The United States secured potentially the biggest Cricket World Cup upset of all time on Thursday as they beat Pakistan after a super over against the international giants.
Captain Monank Patel starred with the bat and then Saurabh Netravalkar with the ball as the host nation triggered ecstatic scenes in Texas, Pakistan hanging their heads on the back of their most-disappointing defeat ever.
The win gave USA hope of reaching the final eight of the competition as the sport looks to grow again in the country following an exodus of the sport.
But how does the upset rank against some of the biggest sport has ever seen, in comparison to the likes of Anthony Joshua’s first loss and Leicester winning the Premier League?
Mail Sport has compiled a list of the 10-biggest sporting upsets of all time.
USA beat Pakistan at the Cricket World Cup on Thursday in one of the sport’s biggest upsets of all time
The host nation beat the cricket giants to give themselves a chance of reaching the last eight
Mail Sport has assessed how the win compares to some of sport’s biggest upsets in history
10. Hereford beat Newcastle
Back in 1972, non-league Hereford took on First Division Newcastle in an FA Cup third round replay at Edgar Street.
For Hereford, it was another chance at history after picking up a 2-2 draw in the original game. For the Magpies, it was an opportunity to put things right following near-embarrassment at home.
They failed, however. Malcolm Macdonald looked to have eased any nerves in putting the visitors 1-0 up with eight minutes to play, but Ronald Radford equalised moments later, and Richard George’s extra time strike ensured one of the biggest upsets in football history.
9. Anthony Joshua’s first loss
Anthony Joshua was the hottest heavyweight in the world going into his heavyweight title fight against Andy Ruiz Jnr in June 2019.
It was expected he would secure a comfortable victory as he continued his rampage towards a potential fight with Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury, with a little-known, seemingly overweight Ruiz, who had stepped in for Jarrell Miller at short notice, in the other corner.
Things went horribly wrong, however. Joshua was knocked down four times as the fight was stopped, triggering one of the biggest upsets ever in the sport.
Joshua would comfortably win the rematch, with Ruiz disappearing from the top of the heavyweight scene soon after.
Anthony Joshua (centre) suffered the first loss of his career in 2019 when he was toppled by Andy Ruiz Jnr (right)
Stepping in at short notice, Ruiz knocked Joshua down four times before losing the rematch
8. Japan upset South Africa
Unsurprisingly, Japan’s win over then-two-time champions South Africa in the opening game of the 2015 World Cup was branded the biggest rugby union upset ever.
Karne Hesketh went over in the final minute of the game to secure the win for his side, earning Japan their first World Cup win in 24 years. South Africa were champions in 1995 and 2007, and went onto lift the trophy in 2019 and 2023.
7. Saudi Arabia shock Argentina
Argentina’s loss to Saudi Arabia in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup is now long-forgotten. Lionel Messi and Co would recover to win the competition, but it wasn’t all so rosy.
Messi had sent his side on their ways with a 10th-minute penalty in the Group C encounter, before Saleh Alshehri and Salem Aldawsarri netted to raise eyebrows.
The eventual champions failed to come back, putting their chances of getting out of the group at risk. All was well in the end, however.
Saudi Arabia defeated Lionel Messi and Argentina in the group stages of the 2022 World Cup
The losers narrowly made it out the groups and recovered to go on and win the competition
6. Miracle on Ice
The Soviet Union were dominant in ice hockey before the Miracle on Ice at the 1980 Winter Olympics. They had won gold in five of the previous six tournaments, and were four-time defending gold medallists.
While the favourites’ side had a number of professional players in its ranks, the US had mostly amateur players. That didn’t stop them, however, and they won 4-3.
5. USA topple Pakistan
It was the result no one saw coming. The USA were supposed to be there just to make up the numbers, in the way of Pakistan’s charge to lift the title after missing out to England in the final last time out.
But, having conceded just 159 for three with the ball, they sensed an opportunity and were well in it with Patel, Andries Gous and Aaron Jones going well. A good comeback from Pakistan, however, meant the scores were equal at the end of 40 overs.
A disastrous super over from Mohammad Amir left Pakistan needing 19 from their over to win. They scored 14, meaning the upset was complete.
USA, a team of amateurs, beat four-time defending champions Soviet Union to ice hockey gold at the 1980 Winter Olympics
Emma Raducanu shocked the world to win the US Open as an 18-year-old qualifier in 2021
4. Raducanu wins the US Open
Unseeded Emma Raducanu was only at the US Open in 2021 as a qualifier. There were high hopes for the British 18-year-old, but not yet.
Having made her Grand Slam debut earlier that year at Wimbledon, fans were keen to see how far she could progress, and she didn’t stop.
She beat Stefanie Vogele, then Zhang Shuai, then Sara Sorribes Tormo, all in straight sets. She had already exceeded expectations, but carried on, toppling Shelby Nicole Rogers and Belinga Bencic in straight sets to find herself in the semi-final.
Maria Sakkari was beaten with ease, before Leylah Fernandez was also brushed aside to conclude a tournament of dominance. Since, there has been nowhere near the same level of success, with Raducanu down at No 212 in the rankings following a plethora of injuries and coach changes.
3. Greece win the Euros
Greece built their 2004 European Championship success on a rigid defence and narrow wins, and kept it going all the way until the end.
They stumbled their ways out the groups after losing to Russia in the final game, but secured 1-0 wins over France and Czech Republic to find themselves in the final against Portugal.
They had already beaten Cristiano Ronaldo and Co in the group, but they would surely not do the same again against a star-studded side also featuring the likes of Luis Figo and Deco.
They did, however, again winning 1-0 and securing the most famous Euros win of all time.
Greece secured three 1-0 wins in the knockout stages of Euro 2004 to win the Championships
2. Leicester win the Premier League
It was the 5000-1 bet that ended up with Gary Lineker presenting Match of the Day in his underwear.
In a league dominated by the big-spending global dominators of the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United, Leicester had almost no chance. They were lucky to survive relegation the year before, and the appointment of Claudio Ranieri left more questions than answered.
Heroes were born. Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Ngolo Kante had the seasons of their lives to write their names into folklore and secure the a first Premier League title for Leicester City, who beat Arsenal – and Tottenham – to the post.
Ranieri was sacked just months later and the Foxes were relegated seven years later.
Leicester’s Premier League title win in 2016 remains the biggest shock in the history of the competition
Previously-undefeated Mike Tyson (left) was knocked out by James Douglas (right) in 1990
1. Douglas knocks out Tyson
Mike Tyson was a global superstar, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and had won his previous fight in 93 seconds.
Somewhat like Joshua, Tyson’s bout with James Douglas in 1990 was expected to be just a step on the ladder to facing Evander Holyfield. Douglas has lost last time out, and had endured mixed success in his career.
Douglas’ mother died 23 days before the fight, but he continued. That continued through the fight, with the underdog looking impressive from early on. He was dropped in the eighth round, but carried on.
Tyson was knocked down for the first time in his career in the 10th round, and failed to make the county, leaving Douglas in tears. Tyson would recover, but eventually lose back-to-back against Holyfield.
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