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T20 World Cup 2024 is finally on a roll and has sparked excitement and predictions from cricket legends. This year's tournament boasts a record-breaking 20 teams, battling it out across the United States and the Caribbean. Divided into four groups of five, the top two teams from each group will advance to the Super 8s stage, ultimately whittling down to the coveted semifinals. While the ultimate victor remains to be seen, former cricketers Michael Vaughan and Adam Gilchrist have weighed in with their picks. Vaughan, ever the patriot, sees England and Australia reaching the final, ultimately predicting an English victory. This wouldn't be a surprise for fans, considering England are the defending champions and Australia claimed the title in 2021.
Gilchrist, Vaughan pick T20 World Cup finalists
In contrast to Vaughan's picks, Adam Gilchrist, the former Australian wicketkeeper, leans towards a Trans-Tasman rivalry in the finals, favoring his home country, Australia, and their neighbors, New Zealand. He even goes a step further and predicts an Australian victory for this ninth edition of the T20 World Cup. Interestingly, both England and Australia, as predicted by Vaughan, find themselves in the same group (Group B) for the tournament. Sharing the stage with Scotland, Namibia, and Oman, these two cricketing giants are clear favorites to advance to the Super 8s stage.
The T20 World Cup 2024 kicked off with a bang on Sunday (June 2) as co-hosts USA took on Canada in Dallas. The Americans emerged victorious with a convincing seven-wicket win. Canada batted first and put up a strong total of 194 runs for the loss of just 5 wickets in their 20 overs. Navneet Dhaliwal (61 runs off 44 balls) and Nicholas Kirton (51 runs off 31 balls) provided the foundation with their half-centuries. Shreyas Movva also chipped in with a valuable unbeaten cameo of 32 runs from a mere 16 balls.
However, the USA's bowling attack fought back initially, dismissing both openers cheaply. Steven Taylor (0) and Monank Patel (16) couldn't capitalize at the top. But the tide turned dramatically thanks to a brilliant partnership between Aaron Jones and Andries Gous. Both batsmen smashed half-centuries, with Jones remaining unbeaten on a blistering 94 runs from just 40 balls. Gous provided solid support with 65 runs off 46 balls. Their 131-run stand for the third wicket sealed the deal for the USA, taking them to a comfortable victory.
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