World Cup 2019: Flop XI after the first half of the tournament
When we look at the other teams who have struggled to perform consistently, we understand that they didn’t make the most of the opportunities that were provided. To add to the misery, almost every team has been involved in an abandoned contests where a crucial point was lost. The main difference between the top 4 and the rest has been the ability to handle pressure situations.The 2019 World Cup which began on the 30th of May has reached the halfway mark already. With more than 20 matches remaining including the knock-outs and the final, the platform is set for all teams to raise their game. While teams like India, New Zealand have been unbeaten until now, England and Australia have lost just one game.
Coming back to the initial stage, there were key players on each side who failed to deliver. Let us come up with an eleven that performed poorly in the first half of the tournament. We have considered the first five games' performances for each team.
#1 Openers: Hashim Amla and Chris Gayle
Hashim Amla has been the backbone of the South African top order over the last decade. When it comes to the limited format, he certainly has been one of the best ever to play for his country. In 176 ODIs that he has played, he has scored in excess of 8000 runs with 27 tons. He is playing in his third world cup this time around. Unfortunately, he is not in good touch with scores of 13,6,6 and 41* in four matches. The main mantra of success for the team is to see Amla getting back to his best.
Gayle has been that kind of a player who has the ability to single-handedly swing the match in his team’s favor. His explosive nature and fearlessness can disturb even the best bowler on the planet. Having represented his county in 5 world cups, he has scored more than 1000 runs with two hundreds. But he has failed to meet the expectations in the first half of the ongoing world cup. In five games, he has scored a fifty against Pakistan. Apart from that, he has struggled to time the ball which was evident against Bangladesh when he got out for a duck facing 13 deliveries. Its time that he brings his A-game to England.
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