The 2012 ICC T20I World Cup was played between 18th September till the 7th October 2012. This was the 4th ICC T20I World Cup. It was also the first time that the tournament was being held in Asia.
2012 T20 World Cup: Host Country and Tournament Format
The host country for the 2012 T20I World Cup was Sri Lanka. The format was similar to the earlier editions. 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. The top 4 teams will then play the semi final and the winners of the semi final will play the final.
2012 T20 World Cup: Participating Teams
England
India
Afghanistan
Australia
West Indies
Ireland
Sri Lanka
South Africa
Zimbabwe
Pakistan
New Zealand
Bangladesh
Group Stage
The group stage of the 2012 T20I World Cup was a very competitive affair. The 12 teams were playing their best cricket to get into the Super 8s stage. Let’s look at some of the group stage matches
India vs England
The big match of the first group was between India vs England. India batted first and they made 170 in 20 overs. Rohit Sharma was the highest run getter with 55 not out. England were all out for 80 runs with Harbhajan Singh taking 4 wickets for just 12 runs. India won the match by 90 Runs.
West Indies vs Australia
The big match in Group B was between West Indies vs Australia. This was a match that was affected by rain. West Indies batted first and they made 191 runs in 20 overs. Due to the D/L method the target for Australia was 100 runs. Shane Watson made 41 not out from 24 balls and Australia won the match.
Sri Lanka vs South Africa
This was the big match in Group C. It was between Sri Lanka vs South Africa. This was a 7 over match due to the rain. South Africa were batting first and they made 78 in 7 overs. In reply, Sri Lanka could only make 46 and they lost by 32 runs.
Pakistan vs New Zealand
In Group D the two big teams were Pakistan and New Zealand. This was a good match. Pakistan batted first and they made 177 runs. New Zealand in reply could only make 164 runs in 20 overs and Pakistan won by 13 runs.
Super 8s
The teams that qualified for the Super 8s stage were England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies , Australia, India, Pakistan and South Africa.
New Zealand vs Sri Lanka was a very close match. New Zealand made 174 runs batting first in 20 overs and it took the full 20 overs for Sri Lanka to chase down. Tilakaratne Dilshan made 76 match winning Runs.
West Indies vs New Zealand was a tied match as both teams made 139. However, West Indies won the match in the Super Over.
India vs Pakistan was a one sided contest as Pakistan could only make 128 in 20 overs and in reply India chased down the total in 17 overs. Virat Kohli made a brilliant 78 not out runs.
India vs South Africa was a very close match. India made 152 runs in 20 overs. South Africa were all out for 151 in 19.5 overs and India won by 1 run
Semi Finals
The four teams that qualified for the semi finals were Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies and Australia. Let’s have a look at the matches
Sri Lanka vs Pakistan
This was a low scoring match. Sri Lanka were batting first and they made 139 in 20 overs. In reply, Pakistan could only make 123 runs in 20 overs and Sri Lanka won the match by 16 runs. Rangana Herath took 3 wickets for 25 runs in 4 overs. This match was played on 4th October 2012.
West Indies vs Australia
The second semi final was played on 5th October 2012 and it was between West Indies vs Australia. West Indies were batting first and they made 205 in 20 overs. Chris Gayle made an amazing 75. Australia could only make 131 runs while batting second. West Indies won the match by 74 Runs
The Final
The final of the 2012 ICC T20I World Cup was played between the hosts Sri Lanka vs West Indies. West Indies were batting first in the final and they could only make 137 runs. Marlon Samuels was the highest run getter with 78 runs. Sri Lanka only made 101 runs and Sunil Narine took 3 wickets for 9 runs in 3.4 overs. West Indies won the ICC T20I World Cup for the first time
2012 T20 World Cup: Player of the Tournament
Shane Watson was the player of the Tournament for the 2012 ICC T20I World Cup. He scored the most runs as he made 249 runs and he also took 12 Wickets.
2012 T20 World Cup: Memorable Performances
Brendon McCullum hit the highest score In this World Cup. He made a sensational 123 runs in a match against Bangladesh. He smashed 11 fours and 7 sixes which means 86 runs in boundaries. He had a strike rate of 212.
Luke Wright made a match winning 99 runs for England vs Bangladesh. He hit 8 fours and 6 sixes meaning 68 runs in boundaries. He played 55 balls for this innings and he was unbeaten.
Virat Kohli made 78* runs against Pakistan in 2012 and this was the innings that gave him a lot of name. He batted for 61 balls and he hit 8 fours and 2 Sixes meaning 44 runs in boundaries. He won the match for India by 8 Wickets
Ajantha Mendis bowled the best spell of the tournament as he took 6 wickets for only 8 runs in 4 overs that he bowled in this innings. He was unplayable and he won the match for Sri Lanka by 82 runs against Zimbabwe.
Lasith Malinga in an important match took 5 wickets for Sri Lanka vs England. He took 5 Wickets for 31 runs and won the match for Sri Lanka by 19 runs
Key Statistics from the 2012 T20 World Cup
Shane Watson from Australia had the most runs in the tournament. He scored 249 runs in 6 Matches. He had a strike rate of 150.
Brendon McCullum had the highest individual score of this tournament. He smashed 123 runs for New Zealand against Bangladesh.
Ajantha Mendis was the bowler with the most wickets in this World Cup. He took 15 Wickets in 6 Matches at an economy rate of 6.12
The best bowling figures were also by Ajantha Mendis as he took 6 Wickets for just 8 runs for Sri Lanka against Zimbabwe.
