USA cricketer Rusty Theron has accused Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf of ball-tampering during the T20 World Cup 2024 match between the USA and Pakistan on June 6. Theron’s accusation comes after Pakistan requested a ball change during the second innings when the USA was 94/1 after 12 overs.
According to Theron, the ball showed signs of tampering shortly after it was changed. “I’ve seen a few comments, people saying he’s on the longest paid holiday I’ve ever seen. You try to not let it get to you but you can ignore 100 of them, but sometimes that 101st is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Sometimes you feel like a burden not playing,” Theron expressed his frustration on X (formerly Twitter). He also pointed out that Rauf was visibly running his thumb nail over the ball.
Just after the ball change, Pakistan broke the crucial partnership between Andries Ghous (35 off 26) and Monank Patel (50 off 38) with Rauf dismissing Ghous. Theron immediately requested the ICC to investigate the matter. “@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,” he wrote.
Following the dismissal of Ghous, Mohammad Amir struck quickly to remove USA’s captain, leaving them at 111/3 after 14.1 overs. Despite these setbacks, the USA managed to tie the match at 159 runs, thanks to crucial contributions from Aaron Jones (36* off 26) and Nitish Kumar (14* off 14).
The match proceeded to a super over, where Jones and Harmeet Singh faced Mohammad Amir. The USA capitalized on a couple of wides and overthrows, scoring 18 runs in their over. In response, Pakistan managed only 13 runs, resulting in a historic win for the USA over the 2009 T20 World Cup champions.
Pakistan is set to face arch-rivals India on June 9 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. The upcoming match is highly anticipated as both teams are looking to make a strong impact in the tournament.
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