World Cup Game Changers – 2015: The 2015 World Cup was played in Australia and New Zealand. After a gap of 23 years (1992), the World Cup was played in this part of the world. The format of the World Cup was exact replica of the 2011 World Cup. India entered the World Cup with a chance to complete a treble of ICC ODI championships. They were the defending champions of both World Cup (2011) and CT (2013). Australia and New Zealand were the other favourites along with South Africa.
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World Cup Game Changers – 2015
The Group A upset:
A total of 14 teams were divided into two groups. Group A was arguably the more intense of the two. With Bangladesh punching above their weight, it was a tricky group to come out of. In a stunning upset, Bangladesh knocked England out of the competition. The Eoin Morgan-led side had a horrendous World Cup run and they couldn’t move past the group stage.
New Zealand playing Australia at Auckland was always going to decide the topper of the group. The home side prevailed with a one-wicket win to top the group unbeaten. Australia, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh were the other 3 sides from the group to qualify.
A familiar script in Group B:
The eventual lineup for the quarters followed a familiar template in Group B but it wasn’t without drama. Pakistan lost to West Indies who in turn lost to Ireland. It came down to NRR between the West Indies and Ireland. A huge win over Zimbabwe helped the Windies to take the fourth spot. Pakistan settled for the third spot with 4 wins and 2 losses. India’s clinical showing in the league stage helped them top the group without any blemish. South Africa came second in Group B.
The knockouts:
South Africa won their first-ever ODI World Cup knockout game when they trashed Sri Lanka in the quarters. New Zealand thumped the West Indies to secure a home semifinal. Pakistan gave it their all but came short against Australia. It setup a dream semifinal lineup with New Zealand and South Africa clashing at Auckland while India took on Australia at the SCG.
In a rain-affected game at the Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand won a famous semifinal against South Africa. Grant Elliot’s winning six off Dale Steyn remains one of the most revisited moments in cricket. Australia in the other semifinal proved too hot to handle for India as they ousted them out of the tournament. It was unfortunately India’s one and only loss in the whole tournament.
The World Cup final:
It was a dream for a million kiwis to play a World Cup final. But the game was as good as over in the very first over when Mitchell Starc dismissed Brendon McCullum. The Kiwi skipper who led from the front embracing attack-at-all costs method fell prey to his own doing. New Zealand never really recovered from the setback. Australia comfortably won what was a complete one-sided affair.
The World Cup Mitch effect:
Mitchell Starc walked into the tournament amidst severe criticism of his Test bowling form. But Starc got his groove almost immediately in the World Cup. He picked up 2 wickets in the first game against England. In arguably the best game of the tournament, New Zealand squared off against Australia in the group stage. Trent Boult’s 5-27 bounded Australia over for just 151.
Brendon McCullum got New Zealand off to a frenetic start. He smashed 50 off 24 balls to take the black caps to pole position. At 79-2, Starc turned on his beast mode. He made run-scoring so difficult with his scorchers that either found timber or edge to the fielders. Starc’s 6-28 almost won the game for Australia. He returned with another two wickets in consecutive games against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Starc finished the league stage with a match haul of 4-14 against Scotland.
2015 World Cup’s biggest game-changer:
Starc picked up 2 wickets in both the quarterfinal game against Pakistan as well as in the semis against India. He picked up the 2 key wickets in the finals (McCullum and Luke Ronchi) to set Australia on the path for victory. Starc won the Player of the Tournament award with 22 wickets to his name. His bowling numbers were absolutely sensational as he averaged 10.18 with the ball conceding runs at just 3.50 per over. Starc’s strike rate of 17.40 was six points clear of the next best in the competition.
