And then there were eight. We’re halfway through the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States, with the Super Eight stage tournament set to get underway on Thursday morning AEST. To the surprise of many, both host nations have qualified for the Super Eights, while former champions Sri Lanka and Pakistan were eliminated in the group stage.
India remains a heavy favourite, but the Asian powerhouse has an unfortunate track record of tripping up in ICC knockouts, most notably in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2023. Get all the latest cricket news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now! West Indies captain Rovman Powell celebrates dismissing Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan.
Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP Source: AFP TWENTY-TEAM FORMAT IS A WINNER India and Australia remain undefeated after solid starts to their campaigns, but it was the associate nations that starred during the group stage. The Men’s T20 World Cup was expanded to 20 teams this year, allowing the likes of Canada and Uganda to make their maiden appearances at the tournament.
During previous editions, the lower-ranked sides battled it out in a group stage before advancing to the Super 12s, but courtesy of a new format, the smaller nations were placed in the same group as the sport’s powerhouses. Exposing the associate nations to Test-playing teams inevitably resulted in a few one-sided contests — England chased Oman’s target in just 19 d.
