The United States edged cricket heavyweight Pakistan on Thursday in a Super Over tiebreaker for one of the biggest upsets ever at a Twenty20 World Cup.And one of their star players is Saurabh Netravalkar, a 32-year-old San Mateo software engineer at Oracle. The left-arm fast bowler grabbed 2-18 off his four overs in regulation, conceded just 13 runs in the Super Over to seal the historic win for the U.S. at the Grand Prarie Cricket Stadium in Texas.
Netravalkar: I practice locally, in indoor cages and training centers in Milpitas. There are very limited practice facilities across the U.S. But in the last two, three years there have been stadiums being built. The Bay Area doesn't have a stadium, but it has two good two pro cricket pitches where we play minor league games. And I hope the stadium comes up soon.
Netravalkar: So there are multiple levels in which you can look at this. So, there are a lot of promising kids. And there is talent for sure. And there are a lot of academies who sort of promote these kids and they play tournaments. But I think the restriction is the resources. We don't have proper cricket pitches – they are supposed to be clay and grass. So instead, we mostly play on synthetic surfaces and astroturf.I think, across the U.S.
Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at lisa.fernandez@fox.com or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez