Ahhh. The world cup is over. It came and went too quickly drenching us with moments of joy and sorrow. It enforced the unpredictability of cricket. Again. In one game, 2 runs could not be scored in 3 balls, whereas in other 19 could not be defended in 4 balls. The world cup pushed the whole game further to the zenith of skills, temperament and playing under pressure.
To me, there were six tiers of teams in this world cup. Lowermost tier consisted of Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Although, Afghanistan managed to beat the ultimate winners, West Indies. Still, it will be fair to say that they are still learning about the crafts of T20 against the bigger teams. Bangladesh didn't do much wrong, except they were in group of some serious T20 teams. The only match they could have caused upset was against tournament favorites India which they have not thought before the game began anyway. They surely have come a long way in last couple of years. In Asian conditions, they are as dangerous as anyone. They proved this in Asia cup by defeating Pakistan and Sri Lanka to qualify for the finals.
The next tier of teams consist of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In their respective groups, they managed to beat the weakest teams and lost against others. Pakistan seemed lost in T20 format since they got whitewashed by England in UAE. They have not looked the same afterwards. Defeat against Bangladesh in Asia cup should have rung the bell of warning. But it was already too late till then for them. To be fair, they had to beat two of teams like Australia, New Zealand and India. Against India, they panicked. Playing very slow and to make up for that Afridi coming ahead of in-form Hafeez. The gamble didn't pay off and they managed way below par score. Against Australia, the bowlers capitulated. It was sheer dumb luck that they were in group in which one team was red hot New Zealand. They have a lot to ponder about. Sri Lanka on the other hand have lost its way after winning the 2014 world cup. They have the least number of wins in T20 internationals in top 8 teams after that. They have not responded well after the retirements of some great players. With Malinga gone, they seem to be a team in state of free fall to me. I won't be surprised if teams like Bangladesh and Afghanistan beat them on consistent basis from now on.
Coming to our next tier of teams, I will place Australia and South Africa on the next level. Their teams have been good. Not great. For most of their T20 history. Both have players who can change the course of a game in the blink of an eye. But, in T20 world cups they have paltry record and have almost nothing to show for. South Africa were disappointing. Leaving Morne Morkel out was a big tactical blunder as per me. He bowled superbly against India in test series here and the valuable experience could have helped South Africa miles in this world event. Poor form of Steyn didn't help. Instead, they burdened young Rabada with too much which he couldn't. It was their bowling which cost them the exit from this world cup. Failure to defend 230 is a crime in T20 cricket. They just managed to defeat Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, none of which are great T20 sides. West Indies blew them away. ABD for all his name was extremely disappointing, which hurt them even more. Coming back to Australia, They are a team of four openers and four all-rounders. Their balance was always going to be an issue. It certainly proved when they were using Warner first at number 4, then at number 3. In greed to use Khawaja at the top of order, they had to sacrifice the brutal power hitting of David Warner. Finch, the world number one T20 international batsman was warming the benches because they hoped that Mitchell Marsh can do some damage control. Australia were all over the place from the beginning. In spite of all these drawbacks, they did quite okay though. They managed an ugly win against Bangladesh. Defeating Pakistan was never going to be issue for them. Against India, it became battle between Kohli and whole Australian team. I also believed that they didn't pick their best XV for the event. Still, sooner or later they will manage to put this behind and emerge out as a good T20 side.
Next level consists of India and New Zealand. Though, New Zealand were better than India in all departments. Only things which helped India to go to top four was brain freeze of Bangladesh batsmen, Sheer brilliance of Dhoni and Kohli. Apart from that, their batsmen struggled almost always. Managing a score of 79 at home is nowhere close to acceptable. India were very rusty throughout their whole campaign. They could never bring out their A game against any of the teams. They were relying on couple of flukes in knockout stages to win the title as they had been poor in group stages. West Indies showed them the exit and rightly so. New Zealand were brilliant I must say. They had one day off which you certainly can't afford at this stage. England outplayed them in the semis. Other than that, they were the team to beat throughout the competition. Defeating India, Australia, Pakistan and Bangladesh in a row is no mean feat for a team outside the subcontinent. They exited the world cup proudly. Usually, they are known to be a side hitting boundaries like West Indies. But, in this world cup. they showed us their other shades. Defending totals and magical spin bowling. In last two world cups, they have only lost two matches which show how far they have come.
