T20 World Cup 2021: Best XI of Round one

The 2021 T20 World Cup has well and truly begun. It has already taken the world by storm. One couldn’t imagine what’s in store for cricket fans in the Super 12’s as the games so far were just the trailer.

The first round is done and dusted. The four teams to qualify for the next round of the tournament are Scotland, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Namibia. All of these teams deserve to be playing alongside the top teams.

However, there have been several players who have stood out from the rest. These cricketers were at their best throughout the first round of this edition of the T20 WC. However, which are those players who would make it into the best playing XI of the T20 WC so far? Today we shall be taking a look at-

Best XI of round 1 of T20 World Cup 2021

1) Max ODowd:

Despite having a rather dismal tournament, the Netherlands would definitely be proud of Max ODowd’s performance. He was the diamond in the rough. It’s a pity that cricket fans won’t get to see him further in this tournament.

The Dutch opener scored 123 runs in just the 3 games. His batting average in this tournament was exactly 41. This included 13 boundaries and a six.

The opener scored 51 in the first game and then scored an amazing 70 in the second. He has also scored the most number of runs in the first round. However, none of his runs came in a winning cause as his team lost all their three games.

2) Matthew Cross (WK)

Matthew Cross has been the silent assassin for Scotland. He has silently gone about his job so far in the T20 WC. His keeping has been brilliant too.

Thus, he will be the gloveman of this XI. The wicketkeeper batter scored 82 runs in 3 innings. His batting average and strike rate so far in this tournament are 41.00 and 93.18 respectively.

This includes 3 boundaries and a six. Despite a failure with the bat in the first game against Bangladesh, he was superb in the other 2 games. He went on to score 45 and an unbeaten 26 in his second and third game respectively.

3) Gerhard Erasmus (C)

Gerhard Erasmus has been the surprise package so far. Even if we leave his batting aside, he would still merit a place in this XI purely as a captain. His inspirational captaincy has propelled Namibia to the second round of the T20 WC.

However, he did let his bat do the talking as he consistently got the runs. He scored 105 runs in the 3 games of the first round. His batting average and strike rate as of now are 52.50 and 116.67 respectively.

This includes 9 boundaries and 2 sixes. As a matter of fact, his unbeaten 52 in the game against Ireland was very crucial in Namibia’s qualification to the next round. He saw his team through as well.

4) Richard Berrington:

Berrington is one of the major reasons why Scotland have been so good. He has consistently scored runs for his team so far. Thus, he has scored the most runs for his team too.

The Scotland batsman has scored 103 runs in 3 games so far. His batting average and strike rate are 51.50 and 137. 33 respectively. This includes 7 boundaries and 6 sixes.

Although he failed in the first game, he made it up by scoring runs in the next 2 games. Berrington scored a sensational 70 in the second game. He then followed it up with an unbeaten 31.

5) Shakib Al Hasan

Shakib is arguably one of the best all-rounders currently. He has been an absolute asset to his team. Fortunately for Bangladesh, he has continued his good form in the T20 WC as well.

The all-rounder has scored 108 runs in 3 games. His batting average and strike rate are 36.00 and 114.89, respectively so far. He has scored the third-most runs in the tournament so far.

That’s not it as he has also picked the most number of wickets in this edition of the T20 WC so far. He has picked 9 wickets in 3 games as of now. His economy rate has been on the lower side as well (4.50).

6) David Wiese:

Those who have watched David Wiese play shouldn’t be surprised after looking at his name in this XI. He has been Namibia’s “X Factor” so far. His impact has been unmatched.

The all-rounder has scored 100 runs with the bat in just the 3 games. His batting average and strike rate are a whopping 100 and 163.93 respectively. This includes 5 boundaries and 7 sixes respectively.

His sensational batting saw Namibia beat Ireland and knock them out of the tournament. Not to forget the fact that he also picked two wickets with the ball too. South Africa’s loss was Namibia’s gain.

7) Wanindu Hasaranga:

Wanindu Hasaranga is the new poster boy of Sri Lanka. He has been one of the most impactful T20I cricketers for quite a while now. He has managed to win a game for Sri Lanka with both, the bat as well as the ball.

He scored 71 runs in the one game where he got to bat. It was one of the best knocks of the first round as it came when his team were having a batting collapse. This knock changed the entire complexion of the game.

The bowling all-rounder has been superb with the ball too. He has picked 6 wickets in 3 games. This includes a fine economy rate of 4.50.

8) Curtis Campher

Curtis Campher has been a revolution with respect to Irish cricket. He happens to be another Proteas cricketer not playing for the Proteas. The all-rounder was superb for Ireland.

Despite not making it to the next round, he’d definitely be one of their positives from this T20 WC. He picked 6 wickets in 3 games. His bowling average has been just 13.00.

He even picked four wickets in four balls in Ireland’s first game against the Netherlands. This enabled Ireland to win their first and only game of this tournament. Thus, he was rightly awarded the player of the match award in that match.

9) Joshua Little:

Joshua Little was one of the few Irish players who managed to impress everyone this time and around. He was one of the few players from Ireland to have produced consistent performances. He was economical as well.

The Irish pacer took 5 wickets in 3 games. His bowling average was 11.80. This included a four-fer. The fact that he took four wickets in an innings against Sri Lanka was icing over the cake. Despite not picking a wicket in his last game, he was economical. He went for just the 22 runs in 4 overs.

10) Josh Davey:

It is safe to say that Davey has been one of the best performers of the tournament as of now. He is second on the list of the most successful bowlers of the T20 WC so far. Only Shakib has picked more wickets than him so far.

The Scotland bowler has taken 8 wickets in just the three games so far. His bowling average is 8.38 as of now. It gets better when one takes a look at his economy rate.

His economy rate so far is just 5.83. He has gone for more than 6 runs in an over just once. That one occasion being when he went for 25 runs in his 4 overs against Oman.

11) Maheesh Theekshana:

Maheesh Theekshana has been one of the major reasons behind Sri Lanka’s red hot form so far. He has been absolutely sensational, to say the least. He along with Davey have picked the second-most number of wickets as of now.

The Lankan spinner has picked 8 wickets in his 4 games. He has picked eight wickets in just the 9 overs. This speaks volumes of his effectiveness in the first round of the tournament.

His economy rate has been on the lower side as well (5.25). His performance in his team’s final game of the first round was superb. He picked 2 wickets in just an over against the Netherlands.