The T20 World Cup has seen many major twists in this edition of the game. The United States is hosting such a major contest for the first time in the history of the game.
Several heavyweight sides face sheer competition and resistance at the hands of several newbies. Scotland, despite losing, put on a dominant show against major sides like England and Australia. However, the two biggest upsets have come in the form of the early exit of Pakistan and World Cup maestro New Zealand.
The Pakistan side was left behind in Group A as the hosts, the USA, put on a stunning show to head ahead into the Super-8s. Then again, a confident Afghanistan side also went on to give the Kiwis a thrashing win early on in the tournament and earn a spot in the Super-8.
Let’s take a closer look at the top 8 teams that made it into the second group stage games of the T20 World Cup 2024.
Group A:
India from Group A, Australia from Group B, Afghanistan from Group C, and Bangladesh from Group D are placed in Group A of the Super-8 stage.
INDIA [8/10]– India was not very fluent in their batting innings in all the group-stage games they featured in, especially the failure of their veteran batter Virat Kohli, which has been a major concern to the side.
However, Indian bowlers have played a major role in their success as they restricted Ireland, the United States, and even Asian arch-rivals Pakistan from chasing a low total of 120 against them.
They are the most probable favorites to take a stride into the semifinals.
AFGHANISTAN [9/10] Afghans are after the Men in Blue, the topmost side, who have seen major success with the ball, and their bowlers have performed consistently. The skipper, though, was proud of the impact of his batters, yet as the tournament proceeds in the States, bowlers will be seen playing a major role.
Australia [8/10]: The World Cup champions have been unstoppable in all formats of the game since 2023, with their tournament winning streak starting with the World Test Championship, where they won against India, and also caused a major upset to the host as they lifted the ODI World Cup against India in their own land later in the same year.
Though they have predominantly featured in the grounds of the Windies Islands and have faced better batting tracks, it can still be easily said that they have been the best batting unit of the World Cup, and with a top-loaded batting order, they will remain to be the favorites for the Cup.
BANGLADESH [6/10]: It seems that the Bengal Tigers are probably the weakest limbs in the Super-8, and it is likely that in this group they will be looked upon by all to secure their first win. As of yet, the Bangladeshi side has also bowled well under all conditions of play, led by senior Mustafizur Rehman alongside T. Sakib.
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Group B:
The United States of America from Group A, England from Group B, the West Indies from Group C, and South Africa from Group D are placed in Group B of the Super-8 stage.
USA [7/10]– The United States are a surprise package, and they have performed captivatingly well in the tournament. Players of mixed descent have all performed together for the States, and their bowlers have led their way into the Super-8 alongside batter Aaron Jones.
England [6/10]: The defending champions faced some early trouble as they faced defeat at the hands of Australia, and their match against Scotland got washed off early. Jos Buttler’s side whipped off criticism and went into the Super-8 by dominating their performance against Oman and Namibia, thus leaving behind Scotland on run-rate.
Buttler-led England will look to dominate in the Super-8, especially with their major experience in ICC tournaments. Despite all this, they are no longer the most probable defending champions, as their capability to resist a title snatch seems very likely.
West Indies [8/10]: The Windies makes the group the most heavily contested group, as the co-hosts have been quite balanced performers with both bat and ball, rescuing themselves from times of severe threats. The Windies have always been favorites when it comes to T20, and so be they now, as Nicolas Pooran, Russell, Hosein, and others lead the way for the men from the Caribbean Ring of Fire.
South Africa [6/10]: The Proteas, after losing the World Cup semi-final to Australia, have now again made it to the Super-8 stage. However, nothing seemed to be going on their part as they narrowly won against Nepal and Bangladesh by just a run. So though the proteas have qualified to the next level, no level of dependability can be anticipated from them.
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