World Cup 2019: Top four knocks of the tournament
The 2019 ICC World Cup finally came to an end after an enthralling final between host-nation England & New Zealand, where the former prevailed on the basis of total boundaries hit in their innings after both the match and the super over ended in a tie.
Both sides fought valiantly till the last ball but it was all-rounder Ben Stokes innings who turned the match in England's favor. His knock of 84 kept England in the hunt even after the wickets of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, and Eoin Morgan fell in the space of 27 runs.
Like Stokes's innings, there were several other knocks in the tournament which were valiant efforts and will forever be etched into World Cup folklore.
Here are the top four knocks of the 2019 ICC World Cup.
#4 Ravindra Jadeja's 59-ball-77 vs New Zealand
The World Cup is by far the biggest spectacle in cricket and the pressure that players are under while representing their nation is immense and even the biggest of stars can crumble under it.
That is exactly what happened in the semi-final match between India and New Zealand, chasing a competitive total of 240 runs on a slow and sticky pitch, the mighty Indian batting order had six of their batsmen back in hut by the end of the 31st over with just 94 runs on the board.
With the last recognized batting pair on the crease and an additional 146 runs required off the last 19 overs, the end-result seemed a certainty but India weren't going out without a fight. The fightback started with first-innings fielding hero Ravindra Jadeja jumping out of his crease and smashing Jimmy Neesham over long-on for a maximum. The Indian fans rediscovered their voice with that shot while Jadeja along with the ever-dependable Mahendra Singh Dhoni started resurrecting India's innings.
Jadeja made sure that the required-run-rate did not spill into unreachable territory by hitting at least one boundary between overs 38 to 42 and reached his half-century - his first in nearly 5 years - in 39 balls.
Jadeja's timely hits and tireless running brought the equation down to 37 required off the last 3 overs but, alas, he could not take India over the line as in an attempt to clear the boundary he skied the 4th ball of the 48th over into the hands of Kane Williamson, prematurely ending his innings at 77.
Jadeja was by far the best batsman in that match, he was the highest run-getter in the match, he was the only batsman who faced 20+ balls and still had a strike rate above hundred & his 4 maximums were exactly double of what the remaining batsmen from both teams could hit in total.
Also read – World cup most wickets