Simulating the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 with a Little Help from AI: A Ball-by-Ball (Almost) Prediction

This simulated ICC T20 World Cup 2024 experience was created for entertainment purposes only. While I, the simulator, aimed to leverage information available online and consider various factors that influence cricket matches, I acknowledge my limitations in possessing in-depth cricket knowledge.

The actual outcome of the World Cup will depend on the real-life skills and performances of the players, along with unforeseen circumstances that may arise during the tournament. This simulation is purely a fun prediction, and the true magic unfolds on the field!

Introduction

The ICC T20 World Cup 2024 is upon us, and the cricketing world is buzzing with anticipation! While we can't predict the future for sure, I decided to use the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to get a glimpse of what the tournament might hold.

For this simulation, I partnered with Gemini, a large language model from Google AI. But before we delve into the results, remember: this is purely for entertainment purposes. The actual outcome of the World Cup will depend on the real matches and the incredible skills of the players.

Using Prompts to Guide the Simulation

To guide Gemini's simulation, I provided prompts that considered various factors that influence a cricket match:

• Current Standings: I started by feeding Gemini the actual standings of each group as of June 12th, 2024. This gave the simulation a foundation based on real-world performance.

• Team Strength: I considered recent form (wins/losses in the last 5 matches), player statistics (batting/bowling averages, strike rates), and head-to-head records to assign strengths to each team. For example, a team that won their last few matches and has a strong batting lineup would have a higher chance of winning in the simulation. I used the information available in ICC and asked Gemini to gather resources form the internet.

• Adding a Touch of Surprise: I incorporated an element of randomness (weighted towards the stronger team) to account for the unpredictable nature of cricket. Even the strongest teams can face upsets!

• External Factors: For some matches, I included external factors like pitch conditions (balanced/batting-friendly/bowling-friendly) and the pressure of qualification scenarios (e.g., needing a win to improve Net Run Rate) to make the simulation more realistic.

Simulating the Stages: Group Stage, Super 8s, and Knockouts

I broke down the simulation stage-by-stage:

• Group Stage: Gemini predicted the outcome of the remaining matches, considering the factors mentioned above. Here's an example prompt for a Group Stage match:

Simulate the match between India (A1) and West Indies (A5) on a balanced pitch. India has a strong batting lineup and has been in good form recently, while West Indies is an experienced team with a good bowling attack.

• Super 8s: Based on the simulated group stage results, teams were placed into Super 8s groups, ensuring no teams from the same initial group played together. Gemini then simulated the round-robin matches within each group.

• Knockout Stage: The excitement grew as Gemini simulated the knockout stage, including the quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final match.

The Grand Finale: A Champion Emerges!

While I won't spoil the entire simulated journey on this section. I will add everthing as a table below. Let me just say that the competition was fierce, and there were some unexpected twists and turns! Ultimately, Gemini's simulation crowned a champion, but remember, this is just a fun prediction. The real magic unfolds on the field!

Simulation

Here's a table outlining the prompts used and the simulated outcomes for each stage:

Teams to qualify in Group Stage

Simulating the Super 8s

Based on the simulated Group Stage results, below mentioned is a possible simulated scenario for the Super 8s:

Super 8s Grouping (Considering No Intra-Group Matches):

• Group A: India, West Indies, Sri Lanka,Scotland

• Group B: Australia , Pakistan, South Africa , Afghanistan

After running the simulation, below mentioned is the outcome of Super 8s.

Now the simulation of super 8s was over, it was time of knockout stage.

Knockout Stage Results:

Semifinals:

After the simulation, it is predicted that India and West Indies will be the team to play the final.

While simulating the final, I tried to simulate the overall game. Like

1. Which will team will bat first?

2. What might be the score of the team?

I am copying and pasting the whole result of the Final Game that was generated by Gemini.

West Indies Batting Innings (185/6 - 20 overs):

• Explosive Start: The West Indies openers, Evin Lewis and Andre Fletcher, come out swinging from the start. They capitalize on the fielding restrictions, taking boundaries at regular intervals against India's pace attack led by Jasprit Bumrah. The score races past 50 in the powerplay overs (first 6 overs) despite a tight bowling spell from Bumrah.

• Spin Control (Briefly): Spin is introduced in the middle overs by Yuzvendra Chahal, but Shimron Hetmyer from the West Indies dispatches him for a six and a four. However, wickets start to fall as India fights back with sharp fielding and cunning bowling variations from Ravindra Jadeja.

• Lower Order Boost: The lower order batsmen, Nicholas Pooran and Kieron Pollard, provide a late flourish with some big hits, taking the West Indies total to a competitive 185/6 at the end of their innings.

India Chasing (Target: 186):

• Calculated Start: Knowing the required run rate is high (around 9.25), India's openers, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, take calculated risks early on. They rotate the strike well and find the boundary occasionally against the fiery pace of Oshane Thomas.

• Crucial Partnership: A crucial partnership between Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav in the middle overs keeps India in the hunt. They take advantage of any loose deliveries from Andre Russell, keeping the scoreboard ticking.

• Mounting Pressure: The pressure mounts as wickets start to fall at regular intervals. The run rate climbs rapidly, forcing the remaining batsmen, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya, to go for big shots.

• Close Finish: Despite a valiant effort from Hardik Pandya with a late six, India falls short by a narrow margin. They manage 178/8 in their 20 overs.

Simulated Final Result: West Indies wins by 7 runs!

So according to the Google Gemini, West Indies will win the ICC World Cup 2024 over India by 7 runs.

Conclusion

This was just a fun way to imagine how the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 might go! We used a fancy AI tool called Gemini, but cricket is a crazy sport, and even the best predictions can be way off.

The real players are the ones who will decide the champion. Will it be the West Indies, like our simulation showed? Or will someone else surprise us all?

Let me know in the comments who you think will win the real World Cup! In the end, the winners are all of us who get to watch these amazing athletes battle it out.