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Scotland notch up their maiden T20I victory against Namibia as they go atop their points table in Group B.

Namibian skipper Gerhard Erasmus wanted to bat first, only to find them reeling at 55/4 with the Scottish bowlers getting wickets with the new ball. Erasmus stood up to prove his decision right as he scored 52 off 31 balls before getting out to Michael Leask. Apart from their skipper, the Eagles never got going as they finished their innings for 155/9, with Brad Wheal picking up 3 wickets.

In reply, the Scottish openers George Munsey and Michael Jones who looked good against England, did not get going and Scotland were in a bit of bother at 73/4. But skipper Richie Berrington's anchoring and Michael Leask's power-hitting ensured that they breezed past Namibia to seal their first victory against the African nation in the shortest format.

The Americans startle not only the cricketing world, but etch their name on a global scale, as they overcome Asian giants Pakistan in a thriller to set the World Cup on fire on their home ground.

Pakistan was put in to bat first by the India-born USA skipper Monank Patel and the openers never looked settled as Pakistan were down for 26/3 at one stage. However, Shadab Khan accelerated their slow start as their skipper Babar Azam was struggling to get going. Nostush Kenjige was the USA's star with the ball, picking up 3 wickets, including the priced scalp of Shadab. Shaheen Shah Afridi came lower down the order to smash an impressive cameo to take Pakistan to a competitive total of 159/7.

In reply, Monank and South-African born Andries Gous staged a partnership as USA looked favourites to sn**ch the game. However, with their departures, Pakistan were back in the game but not before the star from the USA's previous game Aaron Jones stepped up to fight till the end. With 5 runs needed off the last ball, Nitish Kumar smashed Haris Rauf over mid-off to tie the game and take the game to the super over.

Mohammad Amir who bowled the super over never looked good with his lines as he gave away too many wides which eventually became the line of difference between the two as Saurabh Netravalkar defended it against the Pakistani batters. Safe to say, this T20 World Cup is reaching on a larger scale for the very global connect it was instated in the continent.

ICC T20 World Cup 2024 🏆

Group B
Match 10 🏏: Australia 🇦🇺 vs Oman 🇴🇲
Venue 📍: Kensington Oval, Barbados 🏟️

Defending WTC champions and CWC champions begin their quest for a treble with the T20WC with a comfortable victory against Oman.

Winning the toss, Oman skipper Aqib Ilyas wanted to chase a target and their bowlers put a decently good show against the 2021 WT20 champions, restricting them to 164/5 in 20 overs, with veteran Mehran Khan picking up two crucial wickets of skipper Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell, who registered another golden duck, off consecutive deliveries. However, David Warner played a sturdy innings at the top, scoring 56 off 51 balls and Marcus Stoinis, who was dropped twice by the Omani fielders, made them pay as he upped the ante with an unbeaten 67 off just 36 balls.

In reply, the Omani batters never looked in control as they were deceived by Australia's pace attack, led by Stoinis who picked up 3 wickets at an economy of 6.3 and was adjudged the 'Player of the Match' for his all-round show.

ICC T20 World Cup 2024 🏆

Group C
Match 9 🏏: Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬 vs Uganda 🇺🇬
Venue 📍: Guyana National Stadium, Guyana 🏟️

Uganda are off the mark with their first ever victory at the T20 World Cup as they marginally get over Papua New Guinea to get two points on the table.

Put in to bat first, Papua New Guinea never got going as the Ugandan bowlers bowled them out cheaply for 77, with 43-year-old offie Frank Nsubuga being the pick of the lot for bowling the most economical four-over spell in T20 World Cup history (4-2-4-2).

In reply, the Ugandan batters were in a spot of bother as half their side were down for just 25 runs on the board, with the Papua New Guinea bowlers bowling tight overs in the slow Guyana pitch. A solid Riazat Ali Shah bridged the gap with 33 off 56 balls, and made the island nation pay for dropping him on 8. Kenneth Waiswa hit the winning runs as Uganda scripted history at the Guyana National Stadium.

ICC T20 World Cup 2024 🏆

Group A
Match 8 🏏: India 🇮🇳 vs Ireland 🇮🇪
Venue 📍: Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York 🏟️

Team India began their campaign on the right note, ticking almost all the boxes in the field as the Irish men were rattled apart by a solid bowling unit of India.

