ICC T20 World Cup 2016: 5 Hits and 5 Misses from the Super 10 Stage
The Super 10 Stage of the ICC World T20 concluded last night with South Africa securing an easy 8-wicket win over Sri Lanka. At the end of the Super 10’s, West Indies and England from Group 1 and New Zealand and India from Group 2 made it to the semi-finals. Quite a few of the 20 games from the group stage made for pretty interesting viewing as they had the spectators on the edge of their seats.
Every World Cup begins with a set of expectations from certain teams or certain players or even playing conditions for that matter. While some of these expectations are met, some aren't, thereby leaving the fans a tad bit disappointed. Moreover, given the slam-bang nature of the T20 format, there are bound to be a few hits and misses. So, let's take a look at the hits and misses from the Super 10 games:
Hit: England
When England were knocked out by Bangladesh in the first round of the ICC World Cup in 2015, they were vehemently criticised for not evolving with the times. There were many who felt that they approached limited overs cricket with a very test match like approach and were, therefore, unable to cope with the pace of the game. However, sweeping changes were made to their limited overs side thereafter and the results are there to see.
Their batting boasts of explosive batsmen like Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes who like to go after the bowlers from the word go. The swashbuckling game of these batsmen is ably complemented by the likes of Joe Root and Eoin Morgan whose presence in the England lineup is very reassuring. Yes, there are some weaknesses in the bowling department. However, the batsmen and even the fielders ensured that England did manage to get over the line in key contests.
The Englishmen have often been criticised for buckling under pressure. However, in spite of losing the first game against the West Indies, they made a statement of intent by chasing down a mammoth target of 229 against South Africa. Even in the game against Sri Lanka, they made up for a slow start by blasting 78 runs in 6 overs. Thereafter, they held their nerve amidst a blazing knock from Angelo Matthews during Sri Lanka’s pursuit of England’s target.