History could not repeat itself for the USA against Pakistan at the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, as the far superior ‘Shaheens’ comfortably overcame the Americans by 32 runs at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.

Pakistan Innings

United States captain Monank Patel once again won the toss and decided to put his side in the field first, a call that had paid off against India in the opening game. But the magic from Mumbai could not be replicated in Sri Lanka. Openers Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub got off to a strong start in the powerplay against Saurabh Netravalkar and Ehsan Adil, who came in to replace the injured Ali Khan.

The pair brought up a 50-run stand, but Shadley van Schalkwyk carried forward the momentum from his performance in the opener and struck the first blow by dismissing Ayub in the final over of the powerplay. Van Schalkwyk struck again on the final ball of the over, removing Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha. The USA were still looking to fight despite the gap in quality.

However, Farhan and the experienced Babar Azam pushed on with little pressure from the American bowlers, and Farhan brought up his eighth T20I half-century. Azam was also closing in on his fifty, but Mohammed Mohsin broke the stand with spin, dismissing him for 46. Harmeet Singh removed Farhan in the next over for 73, and the USA began to creep back into the contest.

Shadab Khan, however, refused to give in to the pressure and played a quickfire 30 off 12 balls, launching Pakistan to a hefty total of 190/9. Van Schalkwyk was the standout performer for the USA, taking 4/25 once again, the exact figures he recorded against India.

USA Innings

The USA openers started well, learning from their early collapse in Mumbai. Former Pakistan domestic player Shayan Jahangir led the charge against his country of birth, taking on Pakistan’s barrage of spinners. However, Pakistan identified Andries Gous struggling at the other end, and Mohammad Nawaz induced a lofted shot that was safely taken by captain Agha, breaking the 42-run opening stand.

Struggles then set in for the USA as the run rate steadily declined. Over the next five overs, the USA managed only 27 runs, with skipper Patel and Jahangir also departing, leaving the chase hanging in the balance. Once again, Milind Kumar, this time alongside Shubham Ranjane, injected some hope into the chase, but the required rate continued to move out of reach.

Pakistan’s lineup of spinners, combined with the turning track, made it difficult for the USA batters to even make contact. The fourth-wicket partnership was eventually broken at 123, with Usman Tariq dismissing Kumar. Tariq soon struck twice more, removing Singh and Mohsin in back-to-back deliveries. Ranjane continued to fight in vain, bringing up his maiden T20I fifty and pushing the USA total to 158/8.

“We knew we can defend that” 

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha appeared confident in his side’s chances against the USA, particularly after setting the total in the first innings.

“We have world class bowling and we knew once we scored 190, we knew we can defend that,” said Agha in the post-match interview.

“If I would have won the toss, I would have batted first as well, because I know the kind of bowling I have, if we score 160-170, we can win the game at that point as well. But we scored 190 and it was above par.”

Pakistan are now two for two at this T20 World Cup, having beaten the Netherlands earlier as well. Next up is their much-anticipated clash against India, and Agha is aware of areas his side will work on before the big game.

“There is always room for improvement,” noted Agha.

“We like to obviously bowl well in powerplay. I think in batches we were good, but we can be more clinical in powerplay when it comes to bowling and these are the kind of things we want to obviously improve.”

“We didn’t show the intent”

Patel has plenty to reflect on after this defeat, especially following the significant drop-off in performance from the opening game against India.

“I thought while we were batting, we didn’t show the intent,” reflected Patel in the post-match interview.

“They were bowling slow, the spinners were not giving enough pace on the ball and it was hard to hit the boundary options and six options and I thought we panicked a bit and that cost us the game.”

With only two Super 8 spots up for grabs, the clock is now ticking for the USA. Even if they secure wins over the Netherlands and Namibia, they will need their opponents to pull off monumental upsets against India and Pakistan to have any chance of advancing. Patel, however, is taking things one game at a time.

“Now we’ll be going to Chennai, we’ll have one session over there,” said Patel, speaking about the team’s next steps.

“We’ll definitely work hard over there, utilize the conditions and know the conditions well and make sure we come back stronger.”

The USA play the Netherlands next at the M. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on February 13 at 7:00 p.m. Indian Standard Time (8:30 a.m. EST).

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