World Cup 2015 Highlights of the Group stage matches

World Cup 2015 Highlights of the Group stage matches : Group stages of the World Cup 2015 have sprung up surprises like no other World Cup did. From associate nations upsetting full-time members to surprise exits,high pressure matches and some masterclass in batting and bowling this World Cup has seen it all. Here we relive some of the best moments of the World Cup 2015 group stages. 1. Kumar Sangakkara’s 4 consecutive tons Sangakkara became the first batsman in ODI and World Cup history to hit 4 centuries in 4 matches on trot. (© Getty Images) Sangakkara became the first batsman in ODI and World Cup history to hit 4 centuries in 4 matches on trot. Sangakkara who has announced retirement from the ODIs after the World Cup has decided to end his World Cup career with a bang. He hit centuries against Australia, Scotland, Bangladesh and England with highest of 124 against Scotland. He has decided to script his farewell himself and is making it a grand one. 2. MS Dhoni stump mic conversations Ms Dhoni has been more proactive than usual. (Photo Source:Associated Press) Ms Dhoni has been more proactive than usual. He has been trafficking his troops with funny quips which were picked up by the stump mic and became one of the most viral things in the World Cup. The way he asks Rayudu to be more proactive or asking Raina to bowl where he says is very funny and give insights into how much he knows and thinks about the game in motion. 3. Indian Bowlers sprung up surprise Every opposition in India’s group knew they had to deal with one of the most aggressive batting line-ups in cricket today, but they had solace in the Indian bowling form as seen in tri-series. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Every opposition in India’s group knew they had to deal with one of the most aggressive batting line-ups in cricket today, but they had solace in the Indian bowling form as seen in tri-series. But a totally different Indian bowling turned up to World Cup picking 60 wickets in 60 matches. They bowled out every opponent they faced including Pakistan, South Africa, and West Indies. They have proved that they are capable of dismissing every opponent in 6 of their matches, both spin and fast bowlers have done more than they are capable. 4. India and New Zealand’s clean slate – Winning 6 out of 6 India and New Zealand kept their slates clean by winning every match of their group. That means 6 wins out of 6 matches. (© Getty Images) India and New Zealand kept their slates clean by winning every match of their group. That means 6 wins out of 6 matches. New Zealand had a scare against Australia when they were 9 wickets down with 15 runs to go chasing 151 runs, but Kane Williamson pulled through and won the match by hitting a six. India had no such problem with any of the games, the only hiccup came against West Indies and Zimbabwe but MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina hit 50s and 100s to get India out of trouble. Both the teams have been clinical in their process of winning games with India bowling out every opposition they have faced and Brendon McCullum has pulverized the opponents with his brutal batting at the top of the order. 5. Associates shine Associate nations again proved their point of a 14 team World Cup as opposed to the 10 team World Cup in 2019. (© Getty Images) Associate nations again proved their point of a 14 team World Cup as opposed to the 10 team World Cup in 2019. Ireland defeated Zimbabwe, West Indies and gave scares to other teams of their group. Afghanistan won their first game in World Cup against Scotland and proved that with their bowling and more exposure against big teams, they can be a handful especially running Sri Lanka too close for comfort. Associate nation’s players like Shaiman Anwar of UAE, Shapoor Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Kyle Coetzer, Calum MacLeod, Samiullah Shenwari and others made their nations proud with not only centuries and wickets but their hearts and the spirit and fight they showed. 6. England’s exit The most talked about point of this World Cup is the dismal performance of England after they were knocked out of the World Cup in group stages. (© Getty Images) The most talked about point of this World Cup is the dismal performance of England after they were knocked out of the World Cup in group stages. England just won 2 games against Afghanistan and Scotland and lost to all the other test nations in their group namely Sri Lanka, New Zealand and surprisingly even Bangladesh. Their batting was below par with an out of form captain and management stuck in-game plans of 1990s thinking 250 is a par target. Off field distractions regarding Kevin Pietersen didn’t help them as well and the result was a disappointing and humiliating exit from the World Cup 2015. 