Three Lions Roaring Back In Style

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Hello Friends,

Recently concluded 8th edition of men's T20 cricket world cup witnessed another tournament full of exciting cricket. Breathtaking matches with a grueling fight between bat and bowl made the tournament one of the best. At the end it was the mighty England team who emerged victorious and turned out to be the 1st team in cricketing history to hold 50 over world cup & T20 world cup at the same time. They have become such a giant in white ball cricket. Haven't they? Talking about other teams' performance definitely the heartbreaking moment for all of us was India's defeat in the semis. Once again we started as tournament favorites but couldn't fulfill the expectations. Another shocker was elimination of defending champions and the host Australia in the league phase. They won the global title about a year back and were favorites to defend their title. But they were way below their standard of cricket this time around. South Africa's shocking defeat in the hands of Netherlands and eventual elimination from the tournament, two time champions West Indies' failure to qualify for the league phase, arguably associate nations' most competitive performance, another epic India-Pakistan clash have been some of the major talking points  this time around.

Talking about individual performances at the biggest stage Suryakumar Yadav really shone bright with his consistent performances. The comeback of king Kohli was another top story doing the rounds throughout the tournament. At the same time this could be the last time we have seen some of the stalwarts of the game playing the shortest version at the global stage. Let's quickly have a look at some of the top stories from this year's edition of the global event.

Not The Minnows Anymore

I noticed quite a few posts mentioning this year's edition as the tournament of upsets due to the encouraging performances of the associate nations. Why to mark those results as upsets? Why not marking them as victory of the game of cricket?  End of the day it's a hustle between bat and ball irrespective of the rankings or stature of both the playing teams. There have been lot of talks over the years to encourage associate nations by organizing more of their matches against top sides. But does that happen?? The answer is no. Throughout the year teams like Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Ireland, Netherlands, UAE, Namibia keep competing among themselves with barely getting an opportunity to compete against the top sides. And when the same teams who go  through a qualifier stage to get into the league phase beat any of the top ranked sides at the global stage we call it upset instead of applauding their efforts. 

So much of efforts, hard work and determination come into play for these teams when they qualify for a global event like this. But their efforts have hardly been appreciated. Why can't ICC take steps to make sure that these teams get equal opportunities to play against the top ranked sides on a regular basis? Top sides also should make it a priority to send their first choice teams whenever there is a series organized against associate nations. That will not just help making cricket a  more competitive game but also lot of nations may come forward to participate in this much loved global sport. We could see lot many talents like Rashid Khan, Lorcan Tucker, Sikandar Raza, George Dockrell, Van Meekeren  emerging from these competitions on a regular basis.

Curious Case Of The Captains

Captain is an integral part of any T20 team. Be it for forming the right team or making tactical decisions or motivating fellow team members, captain is always expected to lead from the front. There is no better way to lead from the front than showing the team the way through an inspiring individual performance. But surprisingly most of the captains were unable to do that throughout the tournament. There were quite a few big names in that list including Rohit Sharma, Kane Williamson, Aaron Finch, Jos Buttler, Babar Azam. Though Jos Buttler and Babar Azam came up with couple of decisive innings during the knockout phase, their overall performance was way below the benchmark they usually set  for themselves and the rest of the teams.

While talking about inspiring performances from captains in the world cup we certainly remember Kapil Dev's 175 against Zimbabwe in 1983, Steve Waugh's 120 against South Africa in 1999 or Dhoni's 91 against Sri Lanka in 2011. Not to forget all of those knocks were played in crunch matches under immense pressure. But something of that sort was  not seen in the global event of the shortest format this year. There have been lot of criticism for most of the captains during the tournament due to their own performance. But are  those criticism fair? Most of the captains leading their sides are performing the national duty for years now and they have delivered those impactful performances over and over again. So being unable to live up to the expectations this time around should not create such knee jerk reactions. Despite their own lacklustre performance they have ensured to do every bit for making their teams succeed. Let's not forget that. Afterall a leader can't be judged only on one aspect.

