Picking the best playing 11 from Week 3 of 2024 T20 World Cup ft. Quinton de Kock & Jasprit BumrahÂ
Week 3 of the 2024 T20 World Cup saw the completion of group-stage games and the start of the Super 8 stage. Experienced teams like Pakistan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka played out their final game in the showpiece event while USA, Bangladesh and Afghanistan progressed to the Super 8.
Interestingly, this week also saw Australia secure a victory over Scotland, allowing England to keep their hopes of defending their title alive. Meanwhile, India, West Indies and South Africa maintained their impressive showings in the T20 World Cup. With wins in both appearances, the Proteas have one foot in the semi-finals.
On that note, let's take a look at the best playing XI from the third week of the tournament.
Top-order: Quinton de Kock (wk), Phil Salt, Shai Hope
Quinton de Kock has been the finest batter in the Super 8 stage and the reason why the Proteas have been undefeated in two games. The southpaw has slammed 139 runs (74 off 40 vs the USA & 65 off 38 vs England).
Although Phil Salt could only score 11 off 8 against South Africa, he made sure to rub salt in the wounds of co-hosts West Indies in his first Super 8 appearance. He smoked 87* off 47 balls to help England drub the Caribbean team by eight wickets.
Shai Hope featured in two games this week for West Indies. He garnered a total of 107 runs, including a terrific 82* off 39 balls against the USA.
Middle-order: Nicholas Pooran, Suryakumar Yadav, Harry Brook, Hardik Pandya
Swashbuckling batter Nicholas Pooran is the leading run-getter in the T20 World Cup with 227 runs in six innings. In the third week, he scored 161 runs, with an imperious 98 off 53 against Afghanistan.
Arriving to the crease at 62/3 against Afghanistan, Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav played a match-winning knock of 53 off 28 balls to push the team's score to 181. It can be a swap between him and Pooran for the No. 4 spot.
Harry Brook had been in red-hot form in the past week. He remained unbeaten on 47 off 20 against Namibia and helped the team to qualify for Super 8, and played a valiant knock of 53 off 37 against South Africa in a losing cause.
Hardik Pandya finds a place in the XI due to being a finisher and a fifth bowling option. He scored 32 off 24 balls to play a part in India getting to a formidable total against Afghanistan, while conceding just 13 off his two overs.
Bowlers: Pat Cummins (c), Kagiso Rabada, Harmeet Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
Australian pacer Pat Cummins featured in a solitary game this week, which was a Super 8 clash against Bangladesh. Cummins sprung a surprise by picking a hat-trick and finishing with figures of 3/29.
USA's spin-bowling all-rounder, Harmeet Singh was impressive to return with figures of 2/24 and slam 38 off 22 against South Africa. He managed to take 1/18 off two overs against the West Indies.
Kagiso Rabada has been sensational in the Super 8 stage, accounting for five wickets (3/18 vs USA & 2/32 vs England). His wicket-taking acumen has paved the way for the Proteas to win two games on the trot.
The finest all-format bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, finished with immaculate figures of 3/7 off four overs against Afghanistan and helped India win by 47 runs.