ICC World T20 2016: 5 things that no one saw coming
The ICC World T20 juggernaut is over and it was replete with wavering fortunes and overwhelming emotions. From upsets to meandering matches, from humdingers to nail biters, we witnessed everything. And what an end with 4 consecutive sixes to seal the tournament. It summed up West Indies and their power hitting. The emotions were bared out on the field.
In the end, the team that held their nerves in the critical moments eventually triumphed. The pitches though came under scrutiny but then at the end the varying nature of the pitches made for compelling viewing and strategy and tactics had to be spot on. Team compositions became extremely important and application took centre stage.
With T20 one cannot expect teams to follow a set pattern and hence it is no surprise that the teams which were flexible in the approach made it to the semi-finals and eventually the finals. There were, however, many quite a few surprising elements that no one would have predicted and took everyone by surprise.
Here are 5 things that took everyone by surprise.
1.) Omission of Tim Southee and Trent Boult
Both Tim Southee and Trent Boult were instrumental during the 2015 World Cup campaign down under, and yet they were picked in the starting eleven right through the tournament. Kane Williamson and Mike Hesson were very astute when it came down to picking sides and they regularly used the phrase ‘horses for courses’. The move worked beautifully in the very first match when the New Zealand spinners spun a web and humiliated India on a raging turner in Nagpur. Yet, one of the two could have been included for Semi-Finals when Adam Milne was preferred ahead and was rendered ineffective by a belligerent Jason Roy.
One wonders if the experience of the duo could have been handy.