Best playing 11 from Week 1 of T20 World Cup 2024 ft. Anrich Nortje and Nicholas Kirton
We're a week into the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, and have already seen plenty of thrilling, albeit, low-scoring contests so far. Afghanistan and the USA have been the teams of the tournament so far, with both teams winning their two games.
In the 15 matches so far, we've already seen two Super Overs, with Namibia and the USA coming out on top, beating Oman and Pakistan, respectively.
Afghanistan's batters and bowlers are at the top of both charts, but we've also seen some excellent performances from plenty of other teams and matches.
On that note, let's look at the best playing XI from week 1 of the T20 World Cup 2024.
Openers - Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK) and Ibrahim Zadran
In a World Cup where most teams have struggled to score runs with the bat, the Afghanistan openers have taken the onus upon themselves to see off most of the opposition bowling, putting up 100 + stands in both matches.
Gurbaz scored half-centuries in both matches and is currently the highest run-scorer in the tournament. Zadran has also scored 114 runs in two games, and together, the pair has scored 257 runs, and without a doubt, they're the opening pair for this team.
Middle Order - Andries Gous, Aaron Jones, and Nicholas Kirton
USA's Andries Gous and Aaron Jones have played an integral part in their stellar start to the tournament. Jones lit the tournament on fire in the curtain-raiser with a 40-ball 94 in a historic run-chase against Canada, with Gous also scoring a valuable half-century in the same game.
After their bowlers did well to restrict Pakistan, Gous and Jones came to USA's rescue once again, scoring 35 and 36 respectively, to complement skipper Monank Patel's half-century. When the match ultimately went down to the Super Over, it was Jones who stood tall, helping them set a target of 19, which Saurabh Netravalkar defended.
Canada's Nicholas Kirton has provided them plenty of muscle-power in their middle order, enabling them to register their first win of the tournament against Ireland. The southpaw scored a quick-fire half-century in the opener against USA, but it went in vain.
He followed it up with a clutch knock on a difficult New York surface against Ireland, bailing Canada out of a tricky situation and taking them to a respectable 137/7, scoring 49 off 35 balls. A solid and coordinated effort from their bowlers helped them beat Ireland, with Kirton rightfully named POTM.
All-Rounders - Gerhard Erasmus, Marcus Stoinis, and Mehran Khan
Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus has been one of the best all-rounders in the tournament, scoring a 31-ball 52 in a losing cause against Scotland and also picking up four wickets in two matches at a bowling average of 12.25 with his leg spin.
Marcus Stoinis' stay at the crease against Oman didn't start well, and he was struggling at 7(12) when he was dropped off Aqib Ilyas' bowling. He made the most of that and got the Australian innings up and running, finishing with a 36-ball 67. He also performed the fifth-bowler's role to perfection, picking up three wickets in his three overs, ruling out any Oman fightback.
Oman bowling all-rounder Mehran Khan has arguably been the unluckiest player in this tournament. With five runs to defend against a well-set Namibia batting pair, Mehran bowled a brilliant final over, finishing with a stellar spell of 3/7 in three overs, only for a missed run-out to push the match into a Super Over.
He also picked up the key wickets of Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell before playing a 16-ball 27 against Australia, but even that came in a losing cause.
Bowlers - Rashid Khan (C), Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Anrich Nortje
Fazalhaq Farooqi has arguably been the player of the tournament so far. He has rattled opposition batters by picking up nine wickets in just two games, providing them a stellar start with the ball against both Uganda and New Zealand.
While he had to settle for two wickets against the Cranes, Rashid Khan joined the party against the Kiwis, breaking the back of their batting order, dismissing Kane Williamson and three others to lead his side to back-to-back dominant wins.
Anrich Nortje stunned those who were following him since his return from injury, shrugging off his miserable outings in the IPL with a stellar bowling effort against Sri Lanka. The speedster rattled the Sri Lankan batters in the middle over, picking up a wicket in each of his overs, finishing with a spell of 4/7.