Coming to top two levels, the top level is certainly West Indies team. The second best : England. There was not much separating these two other than Braithwhite in one game and Gayle in other. In their first meet, Gayle storm blew the poms away, whereas in the finals, Braithwhite had the best day of his life. In spite of this, England played some superb cricket and were considerably ahead of other teams other than West Indies. Their brand of aggressive cricket caused havoc in opponents. Their batting and bowling both looked equally well. Their death bowling was exceptional on most occasions and they Favorited themselves to chase almost anything thrown to them. This "New England" has a lot of glory moments ahead and they look like a team which is united and have amazing skills and courage. Coming second best will definitely haunt them for a while, but they can be extremely proud to be where they are right now compared to first round exit in last year world cup. They were truly sensational.
West Indies. It looks like they are made for T20 cricket. Their players have loads of experience playing league T20 cricket and it certainly showed in the tournament. They were rusty chasing small totals at times. But when it came to chasing monster totals, they expressed themselves better. They got the better of all teams other than Afghanistan, which they lost making no sense at all. They galloped all targets with their boundary hitting abilities. They certainly make up for dot balls with huge sixes. Their formula is two dot balls and a six is a strike rate of 200. They believe in it. They believe in raw power, not running. Against them, even 19 off 6 was not safe. A team who was on their own with respect to cricket board showed immense character and became the world champions. They truly deserved it and hopefully this title win will give them confidence in longer formats of the game.
The tournament lasted around 3 weeks and it certainly pushed cricket a step further. It was certainly enjoyable and considering that the next one won't be happening for four years, now is the time to look back on this wonderful competition and savor it.
Thanks.
To me, there were six tiers of teams in this world cup. Lowermost tier consisted of Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Although, Afghanistan managed to beat the ultimate winners, West Indies. Still, it will be fair to say that they are still learning about the crafts of T20 against the bigger teams. Bangladesh didn't do much wrong, except they were in group of some serious T20 teams. The only match they could have caused upset was against tournament favorites India which they have not thought before the game began anyway. They surely have come a long way in last couple of years. In Asian conditions, they are as dangerous as anyone. They proved this in Asia cup by defeating Pakistan and Sri Lanka to qualify for the finals.
The next tier of teams consist of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In their respective groups, they managed to beat the weakest teams and lost against others. Pakistan seemed lost in T20 format since they got whitewashed by England in UAE. They have not looked the same afterwards. Defeat against Bangladesh in Asia cup should have rung the bell of warning. But it was already too late till then for them. To be fair, they had to beat two of teams like Australia, New Zealand and India. Against India, they panicked. Playing very slow and to make up for that Afridi coming ahead of in-form Hafeez. The gamble didn't pay off and they managed way below par score. Against Australia, the bowlers capitulated. It was sheer dumb luck that they were in group in which one team was red hot New Zealand. They have a lot to ponder about. Sri Lanka on the other hand have lost its way after winning the 2014 world cup. They have the least number of wins in T20 internationals in top 8 teams after that. They have not responded well after the retirements of some great players. With Malinga gone, they seem to be a team in state of free fall to me. I won't be surprised if teams like Bangladesh and Afghanistan beat them on consistent basis from now on.
