The league phase is done and dusted in the ongoing T20 World Cup. There has been surprising results and some expected ones. Outrageous batting and excellent bowling. Excellent Perth pitch and quite a few close games. This World Cup has so far lived upto the expectations. It again goes onto show that good pitches will produce good cricket. Batting friendly pitches will only produce high scoring and boring games. This is primarily from an Indian perspective.
Upset of the tournament
There were quite a few. Ireland pulling one over England’s eyes. Zimbabwe completing the unthinkable over Pakistan. However, the prize must go to The Netherlands because they did the inconceivable of defeating South Africa. Granted South Africa are not the same force any longer but for a team like Netherlands to defeat them and in the end quite convincingly, it is something that calls for celebration. Poor South Africa. They were bumped out of one more global tournament. It is incredible for a side like them not to have won a single global tournament in 30 years. Netherlands on that day was unbelievable.
They would not have believed even at the half way stage that they could cause an upset, having set a modest score. As the game progressed and wickets started to fall, Netherlands believed. They grew more confident. Until then, what was just a subdued clap whenever a boundary was scored by Netherlands or a wicket taken, grew into a deluge and towards the end, the support that they received must have been seen to be believed.
The Pakistan fans were all overjoyed. Never in their wildest dream would they have expected Netherlands to cause an upset. If it had been a Sri Lanka or Afghanistan, perhaps, they would have but surely not Netherlands. With the next World Cup scheduled to be held in India, I am afraid South Africa will have to wait a little longer to taste success. With the resources at their disposal, batting-wise, I do not see that happen anytime soon.
Innings of the group stage
There were quite a few. Surya Yadav’s extraordinary range of strokes. Rilee Rossouw’s extraordinary hundreds. Glenn Philipps excellent hundred from a precarious position and quite a few others. However, I think the award for the best innings of the group stage must go to none other than Virat Kohli. Let us consider the pressure. It was an India vs Pakistan game. The stage is the World Cup. India were chasing a decent score and were rocked by early wickets. Kohli in the company of Pandya patiently propped the innings and then towards the fag end of the game, launched into all-out assault. Arguably, the fastest bowler of the tournament, Haris Rauf, was treated with disdain. The young Shaheen Afridi too met the same fate. The assault was breathtaking. No one gave a chance to India after 4 wickets were lost initially but Kohli stood alone and triumphed against all odds.
Best game of the tournament
I don’t think any game fits that category. Even the ones that finished in the last over, it was very much known who will win. Either the teams had wickets in hand or the required runs was way too many. I am unable to pinpoint a single game being the best of the group stage.
West indies not qualifying
The twice T20 Champion, West Indies, went out at the qualifying stage. From the highs of the previous millennium to where they are now, it beggars belief. It looks like West Indian cricket will never be able to achieve if not similar heights, atleast a semblance of a competitive outfit. Ireland, Afghanistan and even the Netherlands qualified ahead of them.
Disappointing team
This must definitely be Australia. It is not that they failed to defend their title but throughout the tournament, they did not look like the team who had won the same World Cup about a year ago. That will rankle the Aussies. If their batsmen were abysmal, their bowlers were downright despondent. Cummins is a top class bowler but in the Test arena. In the shortest format, he is more of a liability. He will have to play as an allrounder but can his batting be trusted all the time? Aaron Finch, the captain with his own poor form, was uninspiring. He may well have played his last game for Australia. Too much importance is given to Maxwell. It is time to look beyond Maxwell.
Under such a scenario, it was really hard to understand the reason Smith was dropped from all the games. Smith hasn’t really been a T20 stalwart as he is a Test great but he could not have done any worse than anyone Australia fielded. The Australians knew the conditions like the back of their hands and yet, it is inexplicable that they weren’t able to transcend them. They have a bowling attack that is excellent in Tests but it is a pity that the same bowlers are used across all the formats. T20 calls for specialist kind of bowlers. Australia must begin to look for them. None of Cummins, Starc & Hazlewood fits that bill.
Perth Pitch
The India vs South Africa was a treat to watch for all the loves of fast bowling. It was an excellent pitch with plenty of carry for the bowlers. Batsmen were never at ease during the major part of the game. The WACA was famed for such pace and bounce but it lost that over the last several years. Now, the new ground, carries WACA’s tradition forward. India lost the game even before they stepped on the ground. They could have still won if they had only fielded better. Nonetheless, the game produced a spectacular display of fast and swing bowling. I have often said this. Pitches must either be bouncy or turners. The inbetween pitches are the ones that produce dull cricket.
Wrapping up the league phase is done and dusted
The group stage was good but I somehow felt that it dragged on for far too long. ICC will have to think of ways to reduce the overall duration. 3 weeks for a T20 tournament is a week too long.
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