Hot Wahab, cool Elliott, and Australia win again

Dec 25, 2018

The World Cup, in its 11th edition, returned to Australia and New Zealand after 23 years. The organisers were possibly using the opening ceremony to signal the trend of batsmen dominating the game, which was reinforced by the two individual double-hundreds scored in the tournament, and the 20 games that were decided by margins of more than 50 runs•IDI/Getty Images

The India-Pakistan game couldn't live up to the hype either. Virat Kohli made a hundred in India's total of 300, which proved too much for Pakistan in spite of Misbah-ul-Haq's calm 76.•AFP/Getty Images

The first double-hundred of the World Cup came off the bat of Chris Gayle, who made a 147-ball 215 in a big win over Zimbabwe.•ICC

But in the quarters, Bangladesh were a bit out of their depth against India's power-packed batting and disciplined bowling. Rohit Sharma was controversially reprieved early and went on to make 137, and India eventually won by margin of 109 runs.•Getty Images

Martin Guptill scored the second double-hundred of the tournament, in New Zealand's big quarter-final win over West Indies. His 237 is the highest World Cup score and second-highest in ODIs overall, and it took New Zealand to the semi-finals for the seventh time•ICC

The tournament kicked off with two such one-sided games: at a packed MCG, Australia beat England by 111 runs. In Christchurch, co-hosts New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 96 runs.•Getty Images

This was set to be the last truly representative World Cup, as the ICC had decided to reduce the number of teams to ten from 2019 onwards. Ireland tried their best to show why the reduction was a bad idea, beating West Indies in clinical fashion in Nelson.•Getty Images

The World Cup final was one-sided and hugely anti-climactic, partly because of the expectations generated by the finalists' previous meeting in the tournament when New Zealand dismissed Australia for 151 and then started well before collapsing. It was a nail-biter finished with a six by the ice-cool Kane Williamson.•ICC

South Africa's quarter-final encounter with Sri Lanka, Mahela Jaywardene and Kumar Sangakkara's final ODI, was more of a cakewalk. Imran Tahir and JP Duminy took seven wickets between them to dismiss Sri Lanka for 133, which the batsmen then chased down in 18 overs for the loss of one wicket. •Getty Images

More semi-final heartbreak for South Africa in a thriller at Eden Park. New Zealand were chasing 298 in 43 overs. Grant Elliott led the charge with an unbeaten 84, swung a mighty six when they needed five off the last two balls, and then walked over to console a fallen and injured Dale Steyn.•Getty Images

Afghanistan, playing in their first World Cup, needed 38 off the last four overs to beat Scotland. Samiullah Shenwari hit three sixes and then got out, but Afghanistan eventually won the game with three balls to spare.•AFP

When England faced Bangladesh, having already lost to Sri Lanka and New Zealand, they needed to win to make it to the quarters. They made a chase of 276 look far more daunting than it was, and eventually fell short by 15 runs. Bangladesh, for whom Mahmudullah had scored a century and Rubel Hossain took four wickets, made it to their first World Cup quarter-finals.•Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

For all the thrill of Wahab Riaz's fearsome spell, Australia beat Pakistan by a comfortable six wickets in the third quarter-final. Josh Hazlewood took 4 for 35, and Steven Smith and Shane Watson, who faced the brunt of Wahab's ire, made fifties, getting to the target with more than 16 overs to spare.•Getty Images

New Zealand reached their first World Cup final, but Brendon McCullum was bowled for a duck by Mitchell Starc in the first over and New Zealand could only manage 183, which Australia chased down in 33 overs to win their fifth world title and give their retiring captain Michael Clarke a memorable farewell.•ICC