5 surprise performers of the ICC Cricket World Cup so far

The group stages of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup concluded on Sunday. After 42 games, 8 teams made it to the knockout stages and 6 others boarded the flight back home. During the course of these games, there were numerous noteworthy performances.While some of these performers were the usual suspects like Kumar Sangakkara, AB De Villiers and Mitchell Starc, there were quite a few surprise performers as well. Let’s take a look at some of the surprise performers of the World Cup so far: 

#1 Lahiru Thirimanne

For someone whose playing style has been compared to the great Kumar Sangakkara, Lahiru Thirimanne has a big reputation to live up to. However, over the years he has only shown sparks of brilliance and has been rather inconsistent.

In this World Cup though, he seems to have found a new level of consistency. In 6 games, the Sri Lankan opener has scored 261 runs at an average of 52.20 and a strike rate of 84.74. Thirimanne’s good run of form has eased the pressure on the senior pros of the team like Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.  

What he has done differently: Rather than Thirimanne doing something different, it is the Sri Lankan think tank that has done something different by promoting him to the top of the order. Though he made his debut as an opener, his batting position gradually slipped to number 5 and number 6. Often, he used to come in at a time when either very few deliveries were left or he had very few partners to play with.

The 25-year old’s playing style is such that he needs a few deliveries to play himself in, something that can’t be done lower down the order. However, the opener’s slot provides this kind of luxury, something that he has used to his advantage.