World Cup 2019: The best player from each department
The World Cup 2019 produced a brand new World Cup champion as hosts England lifted the trophy for the first-ever time in cricket history, beating New Zealand by a 'superior boundary count' in the summit clash of the competition.
All through the World Cup, numerous records were broken by several players. While Rohit Sharma broke Kumar Sangakkara’s record of most centuries in a single edition of the tournament, Mitchell Starc broke compatriot Glenn McGrath’s record of most number of wickets in a single edition of the World Cup.
Starc also became the first bowler in the history of the game to take three 5-wicket hauls in World Cups. Tom Latham equalled Adam Gilchrist’s record of most dismissals by a wicket-keeper in a single World Cup. Yuvraj Singh's record of being the only player to score a half-century and take five wickets in a single World Cup found a new holder as Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan achieved the feat.
There were many remarkable performances in all departments as the tournament, barring a few lopsided encounters and washed out matches produced an equitable battle between bat and ball. Here is a look at the best player from each department at the end of the World Cup.
Best Batsman: Rohit Sharma (India)
The fact that both the highest run-scorer and wicket-taker did not feature in the summit clash exhibited why cricket is a team sport, and individual performances matter only up to a certain extent. Indian opener Rohit Sharma produced some of his best-ever batting performances, and yet India could fell short in the semifinal against New Zealand and crashed out of the tournament.
The 32-year-old from Maharashtra went on a rampage to break various seemingly unbreakable records that were held by legends of the game. He became the first player in the history of the sport to score five centuries in a single World Cup edition.
He also equalled Sachin Tendulkar’s record of six World Cup tons. In 9 matches, Rohit notched up 648 runs at a staggering average of 81. He also maintained a healthy strike rate of just over 98.
His 113-ball 140 against arch-rivals Pakistan was one of his best knocks while a crucial century against South Africa, on a pitch that was favouring the pacers all throughout was one of his standout knocks.