World Cup 2019: Five surprises from the first week of the tournament
The first week of the ICC Cricket World Cup is over and we have witnessed some good quality cricket. There were some one-sided games whereas some went down to the wire. There have been some great performances in the first week by both the batsmen and the bowlers. We have not only seen a lot of runs from the bat but also a lot of wickets from the bowlers.
New Zealand and their neighbours Australia have just started from where they left in the last World Cup as both the teams are sitting in the top half of the table after winning their opening games. India might have started their campaign late but they started on the right note after defeating South Africa. Most of the other teams are stuck in the middle whereas South Africa and Afghanistan have lost all their games.
After a successful first week, the tournament will head into the second week with lots to look forward to. But before moving forward, let’s have a look at the five surprises which we saw in the first week of the World Cup.
#1 Imran Tahir bowling the first over of the World Cup
2019 World Cup started with a surprise when South Africa captain Faf du Plessis handed the ball to Imran Tahir to bowl the first over of the World Cup. It came as a surprise on two counts. Firstly, South Africa had two great pacers in Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi who are accustomed to open the bowling. Not only that but also it was an early start and Faf had mentioned at the toss that there will be something for the fast bowlers in the pitch.
It also became the first instance of a spinner bowling the first ball of the World Cup. Faf later mentioned that the 40-year-old was bought to surprise the English opening pair of Jason Roy and Johnny Bairstow. The England openers definitely didn’t see this coming and as a result, Bairstow was dismissed in the first over. Jonny Bairstow was dismissed for a golden duck on due to a surprising move from the South African captain.
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