After a shocking upset victory against a favored Pakistan cricket team, the United States Cricket team this week advances to the tournament quarterfinals, called the Super Eights, in the team’s already historic Twenty20 World Cup debut.

The 17th-ranked U.S. team qualified for this T20 World Cup only as a co-host along with the West Indies but has had stunning success so far.

The team started the tournament with a victory against Canada in the opening match in Dallas, Texas, upset former champions Pakistan in a close match at the same venue, got beaten by India, also a former champion, in another close finish in New York.

The performance left them ranked second in the group, behind India, qualifying both teams for the second round. It also means the U.S. team has already qualified for T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.

In the semifinals round, the top two teams from each of the four original groups advance to the Super Eights. The U.S. team takes on South Africa on June 19 in Antigua and Barbuda; co-hosts West Indies on June 21 and defending champions England on June 23 in Barbados.

The final of the T20 World Cup will also be played in Barbados on June 29.

The star batter Aaron Jones for team USA was ecstatic after the team qualified for the second round and the next world cup.

“I think it’s a big thing for us… And not only for us, but the fans around America as well. We really appreciate them for sure. And, not only for the fans, but for the younger generation in America as well, it is really good,” Jones told reporters following the washed-out game between the USA and Ireland in Lauderhill, Florida. Both teams took a point each, advancing team USA to the next round while knocking Pakistan, Canada and Ireland out of play.

Long road to hosting cricket in America

The U.S. Cricket team was formerly organized by the United States of America Cricket Association in 1965. The team played their first international match in 2004 against New Zealand in London. The team only played one more international match in 2006 before the governing body, the USACA, was expelled by the International Cricket Council in 2017 due to governance and financing issues.

In 2019 the United States Cricket team was admitted to ICC under a new governing body called USA Cricket and was granted an associate member status. The U.S. team’s first win against a full-member ICC team came in May, when they won a bilateral series against Bangladesh.

Imran Awan is a former U.S. cricketer who played for the team from 1999 to 2013, even before the U.S. team played their first international game. He says the U.S. team had the advantage of being familiar with the grounds and pitches which helped them beat Pakistan, a team that never played in the United States before that game.

The upset victory meant Pakistan failed to qualify for the Super Eights semifinal round for the first time ever.

Nauman Niaz, a historian and commentator of Pakistan cricket, said the match illustrated how the Pakistani team struggled in recent years even though it was runner-up in the last world cup.

As for the future of cricket in the United States, he said, “There have been many failed experiments in the past such as cricket in Kenya, Nepal, [the] UAE even [the] Netherlands. However, USA’s cricket team comprising the expatriates still managed to execute brilliantly as a well-integrated unit. Their fitness, passion and execution have just been brilliant.”

He said that’s why the U.S. team qualified for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 and will be participating in the Summer Olympics 2028.

The Pakistan vs. India match in New York had a record attendance of 34,028 at the temporary Nassau County Cricket Stadium, and more than 400 million watched it globally, while the USA vs. India match in New York, and the USA vs. Canada match in Dallas had stadiums almost at full capacity. These are positive signs for the future of cricket in America, as one U.S. fan, who used only his initials, P.J. at the Dallas match said, “if you would’ve told me five years ago that [the] U.S. will be hosting a cricket world cup, I’d say you are crazy.”

Former player Awan is hopeful for the future of cricket in the United States. He said if the team keeps doing well, the sport will find a home in the U.S. “I see all positive signs for cricketers here in [the] USA. This will bring so much encouragement to all young players to do well to represent [the] USA in future events.”

Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.