2014 T20 World Cup: Host Country and Tournament Format

The host country for the tournament was Bangladesh. The format of the World Cup was a little different. There were a total of 16 teams and there was the first stage that was played in which the countries which were not a part of the Top 8 played. The Top 8 Full Member nations qualified for the Super 10 and from the other 8 teams only 2 more could qualify for the Super 10. In the Super 10 stage, 2 groups of 5 were created. From there the top 4 teams would qualify for the semi final. The winners of the semi final would then play the final

2014 T20 World Cup: Participating Teams

• Bangladesh

• Australia

• England

• India

• New Zealand

• Pakistan

• Sri Lanka

• West Indies

• South Africa

• Zimbabwe

• Ireland

• Afghanistan

• Nepal

• United Arab Emirates

• Netherlands

• Hong Kong

First Stage

The first stage was the part of the tournament in which the 8 teams who did not qualify for the Super 10 played for the last 2 spots. From Group A, Bangladesh was the team that qualified for the Super 10s with a higher net run rate. From Group B, it was Netherlands who qualified for the Top 10. Therefore the 10 teams were ready.

Super 10s

The Super 10s was the actual start to the tournament where the best teams competed against each other to get to the semi finals. Let’s look at some of the matches.

South Africa vs New Zealand

This was one of the best matches in this phase of the tournament. South Africa were batting first and they made 170 runs in 20 overs. JP Duminy made 86 runs from 43 balls at 200 strike rate. In reply, New Zealand were just 2 runs short as they could only make 168 runs. Dale Steyn bowled a spell of 4 Wickets for 17 runs in 4 overs.

Sri Lanka vs England

Sri Lanka vs England was one of the highest scoring thrillers of the tournament. Sri Lanka were batting in the first innings and they made 189 in 20 overs. Mahela Jayawardene made a brilliant 89 runs. While chasing, England chased down the total and Alex Hales hit a sensational hundred as he made 116 match winning runs to win by 6 wickets.

West Indies vs India

This was a low scoring thriller. West Indies were batting first and they made 129 in 20 overs. India took 19.4 overs to chase down 130. Rohit Sharma was the top scorer with 62 runs. India won an important match.

Pakistan vs Australia

This was also a very good match. Pakistan were batting first and they made a good score of 192 in the innings. Umar Akmal was the top run getter with 94 runs. Australia in reply made 175 in 20 overs and Pakistan won the match by 16 runs.

Semi Finals

The four teams that qualified for the semi finals were Sri Lanka, West Indies, India and South Africa. Let’s have a look at the matches.

Sri Lanka vs West Indies

The first semi final was between Sri Lanka vs West Indies. This match was played on 3rd April 2014. In this match Sri Lanka batted first and they scored 160 runs in 20 overs. In the second innings there was rain and as a result West Indies had a reduced target but still Sri Lanka won the match by 27 runs. West Indies made 80 runs for 4 wickets.

India vs South Africa

The second semi final between India vs South Africa was played on 3rd April. South Africa batted first and they made a good score of 172 in the first innings. While chasing, Virat Kohli led the chase as he made 72 not out from 44 balls and he won the match for India by 6 wickets. In this match, MS Dhoni defended the last ball of the 19th over so that Virat Kohli could hit the winning runs.

The Final

The Final of the ICC T20I World Cup 2014 was between India vs Sri Lanka. Let’s have a look at that match. India were batting first in the Final. It was a one man show in the final as Virat Kohli made 77 Runs from 58 balls. India only made 130 runs in 20 overs. While chasing, Sri Lanka easily chased the Target as they made 134 in 17.5 overs. Kumar Sangakkara hit an unbeaten 52 not out

2014 T20 World Cup: Player of the Tournament

Virat Kohli was the player of the tournament as he made 319 runs in just 6 Matches. He had a mind blowing average of 106.33.

2014 T20 World Cup: Memorable Performances

• Alex Hales made the highest score in the tournament as he smashed 116 runs against Sri Lanka. He hit 11 fours and 6 sixes meaning 80 runs in boundaries. He had a strike rate of 181.25.

• Ahmed Shehzad made the second century of the tournament. He hit an unbeaten 111 runs against Bangladesh in 62 balls. He hit 10 fours and 5 sixes meaning 70 runs in boundaries. He had a strike rate of 179.03.

• In the semi final between India vs South Africa, Virat Kohli played one of his best innings. He made 72 not out from 44 balls. He smashed 5 fours and 2 sixes meaning 32 runs in boundaries. He ran for 40 of his runs and still had a strike rate of 164.

• Rangana Herath had one of the best bowling spells of the World Cup. He took 5 wickets for just 3 runs against New Zealand. He bowled 3.3 overs.

Key Statistics from 2014 T20 World Cup

• Virat Kohli was the highest run getter of the 2014 T20 World Cup as he made 319 runs from 6 Matches. He had an incredible average of 106.17. He scored 4 half centuries in the tournament.

• The highest individual score by a batter was the one that was made by Alex Hales. He hit 116 runs against the eventual winners Sri Lanka.

• Imran Tahir from South Africa was the joint  highest wicket taker with 12 wickets. He had an economy rate of 6.55 in the tournament and that is the reason he is number one.

• Rangana Herath had the best bowling figures in a match. He took 5 wickets for just 3 runs against New Zealand.