T20 World Cup 2024: USA stuns Pakistan, New Zealand crumbles against Afghanistan; defeats that were upsets

When the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 began in the West Indies and the USA, no one knew how the 20 teams would perform or how the pitches in the United States would play out. So far in New York, there has been a lot of uneven bounce, and batters have struggled.

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While this is just one pitch, there are more venues across the two countries, and teams have been fighting in their respective groups. One thing that has already made the T20 World Cup exciting is the upsets. Seeing big, established teams losing to lower-ranked sides has been the highlight of the tournament so far. Let's look at some of these games—considered by some as major upsets and by others as just poor team play.

Sri Lanka vs South Africa, 4th Match, Group D:

While one can't term this as an upset, it was certainly a disaster as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 77 in their first game at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. The Proteas, while doing well, also struggled but managed to score 80 after losing 4 wickets in 16.2 overs, winning the clash by 6 wickets.

United States vs Pakistan, 11th Match, Group A:

This was considered by ICC as one of the biggest upsets in T20 history. After restricting Pakistan to just 159 runs and taking 7 wickets in 20 overs at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, the USA chased down the exact total and lost just 3 wickets. Going into the Super Over, Mohammad Amir gave away 18 runs for 1 wicket, and Saurabh Netravalkar's tight bowling saw the Men in Green score just 13 runs and lose a wicket, leading to their defeat by 5 runs.

Canada vs Ireland, 13th Match, Group A:

Another game in New York saw Ireland restrict Canada to 137 for 7 in 20 overs. However, no one expected Canada to create a slice of history as they not only prevented the Irish team from scoring but also took 7 wickets, restricting them to just 125 and going on to win by 12 runs.

New Zealand vs Afghanistan, 14th Match, Group C:

At the Providence Stadium in Guyana, Afghanistan scored 159 runs and lost 6 wickets in their 20 overs. However, the Afghan bowlers demonstrated their skill by bowling out the Kiwis for just 75 runs in 15.2 overs, winning by 84 runs.

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