Pakistan vs USA: Cricketer Rusty Theron accuses Haris Rauf of ball tampering

In a dramatic turn of events during the T20 World Cup, USA cricketer Rusty Theron on Friday accused Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf of ball tampering.

Theron alleged that Rauf was using his thumbnails to scratch the ball, which was only two overs old, to induce reverse swing during the match between USA and Pakistan.

Theron, who is not part of the current USA squad, took to social media platform 'X' to express his concerns.


"@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," Theron said in his post.


Despite the controversy, the match ended in a surprising victory for the co-hosts USA, who defeated Pakistan in a thrilling Super Over finish, marking the first major upset of this T20 World Cup edition.

Asked to bat first, Pakistan scored 159 for seven in the allotted 20 overs. The USA produced a fine show and ended at 159 for three.

In the Super Over, USA smashed 18 runs for the loss of one wicket and Pakistan could manage only 13 for one.

Haris Rauf had a challenging outing, conceding 37 runs in his four overs, making him Pakistan's most expensive bowler in the match.