The Men’s Cricket World Cup is the most coveted trophy in the game of cricket and a festival for all cricket fans around the globe. With the eyes of 2 billion cricket enthusiasts in the marquee event, the players give their all in the quest for glory. In this gala, we provide a statistical highlight of the tournament to the grand finale played between India and Australia in the majestic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Modern Day Master shadows the Master Blaster:
Virat Kohli surpassed the seemingly unsurmountable peak of 49 ODI centuries scored by Sachin Tendulkar by scoring his 50th ton against New Zealand on 15th November 2023. The fact that the mountain peaked in Tendulkar’s home, in front of the legend, on the 10th anniversary of his retirement, against bogey team New Zealand, and in a World Cup Semi-Final clash adds all the more cherries. In the process, Kohli also broke Tendulkar’s record of most runs in a single edition of the CWC, surpassing the 673 he scored in the 2003 edition.
Maxwell goes maximum:
Australian batter Glenn Maxwell became a part of the CWC folklore when he almost single-handedly overcame a spirited Afghani bowling attack, humid Mumbai weather, and cramping hamstrings to overtake 293 by scoring an unbeaten 201. In the process, he became the first Australian to breach 200 in ODIs, the first non-opener to score an ODI 200, and the first-ever ODI 200 to scored while chasing a target.
Maxwell’s Assault:
Kevin O’Brian’s record of a ton in 50 balls against neighbours England lasted 12 years when Aiden Markram bettered it by 1 ball against the Lankans in Delhi. His record lasted only 18 days before Glenn Maxwell laid waste to a hapless Dutch attack to score the fastest WC ODI ton in a mind-boggling 40 balls.
Pakistan scales new Peaks:
A depleted Lankan side on the back of vice skipper Kusal Mendis’ century would have been satisfied with a 344/9 at the halfway point. Despite losing opener Imam and captain Babar cheaply, Pakistan managed to chase down a record 345 in WC history on the back of keeper Rizwan’s century. They bettered the previous record set by the Irish chasing 328 against England in 2011. With this, Pakistan established a scoreline of 8-0 against the Lankans in the CWC.
Shami overshadows Starc:
India’s bowling attack is now the world’s envy, emulating the famed Australian pace pack of the early 2000s. Mitchell Starc started CWC 2023, breaking Malinga’s record of fastest to 50 CWC wickets in the opening game against India. He took 19 innings to scale the peak. Mohd. Shami, replacing Hardik Pandya in the New Zealand encounter, announced himself with a wicket off the first ball of his tournament. Shami has not looked back since, claiming 16 wickets in 5 innings in the league stage and another 7 in the semi-final clash, including his 50th when he dismissed Devon Conway. It took him just 17 games to reach the summit.
Hitman’s new heights:
In a brand new avatar, Rohit Sharma has set the CWC on fire with his firebrand batting style while opening the innings, deciding most games within the powerplay itself. His brutal assault of 131 off 84 balls against Afghanistan in Delhi got him the record for most international sixes (556), overtaking Chris Gayle by a margin of 80 innings. He also surpassed his mentor Sachin Tendulkar for the most centuries in CWC, scoring his seventh ton in his 19th CWC innings.
India 8 – Pakistan 0:
The most anticipated clash between neighbours and archrivals India and Pakistan had the world on tenterhooks. The eighth round of the rivalry in the 130,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, packed to the brim, was expecting a clash of the heavyweights, only for Pakistan to limp to 192 and India to chase the target with 7 wickets and 20 overs to spare. Jasprit Bumrah was awarded Player of the Match for his frugal 2/19 of 7 overs.
Worst Defence Ever:
2019 Champs England was in every pundit’s top 4 before the tournament started, with the world emulating their brand of aggressive cricket. But, their defence turned out to be a damp squib, losing 5 out of their first 6 games. Even minnows Afghanistan made merry already, having beaten two former champs, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, adding England to their kitty. This loss effectively eliminated England, making it the worst CWC defence yet.
David’s punching up Goliath:
Everybody loves an underdog story, and CWC 2023 has several to inspire fledgling teams. Netherlands, who got their ticket to India having beaten West Indies and Zimbabwe in the Qualifiers, blitzed South Africa, handing them their first defeat of the tournament after having them eliminated in the T20 WC last year. But the belles of the ball were Afghanistan, who, having won just 1 game in the previous two editions combined, nearly made it to the semis before giving a reprieve to a rampaging Glenn Maxwell. Their proud campaign boasts solid victories against former champs Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England, and minnows Netherlands, not before Australia is staring down a barrel at 90/7, defending 293.
India boss Semi-Finals:
Having ended their last two campaigns as Semi-Finalists, India broke free with a magnificent 397 off 50 overs. This is the highest team total in a Semi-Final. They eventually won by 70 runs.
South Africa- Kings of 400:
Having scored a massive 428 against Sri Lanka in Delhi, South Africa registered the highest team total of CWC, overtaking Australia’s 417 against Afghanistan in 2015. They also have 3 team totals of 400 or more in CWCs, the most by any side.
