 "USA vs PAK, USA vs Pakistan")
Pakistan’s Haris Rauf, left, on ground, reacts as United States’ Aaron Jones and Nitish Kumar, right, celebrate during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup cricket match between United States and Pakistan at the Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas. Photo: AP | PTI
USA qualified for the T20 World Cup 2024 by being the hosts and not by winning the qualifiers. It was not expected of them to provide tough resistance to big teams, let alone beat them.
However, exciting cricket from them leading up to the World Cup and then in the World Cup has now given them an outside chance to even upset the mighty Indian team.
How did the USA become a threat to big teams?
Before this World Cup, the USA had beaten Ireland once in 2021, and that was their lone victory against a Test-playing nation in T20 cricket. They were even struggling against the likes of Canada.
USA’s attacking approach with the bat
|
Fastest Scoring Batting Sides (2024 T20 World Cup) |
|||
|
Team |
RR |
Ave |
Bnd% |
|
Scotland |
8.88 |
46.62 |
19.84 |
|
Australia |
8.69 |
29.33 |
19.75 |
|
USA |
8.51 |
54.16 |
20.08 |
|
Afghanistan |
8.14 |
29.72 |
15.35 |
|
Canada |
7.9 |
26.33 |
16.66 |
|
England |
7.85 |
26.16 |
16.66 |
In the World Cup, they first chased down 194 in the opening match of the tournament against Canada and then beat Pakistan in the Super Over after managing to reach 159 against the all-powerful Pakistani bowling attack.
It is this consistency of the USA that has given them an outside chance against India.
|
Opposition |
Ground |
Date |
Margin |
|
Ireland |
Lauderhill |
22/12/21 |
26 Runs |
|
Bangladesh |
Houston |
21/05/24 |
5 Wickets |
|
Bangladesh |
Houston |
23/05/24 |
6 Runs |
|
Pakistan |
Grand Prairie |
06/06/24 |
Tied (Super Over) |
Which USA players must India be wary of?
Though the pitch at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, where the USA will take on India, is as tough to bat on as it gets in the T20 format, even then three USA batters could be a threat to India, similar to how Aaron Johnson of Canada managed to hit a fifty against Pakistan.
|
USA Batting Stats (2024 T20 World Cup) |
||||||
|
Player |
Runs |
Balls |
SR |
Ave |
Att% |
6s |
|
A Jones |
130 |
66 |
196.96 |
– |
79.1 |
12 |
|
AGS Gous |
100 |
72 |
138.88 |
50 |
74.3 |
4 |
|
MD Patel |
66 |
54 |
122.22 |
33 |
75.8 |
1 |
First Published: Jun 12 2024 | 5:20 PM IST