3 times an Associate nation qualified beyond the first round in their debut T20 World Cup ft. USA
Co-hosts USA have punched above their weight to qualify for the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup 2024 from Group A. They left behind tournament-favorite Pakistan to join India to qualify from Group A after finishing second.
For the first time in history, nine Associate Nations are part of an ICC event. They went through a rigorous qualification process to join the main tournament and impressed many with their performances.
Among all, the USA have already qualified for the Super Eight in their debut T20 World Cup. Overall, there are only seven instances of an Associate nation qualifying from the group stage.
On that note, let's take a look at three teams that qualified from the group stages in their debut T20 World Cup campaign.
#1 Ireland - 2009
Led by William Porterfield, the Irish stunned Bangladesh to secure their first win in their maiden T20 World Cup campaign. Ireland successfully chased down 138 runs in 18.2 overs, thanks to a quickfire knock From Niall O'Brien (40 off 25), to pocket their first two points in the ICC event.
Although they lost to India in the other group fixture, the win against Bangladesh ensured they finished second and progressed through to the Super Eight stage.
However, they lost all three Super Eight matches to be knocked out of the tournament. Despite that, Ireland grabbed a lot of eyeballs with their performances in that edition of the World Twenty20 (now known as the T20 World Cup).
#2 Namibia - 2021
Playing in their first T20 World Cup, which was postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to COVID-19, Namibia took everyone by surprise. They defeated teams like Ireland and the Netherlands convincingly to finish second after Sri Lanka in Group A.
Namibia successfully chased down 165 runs against the Netherlands to win by six wickets, thanks to a powering knock from David Wiese (66* off 40). They followed it up with another comprehensive victory over Ireland. Namibia chased down 126 runs in 18.3 overs, with Wiese producing another Player of the Match performance.
As a result, they qualified for the Super 12 phase of the tournament. Namibia were placed in Group 2 of the Super 12s where they won only one out of five games to crash out of the competition. Their only win came against Scotland when they chased down 110 runs with four wickets in hand.
#3 USA - 2024
Playing their first-ever T20 World Cup, co-hosts USA have impressed one and all with their all-round game. They began their campaign with a thumping win over Canada, chasing down 195 runs with seven wickets in hand.
Monank Patel and company then had a thrilling win over heavyweights Pakistan in the Super Over. The USA never looked like minnows and fought tooth and nail to secure the two points.
Although they lost to India and their last group game was abandoned due to inclement weather, it was enough for them to book a Super Eight berth. They finished second in Group A with five points to qualify for the next round.