The U.S. team lost to India on Wednesday, five days after recording the team’s biggest win in history against Pakistan in the T20 Cricket World Cup.
The match started pretty badly for Team USA, losing two wickets in just the first over. It was a near disaster and almost certain the USA would lose the match. However, continuing to play hard was essential to maintain the net run rate that would determine the tiebreaker in group play. Despite not winning, Team USA needed to keep scoring (and defend well afterwards) in case the score was tied.
The Americans rallied a little, scoring 110 points (a feat that seemed nearly impossible after a devastating opening defeat), but it was nowhere near enough to seriously challenge India.
With this win, India secured first place in the group and qualified for the Super 8. Team USA and Pakistan are currently battling for the final qualifying spot and it could be a close contest. The US must win against Ireland on Friday to advance because they have a lower net run rate than Pakistan. If Pakistan wins against Ireland and the US loses, leaving both teams tied at 2-2, Pakistan will advance on the strength of their net run rate. Team USA’s NRR is lower than Pakistan’s after their loss to India.
Ireland are historically a strong cricketing nation, but they have suffered consecutive losses in the T20 World Cup, losing both games so far, including one against Canada, a team not considered to be Ireland’s equal. Ireland are out of luck and will likely finish the World Cup winless.
That’s what the U.S. team wants, anyway. Beating Ireland is the only way they can make history and reach the Super 8 stage for the first time. If they win, it doesn’t matter what Pakistan does, because they’ll move on.
The U.S. will face Ireland on Friday at 10:30 a.m. ET.
