The seventh edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup that began on October 17 culminated in Australia becoming the sixth team to win the crown here on Sunday.
Here’s a look at the biggest talking points of the tournament:
Toss is boss: So evident was the impact of the toss on the outcome of a match was that Aaron Finch, the Australia captain, was asked immediately after the final about how he managed to win six out of the seven tosses.
The only time the coin did not land in his favour, Australia was demolished by England in the Super 12.
Two-thirds of the total 45 games ended up in favour of the team that won the toss. However, the trend was more evident while playing in Dubai. Of the 13 games at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, including the final, only two were won by teams that were not lucky with the spin of the coin.
Still, while considering the impact of the toss, one should not undermine the fact that eventually it all boiled down to the quality and consistency of teams.
Otherwise, Afghanistan would have been in the knockouts, having won all five tosses in Super 12s. And New Zealand would have been sent packing after losing three tosses in the league stage.
A look at some significant numbers from the just-concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Mystery is history: Mystery spinners were supposed to be the show-stoppers in the World Cup but the tournament has shown that batters have ensured mystery spinners’ magic is on the wane, at least when it comes to picking wickets consistently.
Basic numbers
A look at their basic numbers reveals the story.
Rashid Khan (8 wickets in 5 matches), Tabraiz Shamsi (8 in 5), M. Theekshana (8 in 7), Varun Chakravarthy (0 in 3) couldn’t really run through sides.
The only exception was Mujeeb Ur Rahman of Afghanistan but five of his seven wickets in three games were against Scotland.
On the other hand, conventional spinners like Adam Zampa (13 in 7), Shadab Khan (9 in 6) Ish Sodhi (9 in 7) and R. Ashwin (6 in 3) were as successful.
Lessons from the leagues: IPL is the the most sought-after franchise-based T20 league in the world, with BBL, PSL and CPL vying for the second slot.
A few smart players — Josh Hazlewood and Kane Williamson, for instance — have timed their exposure in T20 leagues to precision, and the T20 World Cup underlined that the countries that host the biggest leagues don’t necessarily benefit from it at the biggest stage.
Commercial appeal, quality of cricket and popularity of a T20 league don’t guarantee that the hosting country’s team does well at the big stage.
New Zealand’s consistent run despite a low-profile domestic league and India’s and West Indies’ ordinary performances are examples.
Besides, the old or tired warriors may end up excelling in T20 leagues but when it comes to the World Cup, they cannot really lead their respective teams to success.
