A World Cup of uncertainties, a World Cup to savour
The finalists have been unveiled, and the stage is set for former champions Pakistan and England as the T20 World Cup will see its curtains close on Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground after producing one of the most enthralling ICC events in recent memory.
People got to witness a World Cup that has managed to deliver, a tournament that has offered jaw-dropping moments, and riveting contests that saw unbelievable upsets. While drummed-up encounters lived up to expectations, it was often the less tempting fixtures that provided rejuvenation for the tournament, quenching the thirsts of cricket fans all over the world.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The 2022 T20 World Cup to a certain extent perhaps managed to match up to the not-so-old cliché that said that the 20-over game helped to bridge the gap between teams on both spectrums of the table.
For a tournament that has seen several giant-killings, the start could not have gotten any better as associate nation Namibia began their campaign with a bang as they managed to topple current Asian Champions Sri Lanka by a 55-run margin in the group-stage opener.
The baton then passed onto a Richie Berrington-led Scotland, who kept their wits about them to unravel two-time champions West Indies in a 42-run victory. And with that, the World Cup of the game of uncertainties had arrived!
The Scottish had taken the Caribbeans to the verge of elimination and their neighbours Ireland decided to deal the final card. In a must-win game, West Indies were outclassed by the brilliance of veteran Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie as the duo helped take the Irish to a nine-wicket win to send qualification-favourites West Indies packing.
Following that momentous triumph, Balbirnie's side produced one of the most remarkable turnarounds of the ongoing edition against Scotland when Curtis Campher and George Dockrell pulled off a Houdini-act, raging a 119-run stand in 57 balls to mark a famous four-wicket win after they had been reduced to 61-4 in pursuit of 177.
As if that wasn't enough, the Irish had a hunger for more giant-killing and this time in the Super 12, with a little luck from rain, the Balbirnie-led side were able to pull off a memorable five-run victory (D/L method) over eventual finalists England.
A promising Zimbabwe side didn't want to miss out on the action either as they had Pakistan locked in their crosshairs, forcing out a win by just a run leaving the Group 2 qualification open for all.
The Dutch may have left it late but definitely saved the best for last. In an almost sure-shot encounter, the South African would've been at ease as a win against the Netherlands would seal final-four qualification but their counterparts gathered up their Dutch courage to stun the Proteas, beating them by 13 runs to throw a life-line to Bangladesh and eventual finalists Pakistan.
Setting aside the dramatic upsets, the marquee event has seen several matches go right down to the wire. The India-Pakistan encounter fulfilled the expectations of even the most distant cricket fan with several twists and turns, particularly owing to Mohammad Nawaz's ultimate over that pretty much brought out all forms of emotions as viewers experienced a nail-biting finish from the edge of their seats, while Bangladesh produced back-to-back last-over thrillers against Zimbabwe and India to keep qualification pathways interesting.
Though the semis have delivered one-sided contests, the grand finale of a roller-coaster tournament still promises a lot. A barraging batting line-up will go against one of the most skilful string of bowlers to take home the bragging rights of calling themselves World Champions and as some of the events that have panned out so far in this tournament, why should the final be any different?
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