FEATURES
Follow Us*All the power rankings are only till the end of the group stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup
United States of America
Power Rankings: 1
Qualification: Qualified from Group A as runners-up
No one, literally no one, gave the United States of America much chance to come out alive and kicking from a group that consisted of three Test-playing nations - India, Pakistan and Ireland.
That’s where the USA kicked off their competition, sealing their qualification with two wins — a stunning super-over win against Pakistan and a trashing of cross-country rivals Canada. Not to forget that they ran tournament favourites India ragged before the Men in Blue won the clash.
While Saurabh Netravalkar and Nosthush Kenjige starred with the ball, Aaron Jones spearheaded their qualification.
MVP: Aaron Jones - a right-handed monster whose batting brute proved to be everything for the USA - 141 runs @141 and SR of 160.22.
Scotland
Power Rankings: 2
Qualification: Narrowly missed out from Group B after defeat against Australia
Scotland’s T20 World Cup campaign could yet again be defined by ‘what if’. Despite showing a stellar display in the tournament, the European side can only shake its heads and walk back home.
Richie Berrington’s side would rue the wash-out against England after finishing with 90 runs in 10 overs. They showed brutal assault against fellow associates - Oman and Namibia - before a narrow defeat at the hands of Australia, which put an end to their campaign.
Overall, they punched way above their weight and most certainly gave the Three Lions plenty of heart attacks.
MVP: Brandon McMullen showed his worth yet again, with 140 runs in just three innings, averaging 70 and striking at 170.73, including two fifties.
Canada
Power Rankings: 3
Qualification: Finished fourth in Group A behind India, USA and Pakistan
Canada showed potential throughout the competition, but even then, the gulf between them and the other sides in the group was quite evident. While not getting a chance against India, Canada were not up to the mark against Pakistan and the USA, where they were demolished.
However, having said that they are up here because they came up with the goods against Ireland, a Test-playing nation - where they sprung up a real surprise. Dillon Heyliger showed his worth with the ball, picking up five wickets.
MVP: If you watched Canada bat, Nicholas Kirton is a name that really captured the imagination, with 101 runs, striking at 140.27 when the rest of the team was struggling.
Namibia
Power Rankings: 4
Qualification: Finished fourth behind Australia, England and Scotland in Group B
Arguably, Namibia got a tough draw, but then, for a team that has shown class across the board, the T20 World Cup 2024 was a mere disappointment. The Eagles never showed enough domination in their games despite bowling out Oman for a mere 110.
When it came to teams like Australia and England, they were blown away by some immaculate pace bowling. And, then, they let Scotland off the hook after a tight bowling up front in the first 10 overs. Overall, cricket in Namibia might have progressed a little bit, but they would have wanted it to be a lot more.
MVP: While both David Weise and Gerhard Erasmus bailed Namibia out on tough occasions, it was Rubel Trumpelmann’s bowling that caught the attention, with 7 wickets, averaging just 15.28.
Netherlands
Power Rankings: 5
Qualification: Finished fourth in Group D behind South Africa, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
It was quite a tough group to crack, but the Netherlands were far from their best in the competition. Although the dish had a lot of nice ingredients, the cooking turned out to be quite disastrous. Their only win in the competition came against fellow associates Nepal in a nervy fashion.
They were blown open by Sri Lanka (83 runs) and lost their steam in the second innings against Bangladesh and South Africa, which is why they are so low on the rankings. There was a lot left to be desired as their campaign came to an end.
Had they grabbed their chances against South Africa and Bangladesh, this list might have been a whole lot different.
MVP: Logan van Beek was yet again good with the ball, finishing with 7 wickets in the competition, averaging 18.14.
Uganda
Power Rankings: 6
Qualification: Finished fourth in Group C ahead of Papua New Guinea
Uganda had a competition to remember, for both good and bad. While they were thoroughly outclassed in their contests against New Zealand, West Indies and Afghanistan, they rattled the other associate side in the group - Papua New Guinea - to register their first T20 World Cup win.
Also Read: Dream-Believe-Achieve: Uganda's time at the World Cup has arrived
That’s one of the major reasons they are ahead of Nepal, Oman and PNG in their maiden T20WC campaign. However, they finished with a net run rate of -4.510, which clearly shows how bad they were when it came to their batting unit, which averaged 5.8/wicket, the worst in the competition and one of the worst in T20WC history.
MVP: While Brian Masaba definitely led the side ably with the ball, if not for Riazat Ali Shah’s 33, Uganda might not have a single win against their name.
Nepal
Power Rankings: 7
Qualification: Finished bottom in Group D
Nepal have just one point against their name, which accurately reflects their campaign. However, the story could have been very different had Nepal taken their opportunities in the competition.
The dropped catch in the Netherlands clash, the brain fade against South Africa (1-run loss), and a batting collapse against Bangladesh all hurt them badly.
Considering how strong Nepal are in the associate world, their performance in the T20 World Cup was nothing short of disappointing. But if you remove that factor, they did run both South Africa and Bangladesh very close.
MVP: Dipendra Singh Airee for his bowling display, with six wickets in the competition, including a 3/21 against South Africa.
Oman
Power Rankings: 8
Qualification: Finished bottom in Group B
Oman had a disastrous campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024.
While they were certainly in a tough group, their batting display was perhaps on par with some of the worst in the tournament. Barring the clash against Namibia, Oman did not give any other competitors a tough run.
Not to forget, they were run ragged by England, who wiped off 47 in just 3.1 overs. Oman’s batters averaged 12, the fourth-lowest in the competition. They could have been staring at an all-time low if not for their spirited bowlers. Their fielding efforts were disastrous, with a catch efficiency of just 52.6%, the lowest amongst all teams.
MVP: While Prathik Athavale and Ayaan Khan did well, Mehran Khan was Oman’s best player, scoring 47 runs while picking up six wickets at an average of 10.16.
Papua New Guinea
Power Rankings: 9
Qualification: Finished bottom in Group C
Despite having some experience playing big teams, PNG were by far the worst associate team in this year’s competition. They, too, found themselves in the same boat as Oman, where the competition was led by their bowlers and not by the batters.
PNG’s batting numbers were the second worst in the competition (10.2 average) and were terrible in the clash against Uganda, Afghanistan and New Zealand. But credit where it is due, Sese Bau (50) and Kipling Doriga’s (27) batting display nearly helped them spring a surprise over the hosts West Indies.
However, the performance wasn't quite up to par for a team with some experience against these teams.
MVP: Kipling Doriga starred with the bat, scoring 71 runs in four games, while Alei Nao’s bowling proved fatal at the death, with four wickets at an ER of 5.6.
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out — big time. Play Fantasy on Cricket.com NOW! Download the App here.
