USA crashes out of T20 Cricket World Cup with defeat against England, ending historic run
By Issy Ronald, CNN
(CNN) — The USA crashed out of the T20 Men’s Cricket World Cup on Sunday, succumbing to a 10 wicket defeat against defending champion England in Barbados that scuppered its hopes of qualifying for the semifinals and ended its historic run at the tournament.
Defeat ends a fairytale debut for the co-host at this tournament which had exceeded all expectations by progressing past the group stages and into the Super Eights following victories against Canada and, more impressively, Pakistan as well as a narrow defeat to powerhouse India.
It represented a remarkable string of results for the tournament’s underdog facing some of the best teams in the world, but the USA ultimately struggled to match its opponents in the second round of the T20 World Cup.
Before the match, the USA required a near miracle to qualify for the semifinals – comfortably defeat the defending champion and hope that South Africa could similarly dismantle the West Indies – while England knew that victory over the US would likely secure its spot in the last four.
And England ultimately outclassed the USA, chasing down its total of 115 in just 9.4 overs, led by captain Jos Buttler who scored 83 runs off only 38 balls. Such a comprehensive victory guarantees England’s progression by virtue of its net run rate.
The USA batted first after losing the toss and struggled to build any momentum against England’s bowlers, most notably spinner Adil Rashid and Chris Jordan, who became the first English bowler to take three wickets in three consecutive balls – known as a hat trick – in a T20 match.
Nitish Kumar looked the surest of the USA’s batters as he helped it recover from losing Andries Gous in the first over before he and captain Aaron Jones, who has starred in this tournament, were both bowled by Rashid.
Corey Anderson attempted to spark a late rally for the USA but he succumbed to Jordan’s fast bowling, prompting a collapse from the American lower order as Jordan took a remarkable four wickets in the 18th over to bring the innings to a premature close.
With a relatively low total in their sights, England’s opening batters Phil Salt and Buttler strode out into the middle and immediately displayed their mastery of this format.
They chipped away at the USA’s total before Buttler clobbered five consecutive sixes in the eighth over to bring victory within touching distance, and Buttler hit the winning runs in the following over.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
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