Questions are being raised about the poor performance of major Test-playing nations particpating in the T20 World Cup 2024, being held in the USA and West Indies.
A quick look at the points table shows that four top teams from the ICC rankings are fighting for survival. These include the 2009 T20 World Cup champions Pakistan, New Zealand, the defending champions England, and the 2013 champions Sri Lanka.
Notably, smaller teams like Scotland, the USA, Afghanistan, and the Netherlands have captured the attention of fans in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
In Group A, Pakistan’s loss to the USA and their surprising failure to chase a modest target of 120 runs against India have put the Green Shirts under scrutiny. B
abar Azam’s team now depends on other results to reach the Super 8 stage.
Likewise, England’s position in Group B is also at risk.
Another defeat could knock them out of the T20 World Cup.
In the first two of their group stage matches, the English team lost to Australia, and their match against Scotland was abandoned due to rain.
In Group C, New Zealand's position is even below Papua New Guinea after suffering heavy defeats in their first two matches. Afghanistan caused an upset by defeating the Kiwis in the first match, and hosts West Indies won by 13 runs in the second match.
From Group D, Sri Lanka is almost out of the tournament, while Bangladesh and the Netherlands are favourites to reach the Super 8 round. However, South Africa remained at top of the group standings in the Group stage.
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