7. AB de Villiers– Last man standing for South Africa The man has redefined ODI batting to its core. His hitting in the last 15 overs against West Indies and Ireland have made him he greatest batsman today. (© Getty Images) The man has redefined ODI batting to its core. His hitting in the last 15 overs against West Indies and Ireland have made him he greatest batsman today. His 162* off 66 balls was a masterpiece in ODI batting. He almost took South Africa to victory single-handedly against Pakistan, but no support from his peers meant he had to watch South Africa succumb to another pressure situation. This made him say that he alone cannot win the World Cup for South Africa and needed support from his team. AB de Villiers now has his work cut out in QFs as they will most probably meet Australia in knockouts. Mr. 360 needs some support to take his team past the proverbial chokers line and into the finals. 8. Bangladesh Qualified for Quarter Finals Bangladesh stunned everyone when they defeated England to enter the knockout stages for the first time. (Photo by Morne de Klerk/Getty Images) Bangladesh stunned everyone when they defeated England to enter the knockout stages for the first time. Struggling against quality oppositions like New Zealand and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh demolished Afghanistan, Scotland for a chance to go into the quarterfinals. Players like Mahmudullah and Shakib came into their own at the perfect time with Mahmudullah making 2 back to back hundreds including one against England, a match they needed to win. Rubel Hossain’s inspired spell and Mortaza’s captaincy has made Bangladesh a team to look out for. Bangladesh will most probably face India in quarterfinals and if they can beat India like they did in 2007 World Cup, the nation will probably erupt in joy and disbelief. 9. Chris Gayle finally does it – the 215 The West Indian giant has been asleep for most of the tournament barring a 50 against India. (Photo Source: Getty Images) The West Indian giant has been asleep for most of the tournament barring a 50 against India. But when he woke up for a match, he made it count. Gayle became the first man to hit a double hundred in World Cup history when he smashed 215 against Zimbabwe. The innings was a brutal one containing 16 sixes and 10 fours. He added 372 runs with Marlon Samuels, the highest ODI and World Cup partnership. Chris Gayle is the only man to have 2 triple centuries in Tests, a double century in ODIs and a century in T20Is. He was tipped to hit a double hundred ever since Sachin Tendulkar broke the barrier in 2010 and it was a matter of time for Gayle to enter the list of double centurions in ODIs which he did in style. 10. Pakistan’s Resurgence and QF qualification Pakistan’s start to the World Cup could not have been any sadder than losing to India in the first match and then being humiliated by West Indies after being 1/4 in first 4 overs. (© Getty Images) Pakistan’s start to the World Cup could not have been any sadder than losing to India in the first match and then being humiliated by West Indies after being 1/4 in first 4 overs. The only person to be brave in the whole scenario was Misbah-ul-Haq who fought like a lone soldier. They also have managed to qualify for the QFs after defeating Ireland in a very crunch match by 7 wickets. Sarfraz Ahmed was the hero making 101*. But somewhere Pakistan got their mojo back and they defeated South Africa in a cracker of a match, winning in the last over despite a master class 77 from AB de Villiers and then fighting off some strong resistance from Zimbabwe to win another pressure cooker of a match thanks to Wahab Riaz. Misbah and Wahab have been instrumental in Pakistan coming back from the brink of getting eliminated from the group stages. 11. Cracker of games – strong and interesting matches New Zealand and Australia played probably one of the most exciting matches on this World Cup. (© Getty Images) New Zealand and Australia played probably one of the most exciting matches on this World Cup. Kiwis dismissed Australia for 151 and themselves were in trouble with Mitchell Starc breathing fire in form of lethal yorkers. They only won the match because Trent Boult managed to play 3 balls from Starc without losing his toes or stumps. Kane Williamson finished the match with a six without wasting any more balls. Starc took 6 wickets in a losing cause. Some of the best matches came from the associate nations. Afghanistan beat Scotland in a match that saw more twists and turns than a telephone wire. Afghans won the match with just 1 wicket in hand. Another such match happened between Zimbabwe and Ireland. Ireland hung on to the match by a thread after Brendon Taylor, Sean Williams and Craig Ervine almost committed night robbery beating Ireland. But luck didn’t favored Zimbabwe and they lost the match by just 5 runs. 12. Sarfraz Ahmed – Pakistan’s knight in Green armor Sarfraz Ahmed was twiddling his thumbs for the first 4 matches while Pakistan faced one embarrassing situation after another. (© Getty Images) Sarfraz Ahmed was twiddling his thumbs for the first 4 matches while Pakistan faced one embarrassing situation after another. Umar Akmal was dropping catches like they were hot property and Pakistan’s batting was trying to do worse than one another. Out of desperation, Srafraz Ahmed was called upon for the 5th match against South Africa and he won the man of the match in a thriller of a game, taking 6 catches and making 49 runs. He did better against Ireland in a crunch game making a century and taking Pakistan to the quarterfinals. He came good when Pakistan burned out all the other options, means the team management should be highly thankful to him. 13. Steven Finn’s Hat-trick in the first match Steven Finn took this World Cup’s first hat-trick against Australia in the second match of the World Cup on 14th February 2015. