So finally after 5 years ICC T20 Cricket World Cup has come back let's check out what happened in 1st week?
The opening game was a close encounter between Australia and South Africa and Australia won that in the final over and set the tone of the tournament.
Top 5 Matches of 1st week
1. West Indies Vs England
That was the 2nd game of the tournament and that was the game to forget for defending champions. There was some rivalry between these 2 sides because England didn't win against West Indies in the T20 WC tournament and we all remember the name of Carlos Brathwaite from the final of the last WC in 2016 in India where he smashed 4 sixes in 4 balls to seal the deal.
But this time England made a huge turnaround and got all out West Indies on just 55. Adil Rashid got 4 wickets in that match and after that England won that by 6 wickets. That was a huge setback for West Indies in terms of run-rate also. West Indies couldn't recover from that defeat and lost their 2nd match against South Africa but hopes are still alive for them after that confidence booster win against Bangladesh. So the story is not over yet for defending champions.
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| English cricket team |
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| Sri Lankan cricket team |
3. Pakistan Vs India
The game which can be called an ambassador of cricket it was India Vs Pakistan when these two teams meet then the whole world gets some entertainment from these 2 Arch Rivals. Pakistan never won against India in ICC tournaments and they were 5-0 down till that match. But every record has to be a break and every streak has to be ended and Pakistan has done that in some style. The game between these two sides always gives us some stars and this time stars were Shaheen, Rizwan and Babar. Pakistan won that huge game comprehensively by 10 wickets and started their campaign on a good note.
For more about that game, you can read hereCricket story Pak's dominance and Ind's humiliation
4. Pakistan Vs New Zealand
Pakistan has been in sublime form in this tournament and everyone thinks that this is the team to beat they have covered every basis and got a great combination for T20 cricket. New Zealand got 135 on the board but we all know they are pretty good planners and can execute their plans really well in the ground but Asif Ali and Shoaib Malik were splendid and really cool and calm in a pressure situation and got their side over the line in great fashion. Asif Ali the destroyer scored 27 on just 12 balls to finish the game. He has been around for quite some time but now showing his worth to the world. He finished the match against Afghanistan also where he smoked 4 sixes in 4 balls while Pakistan required 24 on 12 balls. That tells how well he is watching the ball nowadays because it's not for a new batter to come in and start hitting the ball from ball one but this man has got some serious ability to do that on a consistent basis.
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| Asif Ali vs Afghanistan |
5. India Vs New Zealand
There is very much cricket is going on but we can't discuss it all so we have made some points.
That was a really huge game for both sides but India tumbled a big-time there. Stats don't matter too much in this particular format but somehow there are matchups and you can come up. The New Zealand team always believes in plans and they have all the resources to execute them in the field and once again they have put on a great show. On the other side, India played really poor cricket in the last week or so 1st against Pakistan they were clueless and now in a huge game, they weren't up to the mark. They were lacking in intensity, aggression, and planning if I have to say. They couldn't apply themselves in a crunch situation. Australia was 21/4 other night and they put 125 on the board. India was 35/2 after power play and their 2 top and experienced batters Rohit and Virat were at the crease, you can take it any day or week but they couldn't get going and threw away. After that, they didn't even try to attack and hence were down and out and just got 110 on the board which was never enough.
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| India vs New Zealand |
New Zealand chased that down without any hesitation and got over the line in the 15th over and destroyed India by 8 wickets. Now their chances to next round are very blink but cricket can do funny things. So once again the nice guys punched above their weight and once again opposition was India and the streak continues in ICC tournaments.
So that was the preview of 1st week of ICC T20 Cricket World Cup and we have almost our semi-finalists but cricket is a funny game and can do funny things. So it's not over for any side so far and entertainment will keep coming.
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