T20 World Cup 2024 recap in pictures

The 2024 T20 World Cup was different. 

It wasn’t perfect because of pre-seedings, the match timings, and the points system but the bowling-friendly nature of the tournament brought the charm of low-scoring matches and reduced the gap between bigger and smaller teams. It was arguably the most intriguing edition since the inaugural competition in 2007. 

This was the ninth edition of the tournament, and it was the first time a T20 World Cup was played in two countries: the West Indies and the United States of America. 

West Indies is secluded from the rest of the world as a cricketing nation. The night fixtures in the Caribbean are not deemed feasible. But T20 cricket under floodlights is indeed a party in the Caribbean and as good as watching broadcasts from premier cricketing nations like England and Australia. 

The stadium in New York — the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium – was a story in itself. The stadium was constructed in less than a year, hosted the marquee India-Pakistan game and now it does not exist. 

As a result of the accelerated preparation, the pitches and the outfield were underprepared but the venue will be remembered as one of a kind in the sport.

The USA, as a cricket team, were among the biggest success stories in the tournament. Defeating Canada and knocking out a Test-playing nation like Pakistan, they qualified for the Super 8s in their first attempt at playing a World Cup. 

Look at the symphony of celebration between their vice-captain Aaron Jones (who scored an unbeaten 94 against Canada) and their Oracle-Miracle, Saurabh Netravalkar (2/18 and a successful Super Over). Doesn’t matter if they are from different parts of the world. 

Another debutant, Uganda, won their maiden World Cup match, stealing that joy from Papua New Guinea. “The baby of this World Cup,” as attested by their head coach, Abhay Sharma himself, Uganda were bowled out for scores of 58, 39 and 40. In this fixture, however, they chased down 78 to etch a memory for life. 

Onto the first-time semi-finalists. Afghanistan played admiringly well in the 50-over World Cup last year but missed out on the semi-finals. This time, they ditched the horror memories of Mumbai to advance at the expense of Australia.  

Think about Jonathan Trott for a moment whom Rashid Khan is hugging here after the win over Bangladesh. Born in South Africa, played for England and now coaching Afghanistan, he settled the scores with Australia on behalf of all three nations.

The Afghanistan-Bangladesh fixture was elevated by rain and the qualification of three teams hung by a thread. Gulbadin Naib then made the most naive attempt at gaining an advantage. Standing at first slip, he raised his hand towards Trott, acknowledging his coach’s request to slow the game down, and crumbled on the field holding his hamstring. 

He later came on to bowl for one over, picking a wicket and was later uncatchable in his victory run.

Call an ambulance but not for me. What a character, Naib. You just couldn’t not laugh!!

Screenshot Credits: Star Sports

New Zealand brought a beautiful kit to this World Cup but couldn’t bring their A-game. By the time their first fixture arrived, a few teams were already on the verge of elimination. They came to the party late and left early. 

They had their first dud World Cup in a few years. A sad end to Kane Williamson’s World Cup career, both as captain and a player.

Nepal came agonizingly close to beating South Africa which would have been one of the biggest World Cup upsets. Needing 8 off the final over, they lost by 1 run. The dropping shoulders of Sompal Kami and Gulshan Jha tell the story.

This World Cup had more moments for the bowlers than the batters. None more special than this feat from Lockie Ferguson. Four maidens in a row. Did you ever think you would see such bowling figures, even in a match between New Zealand and PNG?

Two hat-tricks for Patrick Cummins. 

The Australian seamer in the T20WC took his Midas touch to a new level. He became the first bowler to pick back-to-back hat-tricks in World Cup cricket. 

Jasprit Bumrah had the best tournament for any bowler in the T20 World Cup history. He won matches for India when the opposition required 47 off 48 balls (against Pakistan) and 30 off 30 balls (in the final). 

Not just stopping the runs, he also produced a wicket literally whenever India needed one.

Sybrand Engelbrecht with the save of the tournament. 

It was his last international match as he announced his retirement after the Netherlands’ last match. He shot to fame for his fielding during the 2008 U19 World Cup, representing South Africa. Playing for the Netherlands 2022 onwards, this was probably his last touch on the ball as a fielder — a breathtaking one-handed catch relayed back into the field just in the nick of time, everything done being airborne. 

After Engelbrecht’s save comes Suryakumar Yadav taking the catch of the tournament, or the catch of all the World Cups since Kapil Dev in 1983. We have seen plenty of these self-relay catches but none would be more significant. 

Herschelle Gibbs dropped the World Cup in 1999, Surya caught it in 2024. South Africa have fallen on the wrong side of the result both times. 

David Miller on his haunches at the pitch after the final speaks for South Africa’s disappointment. South Africa's greatest T20I batter, he must be replaying that full toss 100 times in his mind that he would hit 10/10 times for a six in the nets. Here he and the Proteas fell only a few inches short. 

Meanwhile, in the outfield, Indian captain Rohit Sharma was in tears. He was on the ground for a while to soak in the moment. The tears of pain on November 19 had turned into tears of joy on June 29. 

Virat Kohli dialed back home to his family for a video call. He has two sides: a fierce game face or an equally fun Kohli with infectious energy. There is nothing in between.

This is arguably the most wholesome picture of his 14-year-old T20I career. 

And then the picture that stands for India’s 11-year-old agony in ICC tournaments. Rohit and Kohli finally winning a trophy in their last World Cup together. Rahul Dravid is a World Cup winner. Bumrah has a well-deserved trophy. Celebration pumping through everyone’s veins. You just don’t see so many narratives fulfilled together. 

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