World Cup 2019: Best XI of the tournament
After a number of thrilling encounters between the best sides in the world, England ended their 44-year old wait as they were crowned World Champions for the first time in their cricketing history.
The final was an edge of the seat thriller, in the truest sense, as there was very little to separate between the sides in an intense tussle. The fortunes kept changing, and some last over melodrama resulted in a tied match. This was followed by a Super Over, which ended in a tie as well. After 102 overs of riveting, fiercely competitive cricket, England were declared winners, having scored more boundaries all throughout the game.
The World Cup is the most coveted stage of cricket, on account of the fierce competition between the best of the business. The tournament has had a rich cricketing legacy, with legends across the world mastering the art of playing under pressure and winning crucial matches for their sides. In this edition too, there were scintillating performances in all the departments, with the some individuals proving to be standout performers for their sides.
Here is a look at the best XI of the 2019 World Cup.
Openers - Rohit Sharma and David Warner
Rohit Sharma stamped his authority in the World Cup right from the first game, scoring a spectacular hundred against South Africa. He continued his good run in the subsequent games, and notched his highest World Cup score of 140 against arch-rivals Pakistan.
Rohit then scored three successive hundreds, one each against England, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, thereby breaking the record for the most hundreds by a player in a single edition of the World Cup.
He also equaled Sachin Tendulkar's tally of six hundreds in World Cup history and at the end of the tournament, finished as the highest run-scorer of the tournament with 648 runs in 9 innings at an average of 81.00 and a strike rate of 98.33.
David Warner made a scintillating comeback to the international arena, choosing the biggest stage of cricket for it. Warner made his intentions clear in the very first game, bagging the Man of the Match award against Afghanistan. He sustained his good form throughout the tournament, notching three beautiful hundreds against Pakistan, Bangladesh and South Africa.
Warner displayed a different aspect of his batting in the tournament, as he started off steadily, allowing Aaron Finch to play the aggressive strokes. However, once was well set, there was no stopping him as the southpaw went about a hitting spree.
He ended his campaign as the second highest run scorer, with 647 runs from 10 innings, at an average of 71.89, including three centuries and three half-centuries as well.
Also read – World cup most wickets