The defending champions England who struggled at the beginning of the tournament became the first team to be qualified for the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-finals. Jos Buttler and Co. qualified for the semi-final round with their 10-wicket victory over the United States at Barbados.
Since the 2016 edition, England has never failed to qualify for the semi-finals round. In 2016, England ended up as runner-up of the tournament while in the next edition(2021), they qualified for the semifinals and lost the game by 5 wickets against New Zealand.
In the previous edition, England handed a 5 wicket defeat to Pakistan and won their second T20 World Cup title which equals the West Indies record for winning the most number of titles.
In this edition after rain abandoned England’s first game against Scotland, they lost their second game against Australia and made a dreadful start. England won their next two group matches and with the help of Australia’s victory over Scotland, England qualified for the Super 8 round.
In the Super 8 stage, a total of three matches will be played in which England won their first and last game and qualified for the semi-finals. England’s Super 8 defeat came against South Africa who remains unbeaten in their tournament so far.
with an impressive all-rounding performance, England qualified for the semifinal round which will be played on June 26 and 27.
Two massive hits from #JosButtler
The England captain has made his intentions clear
If chase the target in 18.4 overs or fewer, they will qualify for the semifinals.
Will they do it?
#USAvENG | LIVE NOW | #T20WorldCupOnStar (available only in… pic.twitter.com/N8l8PR3W0n
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 23, 2024
Speaking of the match, England decided to bowl first after winning the toss where Steven Taylor and Andries Gous opened the inning on behalf of the United States. R Topley made an impact in the very first over by dismissing Andries Gous for just 8. Following his dismissal, NR Kumar and Steven Taylor made a 34 runs stand for the second wicket.
While the dup started to build a steady partnership, Sam Curran scattered their dreams of building a crucial partnership by dismissing Steven Taylor for 12 runs.
Right after Steven’s dismissal, United States batting line-up collapsed like a deck of cards. The US started to lose wickets at a regular interval and ended up scoring just 115 after losing all their 10 wickets with nearly an over left to bowl.
Chris Jordan played a crucial role in the US’s batting collapse, Jordan bagged four wickets in the 19th over and restricted the US to cross the 120 runs mark. Moreover, in this process, Jordan becomes the first England bowler to bag a hat-trick in T20Is.
England’s explosive opening batters chased the target without losing a wicket in just 9.4 overs. England captain Jos Buttler played an exceptional inning by scoring 83 runs off just 38 balls at a strike rate of 218.42 which includes 6 fours and seven maximums.
FIVE SIXES in an over for Jos Buttler! pic.twitter.com/yoacq4aVy3
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 23, 2024
With the victory, England becomes the first team to be qualified for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 semi-finals. On the other hand, the United States who gave many delightful moments packed their way home.
READ: Sophia Dunkley returned to England T20I Squad for New Zealand Series
