Thirty two matches have been played in the T20 World Cup 2024 group stages, and eight more are scheduled in the upcoming week. The second week of the tournament saw bowlers dominate again, as teams put up some fighting performances.
Week 2 also saw some shocking results, as the West Indies defeated New Zealand to make their way into the Super 8 stage, while the Kiwis faced elimination. Nepal too put up a thrilling performance against giants South Africa, only for the Proteas to win by the barest of margins.
Australia too defeated their Ashes rivals England to mount pressure on the Jos Buttler-led side as they struggle to find a place in the final eight. In all these games, bowlers played a key role in their team’s victories.
On that note, let’s look at the three best bowling performances from Week 2 of T20 World Cup 2024:
#3 Jasprit Bumrah, 3/14, India vs Pakistan
In a high-profile clash between India and Pakistan, players of both teams put up equally worthy performances. It was a low-scoring thriller between the arch-rivals, as India successfully defended their lowest-ever target in T20I history.
After being bowled out for a meager 119 in 19 overs, India looked in trouble ahead of the second innings as the batters couldn’t perform well. But it turned out to be a bowlers’ day at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
Indian bowlers put up a fighting performance while defending the total, and Jasprit Bumrah was the leader of the pack. He picked up wickets under pressure and in crunch situations and finished with figures of 3/14 as Pakistan were held to 113/7 during their chase.
Bumrah’s bowling in the death, especially the 19th over, was outstanding as he gave away just three runs and also dismissed Iftikhar Ahmed to set the stage for Arshdeep Singh’s final over. India finally bagged a win by six runs.
#2 Alzarri Joseph, 4/19, West Indies vs New Zealand
In a high-intense clash between the West Indies and New Zealand at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad, the co-hosts scripted a come-from-behind victory to knock the previous season’s semi-finalist out of the Super 8 race.
No other batter except for Sherfane Rutherford could prove a point with the bat in the first innings. He entered the game when the Windies were reeling at 22/4 in the powerplay overs, and took his time to settle in before finally making inroads to set up a defendable total.
After handing a target of 150 runs for the BlackCaps to chase, Alzarri Joseph and Gudakesh Motie wreaked havoc with the ball as New Zealand’s batting unit witnessed a terrible collapse. The Caribbeans kept striking at regular intervals as the Kiwi batters failed to gain momentum.
While Motie finished with three scalps to his name, Joseph registered 4/19 in his four-over spell by picking up key wickets of Finn Allen, Glenn Phillips, James Neesham and Tim Southee. The Kane Williamson-led side was eventually held to 136/9 in 20 overs as Windies scripted a brilliant 13-run win.
#1 Arshdeep Singh, 4/9, India vs USA
Indian batters were put to the test again by co-hosts USA, as the latter posed a threat during their chase. But it was Arshdeep Singh’s efforts with the ball in the first innings that kept India in a comfortable position early on.
The pacer struck on the very first delivery of the game and dismissed the opposition’s opener Shayan Jahangir to provide his side with an early breakthrough. He then followed it up with the wickets of top-order batter Andries Gous and middle-order batters Nitish Kumar and Harmeet Singh.
Courtesy of his spell combined with Hardik Pandya’s 2/14, India restricted the co-hosts to 110/8 in 20 overs. India’s start to the chase was worrisome as openers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli fell cheaply within three overs of play.
Unbeaten knocks by Suryakumar Yadav (50 off 49) and Shivam Dube (31 off 35) helped the Men in Blue chase down the score with 10 balls to spare as India clinched a seven-wicket win.
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