The much-awaited encounter of the T20 World Cup 2024 between the USA and Ireland was washed out, thus allowing the USA to continue automatically to the Super 8 stage. The rain abandon also meant that the USA’s win secured an exit for Pakistan, whose tournament hopes would remain tantalizingly alive only with an Ireland victory.
USA Historic Super 8 Qualification
One of the biggest surprises of the T20 World Cup this year, alongside the West Indies, has been the USA qualifying for this stage after having played some impressive cricket, including the shock win against Pakistan. The Group A table looked good for them owing to a couple of valuable points they had earned prior to their encounter against Ireland, which was called off for rain and where the USA earned themselves a point that was most necessary for Super 8 qualification, thus inscribing their name in the annals of history on their very debut in the T20 World Cup.
Pakistan’s Early Exit
In this waifish tourney, quite uncordially, the match left Pakistan with no control over its fate. Pakistan was already bruised; the consecutive defeats to the USA and India were clinical as far as their progression was concerned. They outclassed Canada, but still, for any chance of getting into the super eights, Ireland had to topple the USA. The rain gods chose to interfere, and Pakistan’s official exist from the tournament met with their dejected acceptance.
Rain Plays Spoilsport
The net result of a persistent rainstorm at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida, was that the match could not take place, automatically awarding a split point between USA and Ireland. The USA would have certainly benefited from the result, though for Ireland, who was out of the tournament already, the match held no meaning.
What comes next?
Having qualified for the Super Eights, the USA will now set out to meet perhaps tougher competition in the next stage. For Pakistan, it was a disappointing exit from the competition, leaving room for speculation regarding the team’s performance and future policies.
