Cricket

U.S. Cricket Falls Late To India In Latest Strong T20 World Cup Performance—Here’s How They Could Still Advance

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3 months ago

June 12, 2024

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U.S. Cricket Falls Late To India In Latest Strong T20 World Cup Performance—Here’s How They Could Still Advance

Topline

The United States men’s national cricket team lost to world No. 1 India on Wednesday in New York, amid hopes to advance to the T20 World Cup’s second round after the team’s historic upset over Pakistan—the tournament’s reigning runner-up—earlier this week.

The U.S. defeated Pakistan earlier this week, upsetting the tournament’s reigning runner-up.

Key Facts

The U.S. held a close lead over India before losing by seven wickets, after a late five-run penalty imposed on the U.S. for a time delay allowed India to pull ahead.

The U.S. must defeat Ireland in Florida on Friday to advance to the tournament’s second round, the Super 8s, after the Irish lost to India and Canada in its first two matches last week.

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Key Background

This is the first time the U.S. has appeared at a T20 World Cup, which started in 2007 with cricket’s shortest game format. The U.S. and the West Indies are hosting this year’s tournament, granting both teams automatic qualification. An overtime win over Pakistan—then cricket’s sixth-ranked team—earlier this week and wins throughout April increased expectations for the U.S., which ranks 17th among the 20 teams in the tournament.

Surprising Fact

The U.S. became the first team to be penalized for new clock regulations implemented by the International Cricket Council in March, according to ESPN. The rules require the fielding team to be ready to start a new over—a set of six pitches—within a minute after the previous one ends. Umpires will issue warnings for violations before imposing a five-run penalty on the third offense and every subsequent violation. When testing the new rule during a trial period in December, the ICC reportedly said no team exceeded the one-minute limit three times.