With the washout result at the Central Broward Regional Park Turf Ground, in Lauderhill, Florida, between the United States of America, one of the co-hosts of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 along with West Indies, and Ireland, the Pakistan side are out of the competition.
On a muggy day, there was no rain during the most anticipated game for the USA and Ireland side, but the ground wasn’t fit for the encounter. The umpires kept on stretching the game for a long time, as the hopes of the Pakistan team, and their fans kept on increasing.
The sun was out for most of the game, but the concern for the match-official generally was on the wet part of the ground, which could be nasty for the fielders as no one was ready to take risks on fitness ahead of the ‘Super Eight’ stage of the competition.
Pakistan gets knocked out from the second round of the T20 World Cup for the very first time
This will be the very first time, the Pakistan team will be out of the T20 World Cup, after their group games. In 2007, they lost the final against India at the Bull Ring, to become the runners-up, while in 2009, they went a step better, and got the better of the Sri Lanka side to earn the champion holding before them.
But even in 2012, 2014, and 2016, when they didn’t make their way into the finals, the least they did was reach the ‘super-eight’ stage. In 2021, in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan reached the semifinal where they lost the game against Australia in Dubai.
In 2022, again they came close to end up losing the final against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), while this has been the lowest in this shortest format of the game.
Using his ‘X’ handle, the former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar wrote his view. ‘Pakistan’s World Cup journey is over.’
In this season, the Green Brigade started their journey against the United States at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, where they struggled with the bat in hand. The US bowlers came with some excellent lines and lengths with the ball, as the Pak batters found it tough to score runs.
Their captain Babar Azam could manage only 44 runs in 43 balls, which put so much pressure on the rest of the batting order. It was Shadab Khan’s 25-ball 40-run knock that offered them vital momentum in the game. But soon after his dismissal, they again fell like a pack of cards and were restricted to 159 in the first innings.
Quite surprisingly, Shaheen Shah Afridi couldn’t get the wickets with the new ball, as he wasn’t getting the swing he expected. For a moment it felt like the USA would run away with the chase, but Pakistan made a valuable comeback with the ball and carried it to a super-over, where left-arm seamer Saurabh Netravalkar stood before them.
Against India, the 2022 runners-up were excellent, as they made a great return with the ball in hand. At one stage, it felt like the 2007 champions would be aiming for a 150+ score, but the bowlers restricted them to 119, as the target should’ve been an easy one.
The ‘Men in Green’ were in a good position with 48 runs required at run-a-ball, but that was too big for them, as they fell short by six runs, thanks to some of their immature shots and batting in-game.
They beat Canada, but the hope was to see the USA losing both of their last two affairs, and them getting the better of Ireland. But once the game between Ireland and the United States was washed out, the co-host finished with five points, which the Pakistan side couldn’t touch even after a convincing win.
USA, on the other hand, will move forward for their ‘super eight’ stage, where first they will take on South Africa on June 19, at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua.
