The 2019 World Cup came to a dramatic end after England pipped New Zealand in a controversial super over to take the crown. Both the teams were level at 241 runs at the end of 50 overs and the match went into the super over. Ben Stokes and Ben Stokes scored 15 runs for England and New Zealand were given a target of 16 runs.
The Kiwi team got off to a great start as they scored 9 runs in the starting two deliveries to ease the pressure. They scored 5 runs off next three balls that brought the equation to 2 off 1 ball. Martin Guptill whipped the ball in front of the deep square fielder- Jason Roy and hurried for the second run but eventually fell short.
After super-overs tie, England were adjudged the winner as they scored more boundaries than New Zealand in the course of 50 overs.
Some impressive performance by the players
The show piece event turned out to be career defining moment for some of the cricketers. Bangladesh’s Shakib-Al-Hasan put a great show and scored 606 runs and picked 11 wickets in 8 innings. India’s Rohit Sharma emerged as the highest run scorer with 648 runs in 9 innings at an average of 81.00 which also includes the historic five tons.
New Zealand’s low lying batting line-up was strengthened by Kane Williamson, who scored 578 runs in 9 innings and emerged as the man of the tournament.
In the bowling department, Mitchell Starc continued to deliver and picked 27 wickets in 10 innings. New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson redefined the pace bowling as he picked most number of wickets in the middle overs. He finished with 21 wickets in nine innings. Yuzvendra Chahal emerged as the highest wicket taker amongst the spinners and finished with 12 wickets in eight innings.
ICC picks the best 11 of the tournament
As the World cup came to its conclusion, former cricketers and cricket experts started naming their best 11 of the tournament and following the trend, ICC came up with their 11.
They picked Jason Roy to open the batting alongside Rohit Sharma. Roy created some match winning performance and scored 443 runs in 7 innings, while Rohit emerged as the highest run scorer of the tournament with 648 runs in nine innings.
Man of the tournament- Kane Williamson(578 runs in 9 innings) was named the captain of the team and will bat at number three in ICC’s team. He will be followed by England’s Joe Root(556 runs in 11 innings) and Bangladesh’s Shakib-Al-Hasan(606 runs in 8 innings).
Man of the match of the finals- Ben Stokes takes the role of the all-rounder in the team. He scored 465 runs in 10 innings and chipped in with 7 wickets. Australia’s promising wicket-keeper batsman contributed for his national team in the lower middle order and his heroics have won him a place in ICC’s team.
Mitchell Starc(27 wickets) will lead the pace bowling attack alongside India’s Jasprit Bumrah, who picked 18 wickets in 9 innings. New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson and England’s Jofra Archer are the other two pacers in the team.
Interestingly, ICC didn’t included any spinners in its team as the conditions in England didn’t suited them and they failed to create much impact. The likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Rashid Khan failed to create any impact and proved costly.
ICC’s Team of the Tournament
Jason Roy, Rohit Sharma, Kane Williamson (C), Joe Root, Shakib Al Hasan, Ben Stokes, Alex Carey (wicket-keeper), Mitchell Starc, Jofra Archer, Lockie Ferguson, Jasprit Bumrah
