The
exciting T20 World Cup 2022 came to end, with England coming over the top
against Pakistan in the final clash. This World Cup will go down as one of the
most entertaining ones, due to the performance of most of the participating
teams.
In the process of representing their country, some players produced extraordinary performances and also showed their flexibility to contribute in critical situations. On the other hand, every surface offered different challenges, which forced the teams to change strategies to go deep. Here are the top five moments of the T20 World Cup 2022.
1. Virat Kohli's twin sixes against Haris Rauf
India faced Pakistan at MCG on October 23. Batting first, the Men in Green posted 159 on the board. In response, India endured a bad start as they could accumulate only 31 runs in six overs, and lost four wickets. The 113-run partnership of Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya brought India closer to the target.
With 28 needed
off eight, Kohli slammed an unbelievable six towards the straight boundary off
the back-off length delivery from Haris Rauf. In the next ball, the elegant batter
played a pre-determined shot to send the ball to the deep fine-leg for another
maximum. These two sixes ultimately sealed the game for India in the end.
2. Zimbabwe
stun Pakistan in last over thriller
After facing a loss against India, Pakistan certainly had nerves ahead of their clash against Zimbabwe. Mohammad Wasim’s terrific bowling efforts restricted the Chevrons to a total of 130. Chasing a low total, Pakistan lost their both openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan early.
Although
Shan Masood played well, he was unfortunately stumped in the crucial stage. With
11 needed off six balls, Pakistan had Mohammad Nawaz and Mohammad Wasim at the
crease. In the fourth ball, Wasim hit a four and made the equation, 3 off 3.
But, the skillful pacer Brad Evans took was sensational with his pace to send
back Nawaz and ultimately win the game by one run for Zimbabwe.
3. Roelof
van der Merwe's sensational catch to dismiss David Miller
It was a must-win game for South Africa when they clashed against the Netherlands in their last league match. Batting first, the Dutch outfit managed to post 158 on the board. With the presence of credible batters, South Africa were the favourites at half-time.
However,
the top-order failed to convert their starts, while the middle-order could not
accelerate at right time for Proteas. The game-changing moment arrived in the
16th over when Roelof van der Merwe took a stunning catch by running
back a fair distance to the deep square leg to dismiss David Miller which
helped the Netherlands to win by 13 runs. The loss ousted South Africa from the
tournament.
4. Glenn
Phillips catch to send back Marcus Stoinis
Glenn Phillips, an absolute livewire in the field caught everyone’s eyeballs with his diving effort to get hold of Marcus Stoinis’s catch in their first league game of T20 WC 2022. Batting first, New Zealand posted 200 on the board, with Devon Conway’s 92*.
In response,
Australia were already in trouble with a slow start, and Phillips’ catch further
brought misery. In the ninth over, Stoinis lofted the ball towards the deep extra-cover
and sensing the opportunity, Phillips dived full stretch to pluck a terrific
catch. The wicket helped the Kiwis to bundle out Australia and win by 89 runs.
5. Surya
Kumar Yadav's 20th over heroics against Zimbabwe
Suryakumar Yadav, the No. 1 T20I batter etched his name among the cricket fraternity once again with his sublime performances in T20 WC. The 32-year-old unleashed his best against Zimbabwe, in terms of his wide range of shots.
India could
not get going in the first 15 overs of their innings, but Yadav, who was
settled enough, set the foot on the gas at the right time. He increased the
tempo and stunned Zimbabwe with his 360-degree shots. He garnered 21 runs in
the last over, with most of the shots fetched far from the off-stump and
depositing into the deep fine-leg and square-leg boundaries.