LAUDERHILL, Fla. — 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 was canceled on Friday.
Rain caused the game at Broward County Stadium to be called off without a pitch, and the USA advanced to the Super Eight stage, automatically qualifying for the 2026 Twenty20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
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.
For the United States, which beat Canada in Texas in the first week and stunned Pakistan on Long Island, the competition points from the cancellations were enough to secure a place in the knockout stages.
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.
The United States suffered a predictable defeat to one of the favorites to win, India, on Wednesday, but it was still to be expected that the home team would advance without a match 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.
On Friday afternoon, South Africa took on Nepal in St Vincent, while New Zealand took on Uganda in Trinidad.
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