Historic First for Cricket: ICC Men's T20 World Cup Debuts in the United States

The 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, the ninth edition of this biennial tournament organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC), marks a historic milestone as it is being co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States from June 1 to 29, 2024. This is the first major ICC event to feature matches in the United States and any other country in the Americas outside the West Indies. England, the defending champion, aims to retain its title after defeating Pakistan in the final of the previous edition.

This year's tournament sees a record 20 teams competing, an increase from 16 teams in 2022. These teams are divided into four groups of five, with the top two from each group advancing to the Super 8 round. The Super 8 teams will then be split into two groups of four, with the top two from each group moving on to the knockout stage, comprising two semi-finals and a final.

The tournament's expansion includes two first-time participants: Canada and Uganda. The United States also makes its debut, co-hosting and participating in the tournament. The event kicked off with a thrilling match between debutants Canada and the U.S., which the U.S. won. A total of 55 matches will be played across nine cities—three in the U.S. and six in the Caribbean. While Texas hosted the opening match, the grand finale will take place on June 29 in Barbados, with semi-finals and qualifiers in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.

New York's Nassau County Cricket Stadium, a brand new modular venue constructed specifically for the tournament, made its debut hosting the first official match between 2014 champions Sri Lanka and South Africa, with South Africa emerging victorious. India and Bangladesh inaugurated the stadium over the weekend with a warm-up match, which India won by 60 runs. The stadium will also host the highly anticipated clash between Pakistan and India on June 9.

In May, the ICC and Nassau County officials celebrated the completion of the stadium with a ceremony featuring Olympic gold medalist and tournament ambassador Usain Bolt, along with U.S. cricket team members, cricket legends, and New York sports stars. The event was attended by notable figures such as U.S. cricketers Corey Anderson and Monank Patel, West Indies legend Sir Curtly Ambrose, Pakistan's Shoaib Malik, and England’s Liam Plunkett. New York sports stars John Starks, Elena Delle Donne, Bartolo Colon, Victor Cruz, and Ibtihaj Muhammad were also present.

The stadium, capable of seating 34,000 spectators, is the largest ever constructed for cricket in the United States. It features general admission stands with views of the Manhattan skyline, hospitality and media pavilions, Cabana seats, and the Corner Club with a private party area. Four drop-in pitches nurtured in Florida were transported to New York for the event.

The Nassau County Cricket Stadium will host several key matches, including:

- June 3: Sri Lanka vs. South Africa

- June 5: India vs. Ireland

- June 7: Netherlands vs. South Africa

- June 9: India vs. Pakistan

- June 10: South Africa vs. Bangladesh

- June 11: Pakistan vs. Canada

- June 12: USA vs. India

The CEO of the ICC, Geoff Allardice, expressed enthusiasm about bringing one of cricket's showcase events to the U.S. for the first time, highlighting the significant opportunity for the sport in a country with a massive sports following and market.

India's warm-up match against Bangladesh showcased their dominance with Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya leading the team to a formidable 182 for five, followed by a strong bowling performance to restrict Bangladesh to 122 for nine. A memorable moment occurred when a fan breached security to hug Indian captain Rohit Sharma, an incident that quickly went viral on social media.

The fan who breached the field and hugged Rohit Sharma was taken down by the USA police.

- Rohit requested the officers to go easy on them. pic.twitter.com/MWWCNeF3U2

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 1, 2024

As the tournament progresses, fans worldwide eagerly anticipate more thrilling matches and historic moments in this landmark event for international cricket.