Pakistan Pacer Haris Rauf Accused Of Ball Tampering

Pakistan’s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign got off to a disastrous start as they were defeated in a thrilling encounter by the co-hosts, USA. The match went down to the wire, ultimately decided in a Super Over that the USA emerged victorious from. However, the drama didn’t end there.

Following the narrow defeat, veteran USA cricketer Rusty Theron took to social media (formerly known as Twitter) to make a serious accusation against Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf. Theron alleged that Rauf was attempting to tamper with the ball using his fingernail.

Theron expressed his discontent on the platform, tagging the ICC (International Cricket Council) and stating:

“@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.”

@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

— Rusty Theron (@RustyTheron) June 6, 2024

USA Scripts History

As for the match, Pakistan was put to bat first. Their innings began slowly. Babar Azam, a star batter, managed 44 runs off 43 deliveries, while Mohammad Rizwan was dismissed for a mere 9 runs.

In the middle order, Shadab Khan chipped in with 40 runs, finding support from Shaheen Shah Afridi’s unbeaten knock of 23 runs. Pakistan ended their innings with a total of 159 runs.

Chasing the target, the USA relied heavily on their skipper Monank Patel, who played a crucial knock of 50 runs off 38 deliveries.

Andries Gous and Aaron Jones also provided valuable contributions with scores of 35 runs and 36* runs respectively. With scores tied, the game entered a tense Super Over.

The USA batted first in the Super Over, setting a target of 18 runs. Unfortunately for Pakistan, they could only manage 13 runs in response, handing the USA a historic victory.