PAK vs USA: Both teams are meeting for the first time since USA’s famous win in 2024
One of the most talked-about PAK vs USA contests in the ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup is about to get underway in Colombo with a lot on the line for both teams.
Pakistan would aim to earn back-to-back wins in the competition after a nervy win to start the tournament against the Netherlands, courtesy of Faheem Ashraf’s heroics in the final two overs
USA, on the other hand, would be rueing their chances of causing a major upset by getting rid of the defending champions India on the opening day and would look to get off the mark against Pakistan.
PAK vs USA: Captains’ Speak
The captain of the USA, Monak Patel, said that his team will be bowling first, having won the toss, the reason being the wicket, which looks good for batting, along with the consistent breeze that is blowing during the start of the game, making things easy as far as chasing the target in the second innings is concerned.
Monak added that the goal of the team is to do well against good teams, and they will look to do so in this particular match. The USA captain was quick to accept that the win against Pakistan in the previous edition of the tournament gave them a lot of confidence, and every player will take that into the game in question.
Salman Ali Agha, on the other hand, said that Pakistan will look to put on a much better performance than what the team did in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Talking about the changes, the Pakistani captain confirmed that Usman Tariq has been included in the playing XI in place of Salman Mirza.
PAK vs USA: Playing XI
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed
USA: Andries Gous (wk), Shayan Jahangir, Monank Patel(c), Milind Kumar, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Shubham Ranjane, Harmeet Singh, Mohammad Mohsin, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Ehsan Adil, Saurabh Netravalkar
PAK vs USA: Pitch Report
Unlike the usual nature of the surface at the Sinhalese Sports Club, the pitch during the NED vs PAK game had extra bounce, which surprised many experts, as it isn’t known for its bounce, and that is what led to the batters’ downfall as they tried to play while staying on the front foot.
Having said that, the pitch for this particular game should come back to its usual nature with spinners getting a lot of purchase. The only thing that might make the slow bowlers ineffective is dew.
Also Read: 2026 T20 WC: Netherlands Open Their Account Against Namibia
