World Cup 2019 wrap: Standout player, biggest dud, best quote – Rohit, Warner, Shakib and Starc feature in the league-stage wrap

Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Shakib Al Hasan and Mitchell Starc were among the top performers in the league stage of the World Cup as Australia, India, England and New Zealand booked their place in the final four. Here’s a wrap of the league stage.

Standout players – Rohit, Warner, Shakib and Starc
Rohit Sharma got five hundreds from nine matches in the league stage, which is already the most by any batsman in the history of the tournament. He sits atop of the run scorers list with 647 runs at 92.42 and is striking the all at 98.77 this tournament. 

Not too far behind Sharma is David Warner with 638 runs at 79.75 with three centuries and as many half centuries. Together, they have led the charge for their respective teams at the top of the order and have been crucial to their teams’ success. 

While Sharma and Warner have scored heavily batting in the opener’s spot, Shakib Al Hasan reinvented himself at No.3 and got the most number of runs by a Bangladeshi batsman in a single World Cup season – 606 from nine matches at 86.57 with two hundreds. He also picked up 11 wickets with his left-arm spin and was Bangladesh’s MVP throughout the tournament.
On the bowling front, Mitchell Starc is in line to finish as the leading wicket taker for the second straight World Cup. After topping the charts in the 2015 edition, Starc currently tops the list with 26 wickets from nine matches at 16.61 including two five-wicket hauls.

Biggest duds – South Africa

For a team that’s often touted as a contender to win every tournament they participate in, this World Cup was particularly disappointing. Having marred by injuries to key players, including Dale Steyn who was ruled out of the tournament without getting a game, at crucial junctures, South Africa underperformed, which can also be attributed to a lack of consistency from the batsmen, most noticeably the experienced Hashim Amla.

Their key bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir picked up 11 wickets each but they came at an average of over 34. The rest of the bowlers either couldn’t pick up wickets consistently even as they were taken for runs or focussed too much on restricting the flow of runs and bowled defensively.
They managed to win only three matches – two of them came against teams that finished in the bottom two spots, Afghanistan and West Indies, while the other, and perhaps the only comprehensive performance this World Cup, came in their last league game against Australia.

Standout moment – Bangladesh’s heroic chase against West Indies

Only one 300-plus total was chased successfully this World Cup. It was by Bangladesh who hunted down 322 runs against the West Indies at Taunton. Shakib Al Hasan was the hero, scoring 124 off 99 with 16 fours and he was well supported by Liton Das, who smashed an unbeaten 94 off just 69 balls.
Together, they put on an unbeaten stand of 189 runs for the fourth wicket as Bangladesh reached the target in just 41.3 overs. The West Indies bowlers were found out of depth as they repeatedly relied on bowling short balls even after being taken for runs by Hasan and Das. 

Room for improvement – Afghanistan

Afghanistan finished their World Cup without a win and had some controversies distractimg attention from the cricket, but for the time the played, they looked to have improved with every game. They failed to play out their 50 overs consistently throughout the tournament, something which should bother them. However, as the tournament progressed, their spinners started to tie up teams in the middle overs.

They made India sweat out for a win, dragged Pakistan to the last over, looked promising for a large part of their game against Bangladesh and fell only 23 runs short against the West Indies. With a greater contribution from the batsmen, the Afghans would have been able to cause an upset or two in the tournament. 

Best quote 

“I’m not here for records”– Rohit Sharma isn’t too focused on the record five hundreds he’s scored this World Cup.