have never played each other in the shortest format of the game.
Babar, the captain of Pakistan, has figures in the short format that show how dominant he is in the Twenty20 Internationals, thus Patel claimed his wicket will be “important” for his team.
“In every format, Babar is an excellent batsman. He is both the captain and the star player. We have also seen him play long innings in the past. We all know his stats, so certainly, his wicket will be crucial for us. In T20s, he’s been quite reliable,” he continued
