Best playing 11 from Week 2 of T20 World Cup 2024 ft. Adil Rashid & Suryakumar Yadav
Week 2 of T20 World Cup 2024 culminated with New Zealand securing a nine-wicket victory over Uganda. Meanwhile, South Africa held their nerves to seal a one-run victory against Nepal.
Certainly, the past week saw interesting action taking place in the showpiece event. From arch-rivals facing each other, the Blackcaps getting eliminated and the United States making history with Super 8 qualification, it had it all.
On that note, let's take a look at the best playing XI from Week 2 of the T20 World Cup 2024.
Top-order: Mohammad Rizwan, George Munsey, Suryakumar Yadav
Although Mohammad Rizwan's strike-rate has been a big question mark in T20 World Cup 2024, he has been Pakistan's best batter in testing conditions. He returned with a knock of 31 off 44 against India, and remained unbeaten on 53* to take the Men in Green over the line against Canada.
George Munsey's impactful knock now sees Scotland in the race to the Super 8 stage. In pursuit of 151 against Oman, Munsey struck 41 off 20, with two fours and four maximums to give the Scottish side a brilliant start.
After low scores against Ireland and Pakistan, Suryakumar Yadav displayed his resilience against the USA. Arriving at the crease with India at 10/2, SKY steered the team on the right path and remained unbeaten on 50 off 49 to take India through to the Super 8 stage of T20 World Cup 2024.
Middle-order: Brandon McMullen, Sherfane Rutherford, Heinrich Klaasen, Shakib Al Hasan
The experienced batter, Brandon McMullen rose to the occasion against Oman. His counter-attacking and ball-striking abilities saw him slam 61* off 31 balls to pave the way for the Scottish team to chase down 150 in less than 14 overs.
Sherfane Rutherford single-handedly bludgeoned New Zealand's bowling attack, and led the West Indies to a 13-run victory. Making his way into the middle at 22/4, Rutherford displayed commendable confidence to smoke 68* off 39 balls, taking the Caribbean team to 149.
Heinrich Klaasen arrived at the crease, when South Africa were stuttering at 23/3 in the fourth over against Bangladesh. They needed a strong partnership to rebuild and get to a respectable total. After successfully weathering the storm against the pacers, Klaasen struck cleanly to secure boundaries at will. He played a fighting knock of 46 off 44 to help South Africa post 113 and win by four runs.
Finally, Shakib Al Hasan played a match-winning knock for Bangladesh, after a dry spell of run. The southpaw remained unbeaten on 64 off 46 against the Netherlands and boosted the Tigers' total to 159. His innings played a key role for Bangladesh winning by 25 runs and solidifying their chances to go deeper in T20 World Cup.
Bowlers: Adil Rashid, Alzarri Joseph, Arshdeep Singh, Taskin Ahmed
Adil Rashid was immaculate with his variations and lengths to help England secure a record-breaking victory against Oman. He finished with figures of 4/11 and bundled out the opposition for 47.
Alzarri Joseph brought his A-game with his quick pace, which stunned the New Zealand batters. He took 4/19 off four overs, while also taking the wicket of the Kiwi team's top-scorer Glenn Phillips, who was taking the game away from them.
Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh made history against the USA, as he registered the best-ever figures of 4/9 by an Indian bowler in T20 World Cup history. Due to his effort, the hosts were restricted to a paltry score of 110.
Taskin Ahmed is the finest pacer for Bangladesh so far in the T20 World Cup. In the past week, he returned with figures of 2/19 and 2/30 against South Africa and the Netherlands, respectively.