Anand District Cricket Association secretary hails Monank Patel following his match-winning performance against Pakistan

New Delhi [India], June 9 (ANI): The Anand District Cricket Association secretary Swetal Patel hailed the United States skipper Monank Patel following his match-winning performance in the encounter against Pakistan at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.

Monank Patel was awarded the Player of the Match for his outstanding fifty. He played a knock of 50 runs from 38 balls which was laced by seven boundaries and one maximum. The secretary of the association, Swetal Patel said that he came here and practised for the mega event before the start of the tournament.

"Monank played really well for the USA side while playing against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup fixture. He became the Player of the Match for his brilliant performance And this is a very proud moment for the Anand District Cricket Association. Before this World Cup in the month of March and April, he came and practised before heading back to the US back for the World Cup. He used to do captaincy for the early stages during Under 15, 17 and 19," Swetal Patel told ANI.

The coach of Anand District Cricket Association Manoj Marwadi also spoke about the US skipper and recalled the time when he used to play with him.

"Monank and I started playing cricket together in 2005. In 2006, Monank captained the Anand district in the Under 15 competition and as a skipper scored 144 against Surat while playing an Inter State tournament followed by 166 which helped him to get into the Gujarat U-15 Cricket Association team,"

Recapping the game, Pakistan managed to score 159/7 after Shaheen Afridi came in and pulled off a couple of big hits at the end. In reply, the USA looked well poised to chase down the total after Andries Gous and the captain Monank Patel brought up a 68-run partnership. But Pakistan made inroads of a comeback with the pacers hitting consistent line and length. With five needed on the final ball, Nitish Kumar struck a four to send the game to Super Over.

Experienced quick Mohammad Amir, who shined in the penultimate over, was handed the ball to bowl the final six deliveries. But it turned out to be a complete contrast in performance, he missed his line, bowled a couple of wides and gave away 18 runs.

In reply, Pakistan folded on 13/1 and allowed the USA to walk away with a 5-run win. (ANI)