An Epic Knock In An Epic Clash

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There have been quite a few individual or team performances during the tournament which really lit up the global event. We can talk about Finch and Stoinis partnership against Sri Lanka in a tricky chase or Buttler-Hales' devastating partnership in semi final clash against India or Ngidi's spell against India or  the collective team efforts of Netherlands and Zimbabwe during their clashes against South Africa and Pakistan respectively. But that one performance which will be remembered for years just because of the calibre of the player and the magnitude of the the match is Virat Kohli's knock against Pakistan at MCG. Such an unbelievable knock! Yes, that's how the cricketing world applauded that innings. But the kind of determination and patience shown in that innings specially during the crucial partnership with Pandya was unbelievable. That innings is an absolute leadership masterclass in many ways. Kohli was slowly getting his groove back leading to the tournament after a tough couple of years. It was never easy to play such an incredible innings in a crunch match specially when you haven't been at your best in the recent past. But that's what top performers do. They always choose the big stage to show the world what they are made up off. Kohli did exactly the same. He never gave up during that innings. First he steadied the innings after the initial hiccup which saw India loosing 4 wickets for not much on the board and towards the end gave the knockout punch to seal the deal. His two sixes of Rauf in the penultimate over will be remembered for ages considering the importance of those twin hits. Such an excellent example of tackling critical situations in life with a proper mix of composure and aggression.

Lack Of Caribbean Flavour

West Indies team has been a formidable opponent in the shortest format of the game for years now. Two time world champions in the format always troubled even the best in the business with their powerful hitting abilities. But unfortunately the caribbean flavour was missing this time around as they couldn't  qualify for the league phase after twin losses against Ireland and Scotland in the qualifiers. It was one of the early shockers of the tournaments. What happened to such a power packed team which has two world cups each in the 50 overs and 20 overs format to their name? There could be lot of factors behind their early exit. But on the hind sight it seems like it's a collective failure of the cricket administrator as well as players. Their below par domestic cricketing structure, players' inclination towards franchise cricket, multiple disagreements among board & players and most importantly lack of  proper planning & execution leading to a global event  probably are the ones that can be taken into account. It was a fairly young team that was representing the island nation this time around compared to  the previous years when their teams used to be loaded with stalwarts of the format.  It's high time that all the stakeholders get together and work towards a common goal of recapturing their lost position specially getting into a home T20 world cup within a couple of years time.

Giants Of White Ball Cricket

Talking about the champions England, they have been instrumental specially at the knockout phase. They haven't started the tournament the way they would have liked. A somewhat scratchy win against Afghanistan, shocking defeat against Ireland and a washout against the host Aussies was not the ideal start for them. Then four consecutive wins including semi final and final saw them lifting their 2nd world T20 title and reestablishing their claim as the ultimate white ball giants of the modern day cricket. What a turnaround it has been from staring at an early elimination at one point of time to emerge as the champions shows the character and strength of this team. Lot of factors worked for them. Selecting a strong and competitive team  was the first step towards the ultimate glory. Every member of the team raised to the occasion and played to the best of their abilities  when it mattered the most. Credit to captain Buttler for holding his nerves in his first big assignment as the leader of the team and taking right decisions at the crunch moments. It was not easy to fill the shoes of a captain like Eoin Morgan who changed the face of English white ball team. Seems like Buttler has already taken the first step towards taking the England cricket to even greater heights.

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Such an incredible addition Sam Curran has been to this already power packed team. At such a young age he has proved his mettle on the big stage. He is definitely going to be a big gun for the world champions in the coming days. Story of English triumph remains incomplete if we don't mention about Ben Stokes. A man made for the big stage, Stokes once again came good when it mattered the most. There have been questions regarding his place in the England  T20 team in the recent times. But he has been utilized  by his captain in the most effective way possible both with bat & ball. He literally nailed two tricky chases, one against Sri Lanka in the league phase & then in the big final. There couldn't have been a better story than this for Stokes who was at the receiving end in the finals back in 2016 after being hammered for four consecutive sixes in the last over to loose the match .What a turnaround for him since then as he orchestrated two world cup triumphs  for his country by playing crucial knocks in the finals. Big Ben is definitely an important factor in global tournaments for his country.