The two teams to advance from Group A in the ongoing International Cricket Council Men’s T20 World Cup are India and the United States of America.
The five teams in Group A are India, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, and the U.S. India is undefeated so far in the tournament, having beat the U.S. in its last match and looking like a contender to win the championship. But that was the U.S.’s only loss.
The obvious second team to advance would have been Pakistan, but the U.S. defeated Pakistan in one of the most surprising upsets in the sport’s history last week. Pakistan then lost to India, giving it two losses, enough to send one of the world’s top cricket teams home early.
Ireland also might have been a candidate for the second spot, as one of only twelve full members of the ICC certified to play the highest form of cricket, but Ireland lost its first two matches against India and Canada. Canada has already played three matches and lost two of them, including one defeat at the hands of the U.S.
The U.S. was supposed to play Ireland today in Florida, a match in which the U.S. had momentum on its side, but it got rained out. With the rainout, there is no way for Pakistan, Ireland, or Canada to win more matches than the U.S., so the U.S. advances to the next round.
Eight teams total advance, two from each group. The U.S., with its former chef team captain Monank Patel and software engineer star bowler Saurabh Netravalkar, is now playing among the eight best cricket teams in the world. Netravalkar will need to request more time off from his full-time employer, Oracle, to play in the next round. The U.S. was ranked 19th in T20 international play going into the World Cup.
Advancing to the next round of this tournament means the U.S. automatically qualifies for the T20 World Cup in 2026. Twenty20, or T20, cricket is a shortened form of the game where each side is limited to 20 overs of six balls each. Matches last about three hours. Major League Cricket, a U.S. professional T20 league, played its first season last year.
Before the World Cup began, the U.S. secured its first ever international series win against a full ICC member, Bangladesh. In the first match of the World Cup, it came from behind to defeat Canada. And the U.S. victory against Pakistan in the cricket equivalent of overtime shocked the world.
Even in the loss to India, the U.S. made some highlights. Netravalkar took wickets from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, India’s formidable opening batsmen. He had Kohli out for a duck (dismissed while scoring zero runs). Kohli is the fourth-highest run scorer all-time in international cricket. Overall, though, the U.S. was outmatched by the Indian squad and incurred a five-run penalty for playing too slowly later in the match.
The U.S. will play at least three more matches in the next round: against South Africa on June 19 at 10:30 a.m. ET in Saint George, Antigua and Barbuda, against the West Indies on June 21 at 8:30 p.m. ET in Bridgetown, Barbados, and against an opponent to be determined on June 23 in Bridgetown.