The 2009 T20I World Cup was the second edition of the tournament that was held between 5th June till 21st June 2009. This tournament was gaining momentum and the quality of cricket went up a few notches.
2009 T20I World Cup: Host Country and Tournament Format
The host country for this World Cup was England. The tournament format was that there were 12 teams that were divided into four groups of 3 Teams each. From there the Top 8 teams will play the Super 8s stage and the Top 4 teams will play the semi finals and then the 2 best teams play the final
2009 T20I World Cup: Participating Teams
India
Ireland
Bangladesh
England
Pakistan
Netherlands
Sri Lanka
West Indies
Australia
South Africa
New Zealand
Scotland
Group Stage
The Group stage of this tournament saw some great teams battle it out and there were some shocking results. Let’s look at some of the big group stage matches
England vs Pakistan
The Big match in Group B was between England vs Pakistan. This was the match that would determine who would top this group. In this match, England made 185 runs in 20 overs with Kevin Pietersen making 58 runs. While chasing, Pakistan could only make 137 and they lost the match by 48 runs.
Australia vs West Indies
Group C was the Group of Death and Australia were facing West Indies. Australia made 169 in 20 overs and David Warner had the highest score of 63. However, West Indies chased down the total in 15.5 overs. Chris Gayle was the highest scorer with 88 runs from 50 balls.
Australia vs Sri Lanka
Australia had to win this match against Sri Lanka to stay alive in the tournament. They made 159 for 9 in 20 overs. In reply, Sri Lanka chased down the target in 19 overs and they won by 6 Wickets. Kumar Sangakkara was not out on 55 runs. As a result Australia who were ranked 3 in the world were out in the group stage.
South Africa vs New Zealand
The most thrilling match of the group stage was the match between South Africa vs New Zealand. South Africa made only 128 in their 20 overs. However, New Zealand were not able to match that they could only score 127 Runs in 20 overs and they lost the match by 1 run.
Super 8s
The 8 teams that advanced from to the Super 8s were England, India, South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Ireland.
India vs West Indies was a close match in which India made 153 runs and Yuvraj Singh was the highest scorer with 67 runs. Dwayne Bravo had the perfect match as an all rounder because he took 4 Wickets and hit 66 not out to win for the West Indies. England and South Africa then beat India and India were out of the World Cup.
Semi Finals
The four teams that qualified for the semi final of the World Cup were South Africa, Pakistan, West Indies and Sri Lanka. Let’s look at the matches:
Pakistan vs South Africa
The first semi final was held on 18th June and it was played at Trent Bridge. Pakistan were batting first In this match and they made 149 in 20 overs. Shahid Afridi was the top run getter with 51 Runs. In reply, South Africa could only make 142. Jacques Kallis made 64 runs and Afridi took 2 wickets for 16 runs in 4 overs. Pakistan won the match by 7 Runs.
Sri Lanka vs West Indies
The second semi final was played on 19th June at The Oval. Sri Lanka Batted first and they made 158 runs. Tilakaratne Dilshan made a brilliant 96 not out. West Indies were all out for 101 out of which Chris Gayle made 63 not out. Sri Lanka advanced to the final.
The Final
The Final of the 2009 ICC T20I World Cup was between Pakistan vs Sri Lanka.
The final was played on 21st June at Lord’s . Sri Lanka batted first and they made 138 runs in 20 overs. Pakistan chased down this Target easily as they won the match by 8 wickets. Shahid Afridi made 54 not out and was there at the end. Pakistan won by 8 Wickets.
2009 T20I World Cup: Player of the Tournament
Tilakaratne Dilshan was the ICC T20I World Cup 2009 Player of the Tournament as he scored 317 runs. He was the highest run getter in the tournament.
2009 T20I World Cup: Memorable Performances
In the India vs Ireland match, Zaheer Khan took 4 wickets for 19 runs in 3 overs. This was one of the few memorable Indian performances in this tournament.
Shahid Afridi took 4 wickets for just 11 runs in 4 overs against Netherlands. He won the match for Pakistan by 82 runs.
Chris Gayle made 88 runs in 50 balls against Australia while chasing 170. He smashed 6 fours and 6 sixes in this innings meaning 60 runs in boundaries.
Sanath Jayasuriya made 81 runs against West Indies for Sri Lanka and he won the match by 15 Runs. He hit 10 fours and 3 sixes meaning 58 runs.
Umar Gul bowled the best spell of the tournament when he took 5 wickets for just 6 runs in 3 overs. He only gave away 2 runs per over.
Tilakaratne Dilshan made the highest score of the World Cup in the semi final against South Africa. He made a breathtaking 96 not out in which he hit 12 fours and 2 sixes which means 60 runs in boundaries.
Key Statistics from the 2009 T20I World Cup
Tilakaratne Dilshan scored the most runs in this tournament. He made 317 runs with a highest score of 96 not out.
Umar Gul was the highest wicket taker in the tournament as he took 13 wickets in the World Cup of 2009.
Umar Gul also had the best bowling figures in a match as he took 5 wickets for 6 runs against New Zealand.
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