USA vs IRE Highlights, T20 World Cup 2024: Match called off due to rain in Florida; Pakistan knocked out, United States of America qualifies for Super Eight

It has been a long wait, and thank you for staying tuned. Not the end that cricket fans would have wanted, but USA won’t be complaining one bit. A first T20 World Cup campaign for the host, and it does the unthinkable by qualifying for the Super Eight. It beat Pakistan in the Super Over earlier in the tournament, and did the double whammy by knocking Babar Azam’s men out of the competition, albeit with some help from the weather. 

Just two matches remain in this group, and they won’t be of much consequence. India will hope to get some match practice for the Super Eight phase against Canada tomorrow, provided the weather permits the game to proceed at this venue. Meanwhile, Pakistan and Ireland will face off on Sunday and the Irish will be keen to sign off with at least a win. 

That’s it then. India is A1 and USA has now etched itself as team A2 in the Super Eight stage. That will be all from us for tonight. Thank you and take care! 

And it is official. The match has been called off. Heartbreak for Pakistan and ecstasy for United States of America. Pakistan and Ireland are knocked out, while USA books its spot for Super Eight as team A2. 

The covers are back and the rain has returned. Chances of getting a match now seem very, very bleak. 

Some dark clouds have gathered and the players and match officials leave the ground. No official confirmation yet. 

And we have yet another inspection. The umpires are still not satisfied and we have to wait till 10:45 PM IST for the next update. 

We are less than 10 minutes away from the next inspection and the good news is that the rain has held off and there is a mix of sun and clouds. The chance of rain has also dropped. 

We can have a five-over game beginning as late as 11:46 PM IST, says the ICC. Meanwhile, the wait for the next inspection, scheduled for 10:00 PM IST, continues. 

The game is likely to be abandoned without a ball being bowled. Still, there is going to be another inspection at 10:00 PM IST. We wait in anticipation. 

We are minutes away from the next ground inspection. Let’s hope the signs are better and the puddles in the outfield have dried up to some extent. 

The next ground inspection is at 9:00 PM IST as the umpires are still not convinced about how safe the conditions are to begin play. It also looks like the skies are darkening a bit in the background. 

The umpires are out in the middle to have a look at the conditions. They are walking around the square at Lauderhill. Looks like the puddles beyond the 30-yard circle aren’t looking too promising as far as starting the game is concerned. 

There will be an inspection at 8:00 PM IST. The good news is that there is still no rain at the moment. Fingers crossed. From what live visuals suggest, the sun is also out. 

The toss has been delayed due to rain. However, the good news is that it is not raining at the moment at the venue. In fact, the covers are off and the sun is peeking out. But there are some puddles in the outfield that have delayed proceedings. 

The chance of rain has reduced to 70 per cent, with thunderstorms expected in the afternoon. Pakistan and Ireland will continue to pray for the clouds to clear. 

According to The Weather Channel, Florida is witnessing rain this morning, and thunderstorms are likely by the evening. The chance of rain is still 100 per cent, and there could be 1 to 2 inches of it. The forecast is still grim. 

Matches played: 2

USA won: 1

Ireland won: 1

Last result: Ireland won by nine runs (Lauderhill; December 2021)

Paul Stirling (c), Andy Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Josh Little, Craig Young.

Monank Patel (c) (wk), Steven Taylor, Andries Gous, Aaron Jones, Nitish Kumar, Corey Anderson, Harmeet Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan, Shadley van Schalwyk.

With just two hours to go for the match to begin, there is a 100 per cent chance of rain in Broward County, Florida. Pakistan and Ireland will be fretting over this forecast. 

USA: Monank Patel (c) (wk), Aaron Jones (vc), Andries Gous (wk), Corey Anderson, Ali Khan, Harmeet Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Nitish Kumar, Nosthush Kenjige, Saurabh Netralvakar, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Steven Taylor, Shayan Jahangir.

Ireland: Paul Stirling (c), Andy Balbirnie, Ross Adair, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, Neil Rock (wk), George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Graham Hume, Craig Young, Ben White.