T20 World cup-an overview
The third version of the World T20 Championship came to an end as the two most consistent teams met in the final and the better team on that day won. England out played Australia in the final just like the men in green and gold out played the rest of the teams in the tournament. Australia managed to go to the final without even conceding a single match but when it came to the most important moment, they were handsomely defeated. People were expecting an exciting final, but they were disappointed as the mighty Aussies displayed a cricketing display, which did not match their high standards.
Overall, this tournament was a little less successful compared to its predecessors. Mainly because of the reason that it’s almost 11 months ago when the last World Cup was played. The frequency of the tournament has decreased the interest of the general public. Even though it’s the most entertaining form of cricket, making it so frequent decreases the value of the cup.
Every cricket lover was happy to see all the top teams to reach the league stage. Pakistan, England, South Africa and New Zealand were in one group while India, Australia, West Indies and Sri Lanka were part of the other group. Pakistan lost to England in a match, which they never seemed to be in control of. They dropped 5 catches in their unexpected defeat. Australia on the other hand continued its assault on the T20 Cup as they thrashed India in their pursuit to attain the World Cup. New Zealand also lost to the good-looking performance of the South African team. Sri Lanka opened their account by easily defeating the hosts. The best match of the tournament so far was played between Pakistan and New Zealand. The last ball thriller ended in the Kiwis favour with just one run dividing the two teams.
Pakistan looked totally out of the tournament by this stage unless by a chance of some miracle to take place. For that to happen England was to beat South Africa and New Zealand while Pakistan would have to win against South Africa. Miraculously that happened and Pakistan and England advanced to the semi final stage. Australia won all of their matches while Sri Lanka won two of theirs to reach the semi final from the other group.
England continued on their merry ways, and completely out played Sri Lanka in the first semi final.
The second semi final was a completely different story though. Australia was the clear favourite but Pakistan came out ‘all guns blazing’ posting a mammoth total of 191 for the kangaroos to chase. They balled well too taking wickets after short intervals. But one man changed the face of the game in the last 3 overs. Michael Hussey blasted 60 runs of just 24 balls to send the Pakistanis back home, after they thought they had an extended stay.
The final was nothing compared to the second last match people saw in the tournament. Australia played below par, and England played good aggressive cricket to win the title.
Summing it all up, it was an entertaining tournament with a lot of good cricket played in between. Some teams went home disappointed while others thought that a few good balls could have changed the result for them. But we can surely say that if not the best than at least the most consistent team deservingly took the cup home with them.
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