Rohit Sharma won the toss, and did stick to following the recent trends in putting the opposition to bat first and Arshdeep Singh made the openers walk back to the pavilion cheaply and as did Bumrah who applied the brakes to return with figures of 3-1-6-2. However, the standout performer was Hardik Pandya with the ball as the Indian vice-captain was showing signs of his old self with figures of 4-1-27-3 after having a torrid time at the IPL. Gareth Delany was the lone ranger with a gleamy cameo of 26 off just 14 balls as Ireland were bundled out for 96.

Paying heed to the experts' opinions, India opened with experienced campaigners Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, but the latter was dismissed cheaply by Mark Adair for 1, his lowest score in T20 World Cups. Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant stitched a composed partnership of 54 as the Indian captain reached the half-century mark. But a body blow meant Rohit had to retire hurt, but Rishabh made it a point to finish things off in style as he reverse scooped Barry McCarthy for a six behind the stumps to seal the victory for Indians.

📷: ICC T20 World Cup, ESPNcricinfo & Indian Cricket Team

ICC T20 World Cup 2024 🏆

Group D
Match 7 🏏: Nepal 🇳🇵vs Netherlands 🇳🇱
Venue 📍: Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas 🏟️

Nepal's reintroduction to the ICC T20 World Cup after a decade was up to a rousing reception as fans thronged the stadium in thousands to support The Rhinos in their first encounter against The Netherlands here in Texas.

With how the conditions have played in the USA so far, Scott Edwards put Nepal to bat and the Nepalese had a tough outing with the bat as they got bowled out for a mere 109 in 18.4 overs, with skipper Rohit Paudel top scoring with 35 off 37 balls. Tim Pringle was the pick of the lot as he returned with figures of 3/20 in 4 overs, tossing up the ball and luring the batters to play at it. In reply, the experienced Max O'Dowd kept his cool and took the Dutch past the line with 6 wickets in hand, not before the Dutch were caught off-guard by a disciplined bowling effort from the Nepalese bowlers who were unfortunately not aided by the fielders who dropped a few catches which might have turned the result over.

As the age old phrase "catches win matches" goes, the team with better catching efficiency won the match. But what stood out was the passion and the belief of the Nepalese supporters who came in surprisingly large numbers which not only does a game of good for Nepal, but also cricket as a global sporting event!

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ICC T20 World Cup 2024 🏆

Group B
Match 6 🏏: England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Venue 📍: Kensington Oval, Barbados 🏟️

Neighbours England and Scotland were all set to make it a noteworthy maiden clash, but the rain gods had other ideas as the match was abandoned in the middle of the rain-curtailed game and both the teams were given a point apiece.

After winning the toss, skipper Richie Berrington wanted to defend a total and Scotland were looking good enough to cause yet another upset by a European team against the defending champions, with openers George Munsey and Michael Jones ticking the scorecard and not losing their wicket. However, frequent rain interruptions meant that a 10-over match was being played and the Scottish finished with a total of 90 without loss and England were set up with a target of 109 according to the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Before the start of play of the second innings, rain continued to pour from where it left off and the match was called off. If we had gotten a full game, would England have chased the target comfortably or would Scotland have caused an upset remains as a question mark!

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ICC T20 World Cup 2024 🏆

Group C
Match 5 🏏: Afghanistan 🇦🇫 vs Uganda 🇺🇬
Venue 📍: Guyana National Stadium, Guyana 🏟️

Afghanistan rocked and rolled over Uganda to notch up a comprehensive victory against the T20WC debutants as they outclassed The Cranes in all the three departments. Ugandan skipper Brian Masaba put Afghanistan to bat first and things did not age well as the openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran stitched the second-highest partnership in T20 World Cup history (154). With their captain Masaba himself providing the breakthrough with the ball for Uganda, Afghanistan, who were well set to score at least 220 odd runs with wickets in hand, choked with the rest of the batters not connecting the ball, resulting in just 39 runs off the last 5.3 overs for the loss of 5 wickets. In reply, the Uganda batters looked absolutely clueless as Afghanistan ran riot with their bowling, with Fazalhaq Farooqi picking up the career-best figures for Afghanistan in T20 WCs (5/9) in his four overs and giving the Asian team a huge boost to their NRR.

