T20 World Cup 2024: USA Player Rusty Theron Accuses Pakistan Pacer Haris Rauf Of Ball Tampering

Pakistan began their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign with a shocking defeat to co-hosts USA. The match, held at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Thursday, June 6, went down to the wire, culminating in a Super Over where the USA's resilience secured a major upset.

Haris Rauf Accused Of Ball Tampering

Following the game, veteran USA cricketer Rusty Theron took to X (formerly Twitter) to accuse Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf of ball tampering, alleging that Rauf used his fingernail to alter the ball.

“@ICC are we just going to pretend Pakistan aren't scratching the hell out of this freshly changed ball? Reversing the ball that's just been changed 2 overs ago? You can literally see Harris Rauf running his thumb nail over the ball at the top of his mark. @usacricket #PakvsUSA,” Theron tweeted.

Co-hosts USA Bring The First Upset Of T20 World Cup 2024 vs Pakistan

In the match itself, Pakistan batted first after losing the toss. They started slowly, with Babar Azam scoring 44 runs off 43 deliveries, while Mohammad Rizwan was dismissed for just nine runs. Shadab Khan contributed 40 runs in the middle order, and Shaheen Shah Afridi remained unbeaten with 23 runs, helping Pakistan set a total of 159 runs in their innings.

Chasing the target, USA's skipper Monank Patel led the charge with 50 runs off 38 deliveries, supported by Andries Gous's 35 runs and Aaron Jones's unbeaten 36 runs. The match ended in a tie, leading to a Super Over.

In the Super Over, the USA batted first and scored 18 runs. In response, Pakistan could only manage 13 runs, resulting in a surprising victory for the USA.

Also Read: Babar Azam Overtakes Virat Kohli In T20 Record Ahead Of India vs Pakistan Clash