T20 World Cup 2021: Best Playing XI of Week 2
The second week of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 culminated last night in Dubai. New Zealand defeated India to open their account in the points table, while Afghanistan recorded a comfortable win against Namibia earlier in the day.
The week saw defending champions West Indies open their account by edging Bangladesh in a close encounter, while England continued their fantastic run in the competition by beating Bangladesh and Australia.
The race to the semifinals will heat up in the coming week. But before the third week of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 gets underway, here's a strong playing XI comprising the best performers from the second week.
Openers - Jason Roy and Jos Buttler
England's opening batters Jos Buttler and Jason Roy were in destructive form during the second week of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Buttler blasted a 32-ball 71* against Australia, while Roy played a splendid innings of 61 runs against Bangladesh.
Overall, Buttler scored 89 runs in two innings and was the highest run-scorer in Week 2 of the tournament. Meanwhile, Roy aggregated 83 runs in two matches at a strike rate of 143.10.
Click here to see who has taken the highest wickets in T20 World Cup 2021.
Middle Order - Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran (wk) and Asif Ali
South Africa recorded two wins in the second week of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, with Aiden Markram playing a match-winning role. He scored 70 runs in two matches, with his highest score being 51*.
West Indies' Nicholas Pooran will keep wickets for the team. Pooran played a game-changing knock of 40 runs against Bangladesh that helped West Indies record their first win in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
Pakistan's finisher Asif Ali completes the middle order. Ali scored 52 runs in two innings at an incredible strike rate of 273.68 to help the Men in Green beat New Zealand and Afghanistan. In the game against Afghanistan, Ali created a world record for the least number of deliveries (7) faced to win the Man of the Match award in a T20I without bowling.
All Rounders - Gulbadin Naib, Michael Leask and Chris Woakes
Gulbadin Naib scored 36 runs and picked up two wickets in three matches for Afghanistan last week. Naib did not get dismissed even once in the two innings he played, while he had a brilliant bowling average of 9.50.
Scotland's Michael Leask aggregated 44 runs and bowled a spell of 2/12 in the match against Namibia. However, his effort went in vain as the Scots lost their second Super 12 fixture.
Chris Woakes did not get a chance to bat for England last week in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. However, he performed exceptionally well with the ball and took an unbelievable catch on the field. Woakes scalped three wickets at an economy rate of 4.37 and played a vital role in England's victories.
Bowlers - Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Haris Rauf
Afghanistan's spinners Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman were the top two leading wicket-takers in the second week of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. While Khan bagged seven wickets in three matches, Mujeeb picked up six wickets in the two games he played.
Haris Rauf will lead the pace attack along with Chris Woakes. Rauf won the Man of the Match award against New Zealand for his spell of 4/22. The Pakistani pacer also dismissed Asghar Afghan in the game against Afghanistan.