T20 World Cup 2021: Best Playing XI from Round 1 of the competition
The ICC T20 World Cup 2021's Round 1 is done and dusted. Four teams - Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Namibia and Scotland - have progressed to the Super 12 stage. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea, the Netherlands, Ireland and Oman have been eliminated.
As expected, Sri Lanka topped the Group A standings. The 2014 T20 World Cup winners didn't break a sweat in their first three matches of the mega event. Debutants Namibia, on the other hand, stunned Ireland and the Netherlands to earn a place in the Super 12 phase.
Scotland surprised fans by finishing atop the standings in Group B. While they defeated Oman, Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea to top the group, Shakib Al Hasan and co. finished second with four points in two matches.
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have joined England, West Indies, Australia and South Africa in Group 1 of Super 12. Namibia and Scotland, meanwhile, are in Group 2 alongside India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and New Zealand.
Fans witnessed some entertaining games in Round 1 of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Now that the round has ended, let's take a look at the best playing XI from the first 12 games.
Openers - Max O'Dowd and Jatinder Singh
Max O'Dowd was the only Dutch player to perform well in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. The Netherlands opener was the highest run-scorer in Round 1 of the mega event, aggregating 123 runs at an average of 41.
Oman's Jatinder Singh will open the innings with Max. Jatinder scored a brilliant fifty against Papua New Guinea in the tournament opener. Overall, he managed 113 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 148.68.
Middle order - Gerhard Erasmus, Richard Berrington and Kiplin Doriga (wk)
Namibian skipper Gerhard Erasmus led his team from the front in the first round of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 by scoring 105 runs in three matches. Erasmus scored a match-winning fifty against Ireland that helped Namibia qualify for the Super 12 stage.
Scottish batter Richard Berrington was the most successful batter from his team. Berrington scored 103 runs in three innings at an average of 51.50.
Papua New Guinea wicketkeeper Kiplin Doriga completes the middle order. Doriga batted the best among all wicketkeepers in Round 1. He aggregated 64 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 136.17.
All-rounders - Shakib Al Hasan, David Wiese and Wanindu Hasaranga
David Wiese's all-round brilliance played an important role in Namibia's journey to the Super 12s of the T20 World Cup 2021. The former South African scored 100 runs in just two innings and bagged three wickets to trouble opposition sides.
Shakib Al Hasan and Wanindu Hasaranga are the two Asian names in this section. Bangladesh's Shakib was the most successful bowler in Round 1 of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, scalping nine wickets. He also scored 108 runs in three innings.
Meanwhile, Hasaranga picked up six wickets in three matches. In the only inning he played in Round 1, the Sri Lankan star scored 71 runs against Ireland.
Bowlers - Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara and Josh Davey
Scotland's Josh Davey will lead the pace attack for the team alongside Sri Lanka's Lahiru Kumara. Davey dismissed eight batters in three matches and attained first place among the pacers on the highest wicket-takers' leaderboard.
Meanwhile, Kumara took seven wickets in three matches, registering his career-best figures of 3/7 in the T20 World Cup 2021 match against the Netherlands.
Maheesh Theekshana will complete this team. The 21-year-old off-spinner took eight wickets in three games for Sri Lanka. While he maintained a miserly economy rate of 5, his bowling strike rate was just 6.7 in the opening round of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.