WEEK ONE of the International Cricket Council (ICC) 2024 T20 World Cup is history. We have already seen upsets, questionable wickets, co-hosts playing unbeaten and Afghanistan showing they are certainly no longer minnows in world cricket.
Fans, especially in the US, are coming out in their numbers at venues in Dallas and New York.
The spectators are slowly attending matches at the West Indies venues with matches contested in Guyana, Barbados and Antigua already. Some of the matches featuring less renowned teams have struggled to bring fans to the grounds.
India, along with co-hosts West Indies and US, are among those delivering quality performances at the tournament, which bowled off on June 1. Other teams will be aiming to rebound in week two in an effort to advance past the group stage and keep their World Cup dreams alive.
Unbeaten co-hosts Windies, US
Many had co-host West Indies as one of the pre-tournament favourites. The Windies are a perfect two wins from as many matches, but it was not always convincing. West Indies got a shaky start in their opener against Papua New Guinea in a Group C contest at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence on June 2.
Papua New Guinea scored a modest 136/8 in 20 overs, a total fans expected West Indies to chase comfortably. West Indies did not canter to victory as at one stage were 97/5 after 16 overs.
Roston Chase, who has been proving his worth in the shortest format of the game in recent months, put West Indies on his shoulders with 42 not out to steer the home team to 137/5 in 19 overs to win by five wickets.
"I think we are 60, 70 per cent there...Hopefully, we can correct that for the second game," West Indies T20 captain Rovman Powell said after the first win.
West Indies certainly did not disappoint against Uganda, whipping the African nation by 134 runs in a match also played at Providence. After posting 173/5, West Indies bundled out Uganda for only 39 in 12 overs – tied for the lowest score in the history of the T20 World Cup. Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein was the star of the show with figures of 5/11.
West Indies will play their next match against New Zealand at Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on Wednesday at 8.30 pm.
The US, not considered a powerhouse in cricket, have made a flying start winning two matches in Group A. In the opening match of the tournament, Aaron Jones cracked a blistering 94 not out off 40 balls to propel the US to a seven-wicket win over Canada in front of a lively crowd in Dallas.
The US created an upset when they defeated Pakistan in a super over in Dallas. The majority of the US players were born outside of the US, coming from strong cricket nations.
[caption id="attachment_1089228" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Uganda’s Riazat Ali Shah walks off the field after being bowled by West Indies’ Akeal Hosein for 3 runs during an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup match at Guyana National Stadium in Providence, Guyana, on June 8, 2024. - AP PHOTO[/caption]
For example, Corey Anderson represented New Zealand at the int
