USA cricketer Rusty Theron has accused Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf of ball tampering during Match 11 of the T20 World Cup 2024 between USA and Pakistan on Thursday, June 6. The incident occurred when Pakistan requested a ball change during the second innings, with USA at 94/1 after 12 overs.

Just an over after the ball change, Pakistan managed to break the threatening partnership between Andries Ghous (35 off 26) and Monank Patel (50 off 38), which had added 68 runs in 48 balls, with Rauf dismissing Ghous. However, immediately following the dismissal, Theron called on the ICC to investigate, questioning Pakistan’s ability to reverse the newly changed ball. The 38-year-old also accused Rauf of tampering with the ball by running his thumb nail over it.

“@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,” wrote Theron on his X account.

@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

Controversy and Drama as Ball-Tampering Accusation Arises

Following Ghous’ dismissal, Mohammad Amir took out the USA captain in the very next over, reducing the team to 111/3 after 14.1 overs. Despite these two quick setbacks, the hosts managed to tie the game thanks to crucial contributions from Aaron Jones (36* off 26) and Nitish Kumar (14* off 14).

As a result, the USA matched Pakistan’s score of 159 in their allotted 20 overs, leading to a super over to decide the winner. Jones and Harmeet Singh batted against Mohammad Amir in the super over, with a couple of wides, overthrows, and byes helping USA score 18 runs.

In reply, USA’s Saurabh Netravalkar successfully defended the total, restricting Pakistan to 13 runs in their super over. This stunning victory saw the USA defeat the 2009 champions. Pakistan will next face arch-rivals India on June 9 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.