Who is the 'Indian' who engineered USA's shock win over Pakistan?

Cricket world was left astounded by the monumental upset in the T20 World Cup as the USA produced a sensational victory over Pakistan in a Group A encounter on Thursday. This result, regardless of T20 or ODI stature, will be remembered for the remarkable Super Over display by Saurabh Netravalkar, a Mumbai-born cricketer, which left the Babar Azam-led Pakistan team shell-shocked.

Netravalkar was tasked with defending 18 runs in the one-over eliminator staged in Dallas after the initial 20-overs each contest concluded in a tie. Against all odds, he maintained his composure and executed his bowling masterfully, conceding only 13 runs to secure a historic win for the USA.

Who is Saurabh Netravalkar?

In 2009, Saurabh Netravalkar rattled Yuvraj Singh’s stumps at the NCA in Bengaluru while on Air India’s sports scholarship. That delivery alone earned him a spot in the then-prestigious BCCI Corporate Trophy.

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Sharing the dressing room with Yuvraj, Suresh Raina and Robin Uthappa with Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni in opposite camps, Netravalkar finished the tournament as the joint-highest wicket-taker.

Harbouring ambitions to play for India, Netravalkar skipped his first semester exams of his Computer Engineering degree to play the 2010 U-19 World Cup.

Netravalkar, who has represented India at the U-19 level in the 2010 World Cup, showcased his prowess as a versatile left-arm pacer capable of generating pace and bounce on diverse surfaces, a skill he demonstrated emphatically against Pakistan in this memorable encounter.

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The youngster hoped his nine wickets, most for India, would get him a senior Mumbai cap or an IPL contract. But it was not easy to get a look into the Mumbai team which boasted of Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Aavishkar Salvi and a young Dhawal Kulkarni.

Finally the opportunity presented itself in 2013 when he played a Ranji Trophy encounter for Mumbai.

But that proved to be a one-off. Having already denied a job in Pune to give cricket a chance, he took up an offer from Cornell University in August 2015. His strong academic background and keen interest in cricket, had earned him a scholarship.

As he finished college, Netravalkar was offered a job by Oracle in San Francisco. Having moved to the US, Netravalkar began playing recreational cricket on the weekends as a way to “fit in with the Indian community”.

In 2016, he played for the North West Region at the USACA National Championship. ICC’s decision to lower the minimum residency for eligibility to play for a country from four years to three, paved the way for Netravalkar to play for USA.

During a Southern California Cricket Association XI vs USA XI match in 2017 impressed then-coach Pubudu Dassanayake. He soon made his USA debut, taking 2/45 against Leeward Islands in January 2018.

Fast forward to Thursday. And, in an ironic twist of fate, Pakistan had beaten India in a thrilling quarter-final, featuring Netravalkar, in the 2010 U-19 World Cup. A young Babar Azam was part of that setup. And here we are 14 years later and Netravalkar has reversed the outcome while playing for another country.

However the final script turns out, the 2024 T20 World Cup will forever carry the story of how Netravalkar, a talented cricketer and accomplished engineer, orchestrated a fairy-tale turnaround by leading the USA to a sensational victory over Pakistan.