T20 World Cup: Pakistan brace for USA challenge

To play or not to play on Sunday was more than a mere question for Pakistan for the last few days. But that’s settled for now and it’s time for the 2009 champions to ensure they are in best shape for the India match.

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The game against the Netherlands last Saturday was a clear indication that Pakistan aren’t too well placed at the moment. They came out second-best for most of that match and it was just a quirk of fate that they managed a winning start to their campaign.




On Tuesday evening at the Sinhalese Sports Complex ground, they are up against an USA side that will be high on confidence after their creditable performance against India at the Wankhede Stadium. It was USA who sent Pakistan home from the group stage in the last World Cup with a Super Over win in Dallas. Mohammed Mohsin, USA’s leg-break bowler who has his roots in Pakistan, recalled that 2024 match, even though he was not a part of it.

“If at all, we are a stronger team than what we were then. And if you look at the ODI World Cup qualification table, we are at the top right now. We are hoping to win tomorrow,” Mohsin said, offering the indication that the team wouldn’t be pushovers.

For Pakistan, their biggest problem against the Dutch was their faltering middle order. Paceman Salman Mirza said that the game was like an “eye opener”. “We’ll try not to make the same mistakes. We’ll learn from those and play good cricket,” Salman said.

It’ll be interesting to see if the team persists with senior star Babar Azam in the middle order. Batting at No. 4, he scored an 18-ball 15 and got out at the wrong time, leaving the team in doldrums. Babar has been brought into the side with the aim of bringing stability to the middle order, something that they sorely lacked in the Asia Cup six months ago.

STATS:

• 5 - Wickets needed by Shaheen Shah Afridi (129) to become the leading wicket-taker for Pak in T20Is. Haris Rauf, with 133 wickets, is the top wicket-taker.
• 4 - Wickets required by Mohammad Nawaz (96) to complete a century of wickets in T20Is.

Get the latest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 updates, including the full schedule, teams, live scores, points table, and key series stats such as top run-scorers and wicket-takers.