Coming to our next tier of teams, I will place Australia and South Africa on the next level. Their teams have been good. Not great. For most of their T20 history. Both have players who can change the course of a game in the blink of an eye. But, in T20 world cups they have paltry record and have almost nothing to show for. South Africa were disappointing. Leaving Morne Morkel out was a big tactical blunder as per me. He bowled superbly against India in test series here and the valuable experience could have helped South Africa miles in this world event. Poor form of Steyn didn't help. Instead, they burdened young Rabada with too much which he couldn't. It was their bowling which cost them the exit from this world cup. Failure to defend 230 is a crime in T20 cricket. They just managed to defeat Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, none of which are great T20 sides. West Indies blew them away. ABD for all his name was extremely disappointing, which hurt them even more. Coming back to Australia, They are a team of four openers and four all-rounders. Their balance was always going to be an issue. It certainly proved when they were using Warner first at number 4, then at number 3. In greed to use Khawaja at the top of order, they had to sacrifice the brutal power hitting of David Warner. Finch, the world number one T20 international batsman was warming the benches because they hoped that Mitchell Marsh can do some damage control. Australia were all over the place from the beginning. In spite of all these drawbacks, they did quite okay though. They managed an ugly win against Bangladesh. Defeating Pakistan was never going to be issue for them. Against India, it became battle between Kohli and whole Australian team. I also believed that they didn't pick their best XV for the event. Still, sooner or later they will manage to put this behind and emerge out as a good T20 side.
Next level consists of India and New Zealand. Though, New Zealand were better than India in all departments. Only things which helped India to go to top four was brain freeze of Bangladesh batsmen, Sheer brilliance of Dhoni and Kohli. Apart from that, their batsmen struggled almost always. Managing a score of 79 at home is nowhere close to acceptable. India were very rusty throughout their whole campaign. They could never bring out their A game against any of the teams. They were relying on couple of flukes in knockout stages to win the title as they had been poor in group stages. West Indies showed them the exit and rightly so. New Zealand were brilliant I must say. They had one day off which you certainly can't afford at this stage. England outplayed them in the semis. Other than that, they were the team to beat throughout the competition. Defeating India, Australia, Pakistan and Bangladesh in a row is no mean feat for a team outside the subcontinent. They exited the world cup proudly. Usually, they are known to be a side hitting boundaries like West Indies. But, in this world cup. they showed us their other shades. Defending totals and magical spin bowling. In last two world cups, they have only lost two matches which show how far they have come.
Coming to top two levels, the top level is certainly West Indies team. The second best : England. There was not much separating these two other than Braithwhite in one game and Gayle in other. In their first meet, Gayle storm blew the poms away, whereas in the finals, Braithwhite had the best day of his life. In spite of this, England played some superb cricket and were considerably ahead of other teams other than West Indies. Their brand of aggressive cricket caused havoc in opponents. Their batting and bowling both looked equally well. Their death bowling was exceptional on most occasions and they Favorited themselves to chase almost anything thrown to them. This "New England" has a lot of glory moments ahead and they look like a team which is united and have amazing skills and courage. Coming second best will definitely haunt them for a while, but they can be extremely proud to be where they are right now compared to first round exit in last year world cup. They were truly sensational.
West Indies. It looks like they are made for T20 cricket. Their players have loads of experience playing league T20 cricket and it certainly showed in the tournament. They were rusty chasing small totals at times. But when it came to chasing monster totals, they expressed themselves better. They got the better of all teams other than Afghanistan, which they lost making no sense at all. They galloped all targets with their boundary hitting abilities. They certainly make up for dot balls with huge sixes. Their formula is two dot balls and a six is a strike rate of 200. They believe in it. They believe in raw power, not running. Against them, even 19 off 6 was not safe. A team who was on their own with respect to cricket board showed immense character and became the world champions. They truly deserved it and hopefully this title win will give them confidence in longer formats of the game.
The tournament lasted around 3 weeks and it certainly pushed cricket a step further. It was certainly enjoyable and considering that the next one won't be happening for four years, now is the time to look back on this wonderful competition and savor it.
Thanks.
