The T20 World Cup is set for some rough weather with a crucial set of matches facing the threat of washout over the weekend.
Lauderhill in Florida in the next stop in the T20 World Cup caravan as teams start securing spots for the Super Eight stage. However, thunderstorms and flooding in many parts of Florida have put a question mark over the fate of the matches.
Three important Group A matches are scheduled to be held in Florida over the next three days. USA take on Ireland on Friday, India face Canada on Saturday and Pakistan meet Ireland on Sunday. Unfortunately, the state is facing catastrophic rain.
Mayors in Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood declared a state of emergency for their cities on Wednesday after a tropical disturbance resulted in a flash flood emergency. Florida governor Ron DeSantis also declared a state of emergency in other counties – Broward and Miami-Dade on Florida's Atlantic coast and Collier, Lee and Sarasota counties on the state's west coast.
Broward is where the cricket stadium is situated.
On Wednesday, more than half of the flights in and out of Fort-Lauderdale-Hollywood Internati
The Sri Lankan team endured more travel misery due to the weather. The islanders had already faced severe logistical issues due to delayed flights and match-day travel. On Wednesday, their flight from Florida to the Caribbean for their next match in Saint Lucia had to be cancelled, leaving them stuck in the US for an additional day.
The implications of weather issues are serious. USA face Ireland in Lauderhill on Friday and the co-hosts are currently second in Group A with four points; India are already through to the Super Eight as table toppers after three wins from three games.
Pakistan are third in the table on two points following two defeats and one victory. Given the weather situation in Florida, the situation in dire for Babar Azam's team. If the USA v Ireland match is washed out, the hosts will climb to five points and qualify for the Super Eight as the second placed team in Group A.
Pakistan, therefore, will be knocked out well before their final group game against Ireland at the same venue on Sunday as they can then only climb to a maximum of four points.
Even if the match on Friday goes ahead, USA will fancy their chances against Ireland, who are yet to win a game this tournament.
The USA team have been the most impressive of the Associate nations in this World Cup. They defeated Pakistan via Super Over and put India under immense pressure in New York on Wednesday before succumbing to defeat.
Rohit Sharma's team were under pressure for large parts of the match at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium where the hosts posted a respectable 110-8 on a dubious pitch.
American left-arm fast bowler Saurabh Netravalkar then rocked the Indian top order by dismissing Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma cheaply, leaving the Indians 10-2. India could have been in deep trouble at 58-4 had Netravalkar held on to a high chance off Suryakumar Yadav at short third man.
Yadav then scored a match-winning fifty as India chased down the runs with seven wickets in hand.
“We have still got a game to play, so we will regroup and come back hard against Ireland after some discussions,” said batsman Aaron Jones who took over the captaincy duties from the injured Monank Patel.
The match was a tense contest right up until the 16th over when India needed 35 runs from 30 balls. Then, the umpires announced a penalty of five runs to USA for taking too much time in between overs – beyond the allowed one minute – having been warned twice already. That took the pressure off India completely.
However, weather could have the final say in the Florida leg of the World Cup as rain and thunderstorms have been forecast for the rest of the weekend. Sri Lanka's match against Nepal in Lauderhill on Tuesday was also washed out due to heavy rain.
