World Cup 2019 Man of the Tournament | Who will clinch the title ?
To play in the Cricket World Cup is the dream of every young cricketer and once he gets into the World Cup squad of his nation, he tries to perform his best at the mega-event. The ones who emerge as the brightest star of the World Cup receive the Man of the Tournament award at the end of the tournament.
In the history of Cricket World Cups, 4 out of 7 times, a player from the champion team has won this prestigious prize. On the other hand, there have been 3 occasions where the Man of the Tournament was a part of an eliminated team or the runners-up team.
As far as the 2019 World Cup is concerned, at the end of the group stages, the fans have witnessed several match-winners rise to the occasion and deliver the goods for their nation.
Here are the 3 players who are most likely to win the Player of the Tournament award of ICC World Cup 2019:
Rohit Sharma (India)
Matches - 8, Runs - 647, Average - 92.43, Strike Rate - 98.78, 100s - 5
The standout player of the Indian team, Rohit Sharma has silenced all his critics with his unbelievable batting performances in the 2019 World Cup. The Hitman has already broken the all-time record of most centuries in a single World Cup. He has also matched Sachin Tendulkar's record of 6 World Cup hundreds.
The right-handed opening batsman has been the reason behind India's batting success in this tournament. Though he has played one game lesser than most of the other batsmen in the World Cup, Rohit has occupies the pole position in the run charts.
India will face New Zealand in the semifinals which means Rohit Sharma will go up against the terrific trio of Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson and Jimmy Neesham. The opener had scored only 2 runs in the warm-up match versus New Zealand before being trapped leg-before by Boult. It will be intriguing to see if he improves his performance this time.
Mitchell Starc (Australia)
Matches - 9, Wickets - 26, Maidens - 5, 5-wicket hauls - 2
Mitchell Starc had won the Man of the Tournament award in the 2015 World Cup and it will be no surprise if the pace bowler once again wins the title if Australia successfully defend their title. Starc has troubled almost every batting line-up in the 2019 World Cup. He is just 1 wicket away from shattering Glenn McGrath's all-time World Cup record of most wickets in a single edition of the World Cup.
He will be up against the English batting line-up in the semifinals. This will be the third time Australia will battle England in the last two months (including the warm-up game). They had beaten them in both the earlier matches, with Starc taking 4 wickets in the group stage match. His yorker delivery to Ben Stokes is considered as one of the best of this World Cup.
The likes of Joe Root, Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow will find it hard to tackle the Aussie fast bowler in the 2nd semifinal.
Ben Stokes (England)
Matches - 9, Runs - 381, Average - 54.43, Wickets - 7, Economy Rate - 4.65
If there's one man who has been the backbone of the English team in this tournament, it has been Ben Stokes. While the team's batsmen have done well, none of them have been so consistent that they can clinch the Man of the Tournament title.
Ben Stokes has stepped up and delivered the goods whenever the team needed him. He has an aggregate of 381 runs in the 2019 World Cup. Also, Stokes has scalped 7 wickets at a fantastic economy rate of 4.65. Besides, he has been an exceptional fielder as well.
It will not be an understatement if we say that Ben Stokes' performance will decide whether England will win the World Cup or no.
Wild Card to win this title - Shakib Al Hasan from Bangladesh (606 runs and 11 wickets in 8 matches)
Who do you think will win the Man of the Tournament award? Let us know in the comments box below.
Also read - World cup all time records
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Also read - World cup all time records