Low-scoring thrillers are still a thing

Teams entered the 2024 T20 World Cup with the aura of an IPL season, which saw unprecedented scoring rates. As anchors in the format are becoming increasingly obsolete, some characteristics of the 2024 IPL phenomenon were expected to seep through.

But to the surprise of many, the hallmark of the group stage has been low-scoring cliffhangers. The tournament witnessed four sub-120 totals being defended, including the lowest ever (106) across all editions of the competition, by Bangladesh. After the first round, the edition has the lowest run rate (6.71) in the tournament’s history so far.

Associates weren’t mere byes for Full Members

Twenty teams participated in the group stage, making it the biggest ever World Cup in this aspect. While the scheduling gave an impression that the pathway for the Super Eights teams was already mapped out, Associates gave the Full Members a run for their money. The most gripping story has been of the USA.

Placed 17th in the ICC T20I rankings, the co-hosts made it to the Super Eights when sides like New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka crashed out. Their landmark achievement came on the back of a win against Pakistan in a thrilling super over clash, which led to the latter’s ouster from the tournament. They fought tooth and nail against India, albeit in a losing cause. USA's performance also guaranteed them a spot for the 2026 edition.

Apart from them, Canada beat Ireland. Scotland were at one stage favourites to pip England for the second Super Eights spot of Group B but slipped by a whisker. Nepal were also in a position to qualify: against South Africa, they agonisingly fell short by a run and almost defeated Bangladesh after skittling them for 106 in the first innings before losing by 21 runs. Papua New Guinea pushed the West Indies, while the Netherlands had left South Africa reeling.

Cricket's grand launch in the States got a jump-start but what about the surfaces?

Slow surfaces in the US leg have been a feature of the group stage. While they made the contests more thrilling, the drop-in half-baked New York surface that hosted the India-Pakistan clash was a recipe for a potential disaster.

During the India-Ireland match, the variable bounce resulted in several deliveries taking off sharply from the surface, and several players copped blows. Harry Tector was hit on the glove twice, while Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma were hit multiple times, eventually forcing the latter to retire hurt for 52.

The wicket came for heavy criticism, and the ICC acknowledged the concerns in a released statement, saying they are trying "to remedy the situation". The embarrassment could have been worse had any player suffered a serious injury. Barring Ireland's 125-7 in reply to Canada's 137-7, none of the other seven matches at the venue saw teams scoring 120.

The Florida leg, which saw three washouts in four matches due to flood emergency in the area, was a dampener. Inadequate drainage facilities didn’t help the cause too, especially for Pakistan, who had to pay the price for the washout against Ireland.

Lack of game time for players never helps the teams

Pakistan's comeback from their wobbly starts in a World event is nothing new, except the 'Qudrat ka nizam' phenomenon didn't work this time. That could be attributed to their erratic team selection. Two months before the tournament, Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim reversed their international retirements, forcing their way into the World Cup squad. The last-minute additions didn’t pan out well: Amir conceded 18 runs in the shocking super over loss against USA, which including seven runs scored off three wide balls, while Imad‘s scratchy 23-ball 15 against India made Pakistan lose the advantage as they succumbed to yet another defeat.

New Zealand’s worst outing in the tournament is another case of a team's performance suffering due to their players lacking game time. Out of 40 matches between the 2022 and 2024 T20 World Cups, Mark Chapman (35) and Ish Sodhi (30) played the most, but neither featured in more than one game in New Zealand’s four outings. Finn Allen (20) and Mitchell Santner (22) were the only others to play 20 games, while Kane Williamson (three) and Trent Boult (two) have barely played.

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