After a month of high-octane action in Australia, the T20 World Cup 2022 came to a thrilling climax on Sunday with England lifting the elusive trophy after beating Pakistan by five wickets in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Like every edition of the tournament, this year also fans from all around the world witnessed some of the fiercest battles between the bat and ball in the elite competition. Here we take a look at the top moments from the T20 World Cup 2022:
King Kohli at his best
Star India batter Virat Kohli came into the tournament on the back of a brilliant form and enthralled over 90,000 delirious fans at the MCG with a match-winning 82 against arch-rivals Pakistan.
His two sixes off Haris Rauf at the end of the 19th over went down in folklore as his side chased down their victory target of 160 on the final ball of a match that launched India’s campaign.
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After the match, Kohli said his extraordinary match-winning knock was his best in the format while captain Rohit Sharma hailed it as one of the greatest in the country’s proud cricket history.
Zimbabwe stun Pakistan
After losing to India in a thrilling clash, Pakistan experienced one of the worst nightmares of their life as they suffered a shock one-run defeat against minnows Zimbabwe in Perth.
Defending a modest 131, Zimbabwe stifled the Pakistani batters and picked up wickets at regular intervals to stop their fancied rivals at 129 for eight.
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Interestingly, it was Pakistan-born all-rounder Sikandar Raza who turned the match on its head for Zimbabwe in the middle overs with figures of 3 for 25 from his four overs, which included the wickets of Shan Masood (44), Shahdab Khan (17) and Haider Ali.
It was a win to remember for Zimbabwe, while for Pakistan, the defeat almost knocked them out of the tournament.
Ireland upset England
Ireland came into the Super 12 stage with a giant-killing reputation after they knocked out two-time champions West Indies.
But Andrew Balbirnie’s team were not done there as they upset pre-tournament favourites and eventual champions England in a rain-hit match.
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Balbirnie led from the front with a brisk 62 in Melbourne to set a 158-run target and England were 105-5 when rain stopped play, five runs behind the DLS par score.
“It’s amazing, kind of emotional,” said man-of-the-match Balbirnie after another famous win.
South Africa stayed true to their chokers’ tag
It was a sunny Adelaide morning when South Africa’s players started warming up for their must-win match against the Netherlands, but that was about the only bright spot on a dark day for them.
Colin Ackermann powered the underdog Dutch to a challenging 158-4 with his quickfire unbeaten 41 and then the Netherlands bowlers worked their magic.
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A powerful-looking Proteas batting line-up crumbled under pressure and their World Cup was over in a flash when all they had needed to do was win to clinch a last-four berth.
In a tournament full of shocks, arguably this was the biggest – and it handed Pakistan or Bangladesh that last semi-final place, which Babar Azam’s side grabbed.
Jos Buttler, Alex Hales broke millions of hearts
It was destined in the eyes of their fans to be an India versus Pakistan final, but England openers – Jos Buttler and Alex Hales, broke millions of hearts when they knocked Team India out of the T20 World Cup 2022 thrashing them by 10 wickets in the semifinals.
The duo produced one of the finest English displays of all time as in front of a packed pro-India crowd at the Adelaide Oval, unbeaten man-of-the-match Hales blasted 86 off 47 balls and skipper Buttler struck 80 not out in a scarcely believable 10-wicket annihilation.
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It was particularly satisfying for Hales, who only returned for the World Cup after more than three years in the international wilderness.
(With AFP inputs)
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