After seven years of second-place finishes, Sri Lanka has finally broken the jinx. Sri Lanka coasted to their first Twenty20 World Cup title with an uncomplicated six-wicket win over tournament favourites India in Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka narrowly made the final after defeating West Indies through the Duckworth-Lewis system during a rain-affected match that produced a monsoon-like deluge. India went 5-0 for the tournament and looked certain to claim the World Cup but couldn’t put their best work together when it mattered most.
Here’s a quick rundown of the tournament highlights (and lowlights).
The Good
The Minnows: Netherlands (ICC rank 12) and host nation Bangladesh (ICC rank 10) had a tournament to remember. While they only managed one win between them, batsmen and bowlers featured in the top 10 for various feats.
The Netherlands will be remembered for their upset 45-run win against England and almost pulling off another against South Africa. Bangladesh batsmen Shakib Al Hasan lit up the skies with his big hitting — he was ranked fifth best power-hitter of the World Cup for clubbing nine sixes.
Those weren’t the only highlights for the Netherlands. Batsmen Tom Cooper (231) and Stephan Myburgh (224) finished second and third respectively for most runs scored in the World Cup; Myburgh hit the most sixes (13) and Cooper hit 10. Pace bowler Ahsan Malik took 12 wickets (best: 5/19) and tied with South Africa’s Imran Tahir for most wickets in the World Cup. Malik also managed 55 scoreless balls.
Bangladesh were competitive without being a threat in their Super 10 matches. Shakib Al Hasan was the sixth most prolific run-scorer at the World Cup with 186 runs in total (highest score: 66). Team mate Anamul Haque was the eighth best run-scorer with a total of 184.
Bat and ball heroics: Chasing an imposing 189 against Sri Lanka, England’s opener Alex Hales became the first English player to score a Twenty20 century. Needing 34 off the final three overs, Hales plundered the ball over the ropes numerous times at the death to eventually score 116*(64 balls) including 11 fours and six sixes. The win was England’s highest ever Twenty20 chase win and their only victory at the tournament.
Setting a mediocre 120, Sri Lanka had every right to be nervous about defending such a scanty total. Enter Rangana Herath. The Sri Lankan left-arm spinner ripped through the Kiwis with a devastating spell. Herath was given the ball in the fourth over and captured 5/3 from 3.3 overs including 18 dot balls, nixing any chance New Zealand had of winning the match. The Kiwis were eventually bowled out for 59 and lost by 59 runs.
Dale Steyn bowls like a hurricane: Bowlers’ speeds were recorded with a laser gun during the Twenty20 World Cup. As if it needed reiterating, South Africa’s opening bowler Dale Steyn was awarded the mantle of “fastest bowler.” He clocked the quickest delivery at 150.15 km/h and posted nine out of the top 10 speeds. The pace of Steyn netted him nine wickets (best: 4/17) and a World Cup rank of eighth-best bowler.
The Bad
Commonwealth woes: With Canada failing to qualify for the Twenty20 World Cup it was left to Australia and England to wave the commonwealth flag. Unfortunately both left the tournament with an ego-deflating 1-3 record. Australia was placed in the ‘Group of Death’ with India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and 2012 Twenty20 World Cup champs West Indies. The Aussies lost all three but managed a face-saving seven-wicket dead rubber win against lowly Bangladesh. England’s only win was their large run chase against Sri Lanka. They will try their best to forget the humiliating loss to the Netherlands when they were humbled for 88 in their chase of 133.
The Netherlands’ 39 all out: The one stark reminder that the Dutch still have room to improve, was their 39 all out against Sri Lanka. Tom Cooper was top scorer with 16 (18) but had little help with the rest, failing to make it to double digits. Sundries was third top scorer with six.
Duckworth-Lewis Method: It’s a shame games of cricket are decided by mathematical equations when rain ends play — that’s what happened to the West Indies when they played Sri Lanka in the semifinal. West Indies (known for their fast starts and even faster finishes) were chasing 160 and were 4/80 (13.4) when the heavens opened up and sent down marble-sized hail stones. As per the ruling, Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 27 runs and went on to the final to record their first World Cup title. After the match, many took to Twitter to debate whether rain should be allowed to decide a World Cup semifinal.
What they said
“We’re not really allowed to leave the hotel much. There’s a Pizza Hut across the road. I’ve never eaten so much pizza in my life.” — Dale Steyn, South African pace bowler on passing the time in Bangladesh.
“I don’t particularly like them. If you can do something to upset somebody and upset their team, it goes a long way towards doing well as a group.” — James Faulkner, Australian all-rounder referring to the West Indian team before their second must win Super 10 match.
“Cricket is a game of action. You can talk all you want but it is the action that matters. West Indies acted today. It feels very good to bring it home. We fought for it. Faulkner will not like us anymore.” — Darren Sammy, West Indies Test and Twenty20 captain, after blasting 34 (13) and getting the win against Australia in the final over by six wickets.
“The last five World Cups we lost them, but today is a great feeling to come back and win it. Fantastic win for Sri Lanka.” – Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan, moments after collecting the Twenty20 World Cup trophy.
“We could have always got those 10-15 runs, but cricket is about those runs. Malinga with that slingy action kept bowling it wide. It was a perfect game for them.” — India’s captain Mahendra Dhoni at the World Cup trophy ceremony.
Note: all quotes courtesy of ESPN CricInfo