Remember when the eighth-seeded, 42-win Denver Nuggets beat the number one-seeded, 63-win Seattle Supersonics in the 1994 NBA Playoffs? Or when Al Michaels made the legendary “Do you believe in Miracles?” call after the U.S. beat the Soviet Union 4-3 in the 1980 Olympic hockey semifinal game? How about when James “Buster” Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in the tenth round of their 1990 fight in Japan?
If you understand the significance of those upsets, then you recognize why the USA’s shocking upset of powerhouse Pakistan in the men’s Twenty20 (T20) Cricket World Cup matters.
Globally, cricket is a massive sport and ranks second behind soccer in global viewership and the sport’s popularity continues to swell. The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the world’s richest cricket competition. The average team is now valued at $1.04 billion and the league’s media rights, streaming and television, were sold for over $6 billion in 2022 (runs to 2027).
In the U.S., cricket dates back to 1709, yet its history isn’t as well-known as football or basketball. That’s partly due to baseball’s rise after World War I when Babe Ruth captured everyone’s attention. Last year, Major League Cricket was launched in the U.S. and fields six T20 teams, which should help increase, or revive, the sport’s popularity in the country.
But in Pakistan, which is a three-time T20 World Cup finalist, cricket is the national sport.
And that makes this upset so big.
If you live in Brooklyn or Queens, most likely you’ve seen teams, players and fans, especially those with Southeast Asian roots, take to the fields to play or watch games.
But for non-cricket sports fans, trying to name one player from the U.S. Cricket team is a challenge. Hopefully, the team’s big win over traditional powerhouse Pakistan, and doing it on home soil in Dallas, TX, will change that.
Entering the match, Team USA was the 18th-ranked team while Pakistan was ranked 6th. On paper, it looked like David vs. Goliath.
But just as David did Goliath, the U.S., in the biggest victory in US cricket history, took down Pakistan in a Super Over tiebreaker, a victory that is being called one of the biggest upsets in T20 World Cup history.
“Playing against Pakistan for the first time in the World Cup and beating them, it was an unbelievable performance,” U.S. captain Monank Patel said. “…beating Pakistan, you know, it’s a big achievement.”
The win comes on the heels of the U.S.’s Group A opening win against Canada, a rivalry that began in 1844. After upsetting Pakistan, Team USA sits atop Group A with 4 points.
Pakistan will face rival India next in Long Island, where a temporary 34,000-seat stadium was built just for the T20 World Cup.
The U.S. will also face India in Long Island on June 12th before heading to Florida to play Ireland on the 14th.
