The U.S. defeats Pakistan in a dramatic upset at the cricket World Cup

NPR | By Ayana Archie

Published June 7, 2024 at 3:42 AM EDT

United States' Saurabh Nethralvakar celebrates after the team's win in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup cricket match against Pakistan at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas, on Thursday.

In a dramatic upset, the U.S. cricket team defeated Pakistan Thursday in this year’s men's T20 championship tournament.

The game went to super over, or the equivalent of extra innings in baseball. Pakistan has reached the finals of the men’s T20 World Cup three times, while this was only the U.S. team’s second World Cup match.

Next, the U.S. plays India, another dominant team in the sport, and then Ireland. They move on to the next round of the tournament if they finish in the top two of their group.

The World Cup matches are being held across the U.S., in states such as New York, Texas and Florida, in an effort to gain traction in the country.

Cricket is one of the world’s most popular sports, with about 2.5 billion fans. Seven out of 11 of the U.S. team’s starting players are from other countries, including India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa.