ICC T20 World Cup 2024: Three potential upsets in the first round
The T20I World Cup is just around the corner, as West Indies and the United States get ready to host the ninth edition of the event. For the first time in the history of the T20 World Cup, we will see as many as 20 teams participating in the event.
The tournament has been divided into three phases- with the first phase being the Group stage, followed by a Super Eight stage, and concluded by the knockouts. This means that there could be more than a couple of upsets in the tournament this year.
We are no strangers to witnessing upsets in the T20I World Cups, and this year promises to bring plenty of more drama and entertainment for the fans. Moreover, this is a really great opportunity for some of the minnow nations to prove themselves on the big stage, and gain recognition from the fans and the cricketing community in general.
In this article, we look at three potential upsets in the first round of the T20I World Cup.
South Africa vs Netherlands : Group D
This fixture surely makes the top of our list. Is Netherlands defeating South Africa even considered an upset now, given how their last two World Cup encounters have fared? I guess not. Netherlands shocked the Proteas in the Group Stages of the 2022 T20I World Cup, which ended their aspirations of qualifying for the semifinals of the event. The Dutchmen compounded the misery on the Proteas, after they defeated them once again in the 50-over World Cup held in India last year.
This makes it two in two for Netherlands, who come to life when they are up against South Africa. Cashing a score of 159, the Proteas fell 13 runs short of the target against the Dutch in the 2022 T20I World Cup. As discussed earlier, South Africa losing to the the European side should no longer be a surprise, however, given the strength of their squad, it still qualifies as a big upset.
South Africa boast of some big players on the T20 circuit currently, which includes the likes of Heinrich Klassen, David Miller, Aiden Markram among many others. On paper, they are way superior to the Netherlands, who have been the party spoilers for South Africa off-late.
Pakistan vs Ireland : Group A
This fixture has plenty of history, dating way back to 2007. Pakistan suffered one of their most surprising defeats in their World Cup history, when they lost to Ireland at the 2007 ODI World Cup. From then on, Ireland have developed a reputation of being the giant killers.
In the previous edition of the T20I World Cup, Ireland defeated the eventual champions England on DLS method. This proved to be England’s only defeat of the tournament, as they went on to win every single match after that setback.
Ireland have already secured a victory over Pakistan a couple of weeks ago in the first of the three-match T20I series they played against each other. Pakistan won the series 2-1, however, this could be a huge boost for Ireland heading into the World Cup. Moreover, given Pakistan’s tendency to underperform consistently at World Cups, this leaves a huge door open for the European side.
Pakistan were defeated by Zimbabwe in the 2022 T20I World Cup, which left them hanging by a thread in the tournament. However, they did manage to reach the finals, where they eventually lost to England. Ireland have plenty of quality and experience in their ranks, led by their skipper Paul Stirling.
The likes of Andrew Balbirnie, Harry Tector and Mark Adair could really make an impact against the 2009 T20I World Cup champions. Hence, we believe Ireland really have a shot at upsetting Pakistan.
England vs Scotland : Group B
England open their T20I World Cup campaign against Scotland on June 4th. The defending champions have been prone to being at the receiving end of upsets in World Cup events. From losing to Ireland in the 2011 World Cup to losing to Ireland again in the 2022 T20I World Cup, England can be a really unpredictable team in such events.
England’s most surprising defeat in the T20 World Cup till date has to be their 45-run defeat at the hands of Netherlands in 2014. The two-time champions were bundled out for just 88 runs, while chasing a score of 144 runs.
Scotland have some seasoned campaigners in their squad, which includes the likes of Richie Berrington, George Munsey and Matthew Cross who also played the 2021 T20I World Cup. They also defeated West Indies in the qualifying stages of the 2022 edition of the event, but lost to Zimbabwe and Ireland as they failed to make it to the round-robin stage.
An upset looks highly unlikely, but we believe Scotland have the personnel to deliver in the first match of their campaign against England.
