The United States of America (USA) qualified for the Super 8 stage in the 2024 T20 World Cup. That was on the back of upsetting Pakistan in a Super Over at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. It’s utterly fascinating that the USA’s path to the Super 8 in the 2026 T20 World Cup similarly depends on beating Pakistan.
USA confident
Off the back of a spectacular performance against reigning champions India, Monank Patel’s team is on a high. Despite a 29-run defeat, the USA captain was pleased with his team’s performance.
“A lot of learning from this game and a lot of positives. Definitely, this game is going to help us in running forward. I thought the way we handled the pressure playing in front of the big crowd and playing against India, the first game of the World Cup, I thought we managed really well. I thought it’s going to help us in the next 3 games,” Monank said after the India match.
Nothing like last time
Pakistan may have survived against the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup opener, which could make some consider them strong contenders against them, but that might not be the case. What people forget is that Pakistan and the USA aren’t in the place they were back in 2024.
Pakistan’s batting has more depth and power now. Shaheen Shah Afridi was amid a slump. Meanwhile, the USA were playing in their backyard, on grounds they were familiar with. They’ve also lost perhaps their best batter, Aaron Jones, who’s been found guilty of match-fixing.
Injury concerns
Then we move to injuries. Ali Khan and Shubham Ranjane both walked off the field during the India match. Ali injured himself while fielding, and Shubman hobbled out of the field after delivering his 2nd over. At this moment, we don’t have an update on either. Remember, both of them are immediate starters. Even missing one of them would be massive trouble for the USA.
Pakistan’s spin advantage
Mind you, we are moving from Mumbai to Colombo. Although bowlers have done well at both venues, the latter favours spinners more. Pakistan spinners took 6 out of 10 wickets against the Netherlands. They have 4 quality spinners.
Now, the USA played two frontline spinners against India and did well. But Pakistan can deliver 16 overs of spin, if needed. The USA might add Nosthush Kenjige to the mix, but even with that, they won’t be as strong.
The USA did play against Sri Lanka ‘A’ in Sri Lanka, so they won’t be foreign to conditions. But will their batters fare well against Abrar Ahmed, Saim Ayub, and Usman Tariq? The Men in Green have Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan as well.
Will pace be effective?
A big reason why the USA did well against India was their pacers in the early part of the match. Shadley van Schalkwyk claimed 3 wickets in one over, something that doesn’t happen often. Ali bowled exceptionally well, and he may not play. The same goes for Shubham. Saurabh Netravalkar was tonked all over the park.
Taking all of this into account, plus the conditions, it’s fair to assume that the USA pacers can’t match what they did against India. It’s not just about being economical; you have to chip away with wickets, otherwise teams will run away with the game. And we’ve seen the USA and other associate nations struggle in the death overs in this T20 World Cup.
