Picking the best playing 11 from Week 4 of 2023 World Cup ft. Rohit Sharma, Shaheen Afridi
The 2023 World Cup is heading towards its business end, with various permutations and combinations up in the air as far as the semifinal scenarios are concerned.
The fourth week of the competition produced thrills and spills aplenty. The loud cries for a close game were finally met as South Africa and Pakistan played out a thriller in Chennai, following which New Zealand fell agonizingly short of a record chase against Australia in Dharamsala.
In the midst of it all, some things haven't changed - India remain unbeaten, England continue to sink into an endless pit, and the Netherlands and Afghanistan have now combined for five wins to add further chapters to their storied runs in the tournament.
The week ahead ought to see a couple of teams officially have the 'Q' against their name, although for all practical purposes, it is safe to say that India and South Africa are through to the semifinals. Bangladesh are the first team to be officially eliminated on the back of defeats to the Dutch and Pakistan.
Ahead of another enthralling week's action at the 2023 World Cup, let's look back at the one just gone by and chalk out the best playing XI from the same:
Openers: Rohit Sharma (c) and Quinton de Kock (wk)
Much like the playing XI we picked at the end of Week 2 of the 2023 World Cup, Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock will open the innings in this side.
The Indian captain has taken the attack to the bowlers in this tournament but had to grind hard for his 87 runs against England on a tricky surface in Lucknow. It was arguably the best innings of his campaign so far as it paved the way for India to post 229, which proved to be 100 runs too many. Rohit will lead this team as well.
De Kock's brilliant run of form has seen him sit atop the run-scorers' charts. After failing to capitalize on a flyer against Pakistan, he notched up his fourth hundred of the tournament with 114 against New Zealand. He walks into this playing XI as the wicket-keeper.
Middle order: Travis Head, Rassie van der Dussen and Rachin Ravindra
Three batters who lit up the week gone by with sensational centuries headline the middle order, even as they are batting out of their regular positions at the 2023 World Cup.
Travis Head marked his return from a broken hand in style, blasting a spectacular 67-ball 109 as he ransacked New Zealand's bowlers for fun in Dharamsala. When you felt it was going to be hard to top on the day, Rachin Ravindra produced a scintillating 89-ball 116 as he threatened to power New Zealand to a record chase. He didn't leave a mark against South Africa, but his century against Australia was enough to earn him a spot in this XI.
Sandwiched between the two left-handed batters is South Africa's Rassie van der Dussen. He motored along for a good part of his innings against the Blackcaps before flicking a switch and dishing out a hammering. He finished on 133 off 118 balls, marking his second hundred of the 2023 World Cup.
All-rounders: Glenn Phillips and Marco Jansen
While all of New Zealand's frontline bowlers took a pasting at the hands of Head and David Warner, Glenn Phillips held his own with magnificent returns of 3/37 off his 10 overs as he removed both the openers and Steven Smith. He threw it away with the bat but responded beautifully with a 50-ball 60 against South Africa to be the lone man standing in the midst of the rubble.
South African all-rounder Marco Jansen has now bagged 12 wickets in the powerplay at the 2023 World Cup. Four of those came in Week 4 of the tournament as he nabbed two apiece against Pakistan and New Zealand while returning three wickets in each of those games.
Jansen also chipped in with a handy 14-ball 20-run cameo with the bat against Pakistan as the Proteas clinched a thriller in Chennai.
Bowlers: Shaheen Afridi, Mohammed Shami, Tabraiz Shamsi and Fazalhaq Farooqi
Shaheen Afridi has grown from strength to strength at the 2023 World Cup - a fact reiterated by his total wicket-tally extending to 16. He bagged three wickets against South Africa before turning in a masterful new ball spell against Bangladesh to finish with a three-fer again, snaring his 100th ODI wicket along the way.
Mohammed Shami was near unplayable against England, with his set-up of Ben Stokes marking one of the finest passages of fast bowling that the competition has borne witness to. He picked up 4/22 off seven overs as India pulled off an incredible defense of 229.
Fazalhaq Farooqi enters this playing XI as the third left-arm seamer alongside Afridi and Jansen. The Afghan sensation was brought back into the team for the Sri Lanka clash and he didn't disappoint, walking away with the Player of the Match honors for his match-winning spell of 4/34.
Rounding off this side is another left-arm bowler. Tabraiz Shamsi played his part with the bat to perfection, ensuring that South Africa scraped through by a lone wicket against Pakistan. But it was his outstanding spell of 4/60 that broke the back of the Pakistani batting lineup as they were skittled for 270.
Honorable mentions from Week 4 of 2023 World Cup
Once again, it was hard to leave out some noteworthy performers from this playing XI despite their incredible displays in the week gone by at the 2023 World Cup.
Leading the way is David Willey, who has emerged as a lone bright spark in England's continued miseries as they were hammered by both Sri Lanka and India. He bagged five wickets across those two matches before dropping a bombshell that he will call it a day from international cricket at the end of the tournament.
Equally unfortunate to miss out from this side is Jasprit Bumrah. The Indian speedster continued to do what he does best as he orchestrated the dismantling of England's top order in the company of Shami to finish with a three-fer.
Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama continued their good runs of form at the 2023 World Cup with unbeaten half-centuries against England. They also chipped in with scores of 46 and 36 against Afghanistan and looked assured during their stay, although they failed to convert their starts into substantial knocks.
Afghan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai was another incredibly unfortunate miss. He bowled a tight spell of 1/37 off seven overs before clobbering an unbeaten 73 off 63 deliveries to take his team home against Sri Lanka.
James Neesham's valiant 39-ball 58 against Australia and Aiden Markram's superbly paced 91 against Pakistan are also worth a shout-out. The same holds good for Keshav Maharaj's four-fer against New Zealand after he scored the winning runs in a thriller against Pakistan, but he couldn't quite make the final cut in this XI.
Best playing XI from Week 4 of the 2023 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Travis Head, Rassie van der Dussen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Marco Jansen, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammed Shami, Tabraiz Shamsi, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Who would make it to your playing XI from the week gone by at the 2023 World Cup? Have your say in the comments section below!
Also read: 3 reasons why England might finish last in the 2023 World Cup