The round-robin phase of the 2023 World Cup drew to a close on Sunday, November 12, with India completing a 160-run victory over the Netherlands at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and recording their ninth win on the bounce in the process.
The hosts will now face New Zealand in the first semifinal in Mumbai on Wednesday, November 15. Meanwhile, South Africa will take on Australia in the second semifinal in Kolkata the following day.
New Zealand were vying for the fourth spot, with Pakistan and Afghanistan also in the hunt. The Kiwis managed to make it on points alone, and net run rate didn't come into picture even as they were comfortably ahead on that count.
The last few games have produced arguably some of the best action witnessed at the 2023 World Cup. A couple of astounding batting performances stood out, and the bowlers also had their say throughout the course of the same.
Ahead of the semifinals, we pick our best playing XI from Week 5 of the 2023 World Cup. This takes into account the set of games commencing from the India-Sri Lanka contest on November 2 until last night's India-Netherlands clash.
Openers: Fakhar Zaman and Mitchell Marsh
Fakhar Zaman showed Pakistan just what they were missing in what was one of the knocks of the 2023 World Cup.
Chasing a whopping 401 against New Zealand in Bengaluru, the left-handed opener biffed the fastest World Cup hundred by a Pakistani batter, remaining unbeaten on 126 off 81 deliveries with eight boundaries and 11 sixes. His knock was instrumental in Pakistan staying ahead of the DLS par score by 21 runs as rain had the final say, with his team pocketing two crucial points.
Mitchell Marsh missed the game against England due to a family bereavement but returned for Australia's clash against Afghanistan. He couldn't convert his flying start of 28 off 14 deliveries into a big one, but more than made up with a scintillating unbeaten 177 against Bangladesh that saw him clear the fence down the ground quite effortlessly on numerous occasions.
Marsh was the chief catalyst behind Australia finishing the round-robin stage of the 2023 World Cup with a seventh consecutive win, chasing down 307.
Middle order: Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Ben Stokes, KL Rahul (wk) and Glenn Maxwell
Virat Kohli's stellar run of form at the 2023 World Cup continued with a record-equaling 49th ODI ton, sandwiched between half-centuries against Sri Lanka and the Netherlands. Unsurprisingly, it coincided with India's unbeaten run in the tournament as they finished on top of the table.
Shreyas Iyer seems to have started peaking at the perfect time for India. He blazed away to a 56-ball 82 against Sri Lanka before pulling out a stoic 87-ball 77 on a tricky pitch in Kolkata against South Africa. Following that was a blistering unbeaten 128 off just 94 deliveries against the Netherlands that saw him earn the Player of the Match award.
Another Indian makes it to this middle order, with KL Rahul donning the wicket-keeper's gloves. He blasted the fastest hundred by an Indian in ODI World Cup history en route to a 64-ball 102 against the Dutch and continues to remain tidy with the gloves while showing incredible presence of mind with the DRS.
England may have endured a forgettable 2023 World Cup campaign, but Ben Stokes showed his class through the course of the team's last three games. He battled hard for a gritty 64 against Australia before his wicket saw the wheels come off in the chase. He then made was a sensational century that rescued England from trouble against the Dutch before clobbering a 76-ball 84 against Pakistan.
Glenn Maxwell missed Australia's matches against England and Bangladesh but produced arguably the greatest ODI innings when he bulldozed his way to an unbeaten 201 that vaulted Australia out of an abyss at 91/7.
Maxwell battled cramps and could barely move, but still managed to hoist every bowler in sight over the ropes with pretty much nil footwork after a point. He might have to bowl 10 overs in this playing XI, but with Kohli picking up a wicket against the Dutch, this team might just have enough in the tank, eh? Oh, Kohli will also lead this playing XI.
Bowlers: Ravindra Jadeja, David Willey, Mohammed Shami and Josh Hazlewood
Ravindra Jadeja turned in two invaluable cameos with the bat against Sri Lanka and South Africa, but it was his five-fer against the latter that sees him walk into this playing XI. The left-arm spinner hasn't often had a huge chunk of the pie thanks to the fast-bowlers wreaking havoc upfront but has been phenomenal at the 2023 World Cup. In the three games India have played in November thus far, he has bagged eight wickets.
The retiring David Willey headlines a three-man pace attack that also features Mohammed Shami and Josh Hazlewood.
Willey bagged six wickets across England's three outings against Australia, the Netherlands and Pakistan. He took home the Player of the Match honors in the last of those, en route to his 100th ODI wicket.
Shami continued his rich vein of wicket-taking form with a scintillating five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka before bagging two more against South Africa. He may have endured an off day against the Dutch but continues to average less than 10 for his 16 wickets thus far at the 2023 World Cup.
Hazlewood may not have lit up the tournament until now with a standout spell per se, but it's his typical consistency and accuracy that vault him into this playing XI. Having picked up 2/49 against England, he returned 2/39 off nine overs against Afghanistan before sending down seven overs for just 21 runs against Bangladesh even as most of his colleagues went for runs.
Honorable mentions from Week 5 of 2023 World Cup
Once again, it was hard to omit some names from this playing XI despite some outstanding performances in the final week of the 2023 World Cup. Leading the way is Indian opener Shubman Gill, who struck pristine half-centuries against Sri Lanka and the Dutch on either side of a brisk start against South Africa.
Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai backed up crucial cameos with the bat against the Dutch and Australia with a magnificent unbeaten 97 under perilous circumstances against the Proteas. This was to go with back-to-back wickets against the Aussies that had them in all sorts of trouble.
His teammate Ibrahim Zadran became Afghanistan's first centurion in World Cup history courtesy of an unbeaten 129 against Australia and was another unfortunate omission in this playing XI.
Rachin Ravindra continued his spectacular run at the 2023 World Cup with a third hundred as he tore into Pakistan's bowling attack in Bengaluru. He backed it up with a 34-ball 42 against Sri Lanka that helped the Blackcaps ace a simple chase in quick time and put their net run rate beyond Pakistan's reach as a result.
Two South African bowlers, Keshav Maharaj and Gerald Coetzee, were also very close to making the cut. Maharaj was splendid as he returned miserly figures of 1/30 against India while castling Gill with a beauty. He went one better against the Afghans and finished with 2/25 off his 10 overs, even as Coetzee snared 4/44 with sheer pace in the same game.
Best playing 11 from Week 5 of the 2023 World Cup: Fakhar Zaman, Mitchell Marsh, Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Ben Stokes, KL Rahul (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Ravindra Jadeja, David Willey, Mohammed Shami, Josh Hazlewood
Who would make it to your playing XI from Week 5 of the 2023 World Cup? Have your say in the comments section below!
Also read: Afghanistan's top 3 batting performances in 2023 World Cup ft. Azmatullah Omarzai
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