LAUDERHILL, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. cricket team made history by advancing to the second round in its first Twenty20 World Cup appearance after its final group game against Ireland on Friday was canceled.
Rain forced the game at Broward County Stadium to be called off without a ball being thrown. Americans become Super Eight They will automatically qualify for the Twenty20 World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka in 2026.
The United States entered this T20 World Cup only as co-hosts with the West Indies, but they took advantage of home field advantage to make a strong first impression in their first major cricket tournament.
The USA advanced from Group A along with unbeaten India, while former champions Pakistan and winless Ireland were eliminated from Super Eight contention.
Pakistan won in 2009 and has reached two finals, including the last T20 World Cup in 2022. It is the first time Pakistan has failed to get out of the group stage. Ireland were also expected to pose a threat, having reached the second round in their first appearance in 2009 and will be back in 2022.
The competitive points from the washout were enough for the United States to move on. Win against Canada Texas and Wonderful Pakistan First week in Texas.
Their draw with Pakistan in the regular overs followed by a win in the super over was one of the biggest upsets in the history of the tournament.
Americans A big defeat for IndiaManchester United, one of the favourites to win the tournament, was predictably eliminated on Wednesday but it was still no surprise that the home team advanced despite not being able to play on Friday.
Umpires inspected the soaked outfield four times before heavy rain began to fall around 1:30 p.m. local time, forcing the game to be called off three hours after it was scheduled to start.
The United States, ranked 17th in the world, has advanced to the Super Eight along with the West Indies, India, Australia, South Africa and Afghanistan, with two other teams yet to qualify. The tournament begins on Wednesday with the teams split into two groups, with each team playing three matches for a spot in the semifinals.
Nepal wins the coin toss
In Kingstown, St Vincent, Nepal won the coin toss and elected to bowl in their match against Group D leaders South Africa, marking the first international match between the two teams.
South Africa have already qualified for the Super Eight stage after winning their first three matches against the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
This will be Nepal’s first match in 10 days after their opening loss to the Netherlands and the second game against Sri Lanka was rained out, and it will also be the tournament’s first game to be played in St Vincent.
Nepal captain Rahit Prawdel said he chose to bat first to take advantage of the ease of batting in the second innings, while Proteas captain Aiden Markram said he would have opted to bat first.
For the first time, Nepal was able to select its flagship player Sandeep Lamichhane for the tournament. Lamichhane was convicted of rape in January and sentenced to eight years in prison, but in May the Nepal High Court overturned his conviction.
Although his visa application to travel to the United States with the Nepalese national team was denied, he was able to join the team in St. Vincent, bringing Nepal’s Caribbean team to 15 players.
Later on Friday, New Zealand played Uganda in Trinidad.
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Note: This story has been corrected to show that the U.S. victory over Pakistan took place in Texas.
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AP Cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
