Saurabh Netravalkar of the USA cricket team, gestures after a successful bowl. PHOTO:screenshot from X @Saurabh Netravalkar
Dallas [USA], June 7: History was created at the Grand Prairie Stadium under the leadership of Monank Patel and with a pace attack spearheaded by Saurabh Netravalkar, guided the USA team to stand victorious over one of the tournament’s favourites, Pakistan.
In a single match, Netravalkar became a sensation on social media with fans started to compare him with Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar’s Patiala House character.
Netravalkar, a 32-year-old left-arm quick, troubled Pakistan batters with his disciplined line and length throughout his four-over spell in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Despite achieving figures of 2/18 in his four-over spell, Netravalkar made the headlines for defending 18 runs in the Super Over against the hard-hitting duo of Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed.
Alternate realities and dreams unfolded on Netravalkar’s every delivery in the Super Over. His spellbinding performance took the USA to an elusive maiden T20I win over Pakistan.
Netravalkar featured for the India U-19 team in the World Cup in his youth. Fourteen years later, he shattered the dreams of Pakistan fans who hoped for a winning start ahead of their high-voltage clash against arch-rival India.
He was born in Mumbai and impressed in the domestic circuit with a staggering tally of 30 wickets in six games in the Cooch Behar Trophy in 2008-09.
Netravalkar was also the leading wicket-taker in the Under-19 tri-nation tournament in South Africa with eight wickets.
But in a country brimming with potential and talent, Netravalkar faced challenges in finding the opportunities to showcase his talent.
His fairytale story began in the United States, where he got the chance to represent a country that was on the periphery of leaving its mark in the world of cricket.
Working as a Senior Software Engineer at Oracle, Netravalkar juggled through his life as a cricketer and his corporate life.
Against the mighty Pakistan, he made the Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan dance to his tunes. He orchestrated Pakistan’s downfall by leading the attack in the powerplay of the first innings.
Enjoying movement from the surface, Netravalkar made Rizwaz his first victim of the day.
He asked Babar questions with his precise swinging deliveries. He weaved his magic in the powerplay which ensured Pakistan could muster up only 30/3 on the board.
After leaving an early impression, Netravalkar returned to inflict damage when Pakistan were looking to shift through gears. Iftikhar Ahmed was the centre of Pakistan’s attack.
Monank handed the ball to Netravalkar to bowl the penultimate over and he didn’t disappoint his skipper.
On the first delivery of the 19th over, Netravalkar with a low full toss trapped Iftikhar in front of the stumps which eventually restricted Pakistan to 159/7.
Pakistan made amends with the help of their pacers and managed to raise hope of an unprecedented victory.
With five runs needed from the final ball, Nitish Kumar found the boundary rope to send the game to Super Over.
After the USA managed to put 18/1 on the board, Monank once again showed his faith in Netravalkar.
The 32-year-old showed his experience and restricted Pakistan to 13/1 to seal a 5-run win for the USA. Netravalkar seals USA’s name into cricket history books with upset win over Pakistan
