15-member Squad of ICC World Cup 2015

15-member Squad of ICC World Cup 2015

Martin Guptill has arguably emerged as the best batsman of the World Cup 2015. Before the final against Australia he has already amassed 532 runs at an average of 76 and throughout the event his consistency is amazing. His 49 runs against Sri Lanka, 57 against Afghanistan, Man of Match performances with 105 runs against Bangladesh and record 237 against West Indies in the quarterfinal just speaks his class.

Shikar Dhawan scored 412 runs in 2015 World Cup’ 8 innings at an average of 51.50 and he is the top Indian scorer. However, his important 137 runs against South Africa and 100 against Ireland that earned him Man of the Match performance really exhibits one of the finest stroke playmaking of the event.   

Brendon McCullum, the Kiwi leader, loves to lead from the front. In every match of New Zealand it is him who set the tempo of the team’s batting tune with an extraordinary strike rate of almost 192. He has not scored as many runs as Sangakkara and Guptill but like his opening partner his is also a consistent performer, scoring  65 runs against Sri Lanka, 77 against England, 50 against Australia, 42 against Afghanistan and 59 against South Africa in the semis. To be honest, a strong candidate for Player of the Series and Man of the Final, likely-be.  

Faf du Plessis might not have been in limelight during the World Cup as other batsmen are, because his team asks him to consolidate the innings rather power-hitting and he comes to their expectations every time. With a total of 380 runs in 7 innings he is reasonably consistent and batted always well against tougher teams of the event, as against India he scored 55 runs, 62 against West Indies and 82 against New Zealand in the semifinal.

Kumar Sangakkara has scored 4 tons in the World Cup which is a record. 105 runs against Bangladesh, 104 against Australia and Man of Match performances against England and Scotland with 117 and 124 runs respectively just eloquently summarize his farewell from international cricket.  Although his team’ run for the trophy ended in the quarterfinal but he remains the leading scorer with 541 runs at an extraordinary average of 108.20 till the final played between Australia and New Zealand.  

Steve Smith is one of the best dependable batsmen of World Cup 2015, as his batting always shines in pressure situations. Scoring 95 runs against Afghanistan, 72 against Sri Lanka, 65 against Pakistan in quarterfinal and Man of the Match 105 runs against India in semifinal are a few examples of his strong mentality. He has so far amassed 346 runs at 57.66 and an important match is also spared for him to perform. Australia needs his batting to shine again in the final against New Zealand, to become Champion fifth time in cricket history.    

AB De Villiers, the South African skipper perhaps is in the best form of his life. The third top scorer of the event with 482 runs at an average of 96.20 and maintaining an astonishing 141.30 strike rate. But more importantly are his record 21 sixes in the tournament that made his batting a delight to watch. World Cup record of best individual inning of 162 against West Indies, another all round display of 99 runs and getting 2 wicket in match against UAE earned him Man of the Match awards. Unfortunately his another 65 runs against New Zealand couldn’t earn berth for his team in the World Cup final.

Glenn Maxwell, the Aussie all rounder emerges as the best consistent performers from Australia, scoring 324 runs and getting 5 wickets in the event. His flashy innings of 66-run against England, 88 against Afghanistan and Man of Match performance against Sri Lanka with 102 runs cannot exclude him from noticing.

Corey Anderson is one of the key performers of the New Zealand team who has always been something chipping in with his batting, bowling and fielding. He has so far scored 231 runs and collected 14 wickets (4^th top runs getter and wicket taker in his team with a match, spared). The Man of the Match against Sri Lanka scored 75 runs and notched 2 wickets in opening match, besides also contributing with 39 runs and 2 wickets against Bangladesh, 58 runs plus 2 wickets against South Africa in semifinal.

Mahindra Singh Dhoni has the best batting average amongst the Indian batsmen i.e. 59.25. He accumulated a total of 237 runs with two fifties – one 85 against Zimbabwe and 65 against Aus Semi – a part from catching 15 opponents behind the stumps. But what matters most is his tactical and shrewd captaincy that keeps him head and shoulder above the rival skippers.   

Daniel Vettori, the veteran Kiwi spinner is basically the difference between New Zealand and their opponents in the event. As in his valuable collection of 15 wickets so far he has maintained a distinctive economy rate of 3.98. The Man of the Match against Afghanistan with 4 wickets also has a decent tally of 6 important catches in his pockets during this event.

Wahab Riaz, the Pakistani left arm pacer is amongst those who have performed in the tournament with consistency. Ending the event with 16 wickets in 7 matches in not an ordinary accomplishment. And, his Man of the Match performance against Zimbabwe when he scored 54 and took 4 wickets reveals his all round capabilities but it was his lifetime spell against Australia in the quarterfinal which is indeed one of the best individual performances of the World Cup 2015. Though, he took just 2 wickets but his aggression and commitment was exemplary and second to none.

Trent Boult is not just the leading wicket taker of the World Cup 2015 with 21 scalps so far and a match in hand but also the reason that the Kiwi team qualified to any World Cup final first time. Two times Man of the Match against Scots and Aussies besides 3 scalps against Afghans and again 4 against West Indies in the quarterfinal are some of his awesome performances.

Mitchell Starc, the lanky Aussie is just after Trent Boult in the list of event’ top wicket takers with 20. And, with a match yet to play let’s see who finishes up as the leader of the chart. However, Starc’ 6 wickets against New Zealand and the Man of the Match 4-wicket haul against Scotland tells that he is unstoppable on his day  

UT Yadev is also a consistent performer of the World Cup 2015. He got 3 wickets against Zimbabwe, 4 against Bangladesh in the quarterfinal and also 4 against Australia in the semifinal. In total he collected 18 wickets maintaining a decent pace and length. Very surprisingly he stands second with 8 catches in the list of leading field catchers of 2015 event.