📷: ESPNcricinfo & Uganda Cricket Association

ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2024 🏆

Group D
Match 4: Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 vs South Africa 🇿🇦
Venue 📍: Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York 🏟️

The Proteas started their T20 WC campaign on a winning note in yet another low-scoring affair as the Lankans were bowled out for their lowest total in T20Is. Winning the toss, newly appointed Sri Lankan skipper Wanindu Hasaranga opted to bat first interestingly on a tricky surface. Not even a single Lankan batter rose to the occasion as Anrich Nortje rattled the batting order with his pace and returned with figures of 4-0-7-4, getting back his mojo after a tough time at the office in the IPL. In reply, the South Africans did not have the task cut out easily as they huffed and puffed their way to chase the target, with Sri Lanka tightening up things from the other end.

📷: ICC - International Cricket Council, ESPNcricinfo &

ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2024 🏆

Group B
Match 3: Namibia 🇳🇦 vs Oman 🇴🇲
Venue 📍: Kensington Oval, Barbados 🏟️

Namibia breathes a huge sigh of relief by the barest of margins to trounce Oman! Yes, you heard it right; it was Namibia's game to lose after the end of the first innings, bowling out Oman for a paltry 109 in 19.4 overs, Ruben Trumpelmann giving a dream start to their WC campaign, picking up back-to-back wickets off the very first two balls of the match and returning with figures of 4/21. But it required the services of the wily old fox in David Wiese, who picked three wickets with the ball and helped Namibia to make the scores level with the bat, resulting in a super over while Oman's wily old fox Mehran Khan displayed a disciplined spell of bowling with figures of 3-1-7-3 which helped Oman tie the game. Wiese brought all his experience in the super over as his all-round performance ensured that Namibia crossed the line eventually.

Just three matches into the T20 World Cup, and it has already delivered the goods for the newbie fans in America to witness what's in store for the next few weeks!

📷: ESPNcricinfo &

ICC T20 World Cup 2024 🏆

Group C
Match 2 🏏: West Indies 🏝️ vs Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬
Venue 📍: Providence Stadium, Guyana 🏟️

Hosts West Indies are up and running in their quest to become the first host nation to win the T20 World Cup, but not before Papua New Guinea tightened their screws in a low-scoring affair. Rovman Powell decided to chase looking at the conditions and the Windies juggled between the spinners and the pacers to restrict PNG for a mere 136/7, with Sese Bau becoming the second batter from PNG to score a T20 WC fifty. However, a disciplined bowling effort from the island nation meant that West Indies had to earn their victory, as at one point, an upset was on the cards with the Windies needing 40 off 4 overs and half the side back to the pavilion. But Roston Chase and Andre Russell held their nerves to not let PNG get the better of them and Chase was adjudged the 'Player of the Match' for anchoring the 'chase.'

📷: ICC - International Cricket Council & ESPNcricinfo

ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2024 🏆

Group A
Match 1 🏏: United States of America 🇺🇸 vs Canada 🇨🇦
Venue📍: Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas 🏟️

Neither The Ashes rivalry nor the arch rivalry of Indo-Pak but an age-old rivalry dating back to 1844 between neighbours USA and Canada to kick off the T20 WC opener and boy didn't we have a cracking match to start the proceedings. Hosts USA won the toss and decided to put Canada to bat first, and they grabbed the opportunity with both hands to score a challenging 194/5 in 20 overs, with Navneet Dhaliwal anchoring the innings with a breezy 61 and Nicholas Kirton & Shreyas Movva scoring quickfire 51 and 32* respectively. In reply, the USA was reeling at 42/2 in 6.3 overs and the run rate was climbing. Then arrived, Aaron Jones, who absolutely bossed the innings and scored a determined 94 off just 40 balls and made a statement with his clean ball-striking to seal the deal, with South Africa-born Andries Gous playing a second fiddle with 65 off 46 balls.

As Nasser Hossain rightly said in the commentary box; ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED, AMERICA?

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