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Steven Finn took this World Cup’s first hat-trick against Australia in the second match of the World Cup on 14th February 2015. His hat-trick came on the last 3 balls of the final over of the Australian innings. Finn removed Brad Haddin, Glen Maxwell and Mitchell Johnson on the last 3 balls to claim the 7th Hat-trick in World Cup history and first by an England bowler in World Cups. His feat didn’t help England much because Australia amassed 342 runs and won the match by 111 runs dismissing England for 231. 14. ICC’s decision to limit the no.of teams in 2019 World Cup to 10 Associate nations again proved their point of a 14 team World Cup as opposed to the 10 team World Cup in 2019. (© Getty Images) ICC’s decision to limit the next World cup in 2019 to be held in England, to 10 teams didn’t get any applause from the associate nations since they felt abandoned by cricket’s governing body. Teams like Ireland and Netherlands who have been who have defeated full member teams like West Indies, England, Bangladesh, Pakistan in previous editions of World Cup feel betrayed at the decision since it basically removes them from the competition. ICC say that the top 8 teams will qualify directly and the teams from number 8 to 12 in official ICC rankings will compete in qualification matches for the remaining 2 spots. According to ICC, a 10 team World Cup will ensure better quality of matches and a format ala 1992 World Cup with every team playing every other once will give better entertainment to viewers and garner better interest from the teams, removing meaningless matches between minnow teams. Emerging cricketing nations like Ireland feel that instead of giving incentives to associate nations for their performance and increasing their participations amongst full member tournaments, removing them from equation will set back any progress that an associate team makes. It will be interesting to see whether ICC revert to the 14 team format or stick with their 10 team format. 15. Shikhar Dhawan’s return to form – Gabbar is back Shikhar Dhawan who was out of form in the tri-series preceding the World Cup, but once the World Cup began, some switch turned on in him. (Photo Source:ICC) Shikhar Dhawan who was out of form in the tri-series preceding the World Cup, but once the World Cup began, some switch turned on in him and he returned to form against arch rivals Pakistan in India’s first match in 2015 World Cup. He scored 73 runs and helped India beat Pakistan for 6th time in World Cup matches. Dhawan announced his form with a terrific hundred (137) against South Africa, the only serious threat India had in their group. Dhawan’s hundred helped India put South Africa under pressure and they crumbled badly, giving India the win. He did have some matches, in which he scored 14, 9 and 4, but hit another hundred against a dangerous Ireland to ensure the Irish don’t cause any upset. Dhawan’s form has helped India cover the fact that their other opener Rohit Sharma is struggling for runs against big teams. Shikhar Dhawan’s form is good sign for India going into the knockout phase. 16. South Africa make 400 plus scores, twice, consecutively South Africa became the first team in World Cup history to make 400 or more in one ODI innings twice consecutively. They first ripped apart West Indian bowling making 408/5, with AB de Villiers making 162*, his highest score in ODIs. West Indian captain Jason Holder went for 64 runs in his last 2 overs and 104 runs in his 10 overs which had 2 maiden overs in them. They dismissed West Indies for 151 and won the match by then record 257 runs. In the next match, South Africa treated Ireland to the same dosage making 411/4 in 50 overs with Hashim Amla making 159, his highest score and Faf du Plessis making 109. Ireland could make 210 runs in reply and lost the match by 201 runs. 17. Afghanistan’s stunning victory over Scotland Afghanistan and Scotland met in a group A match which turned out to be one of the best nail biting matches of World Cup. Scotland batted first and scored 210 runs with Matt Machan and Majid Haq making 31 runs each. Afghanistan’s Shapoor Zadran wrecked Scotland by taking 4/34. Afghanistan’s batting reply was made by Javed Ahmadi (51) and Samiullah Shenwari (96) taking Afghanistan nearer to the win. But Scotland pegged back with Richie Berrington picking 4/40. Shapoor Zadran became hero with the bat making 12 runs including hitting the winning four and taking Afghanistan to their first ever World Cup win in their first World Cup.

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