ICC Women's World Cup 2017: Team of the tournament

After 29 days and 31 matches, the 2017 ICC Women's World Cup came to an end with hosts England beating India by nine runs in the final.

It was a match that was worthy of being a World Cup final and was one of the most riveting contests played in the tournament. After restricting England for just 228 in their 50 overs, the Indians were cruising ahead at 191/3 off 42 overs.

However, inexperience then played its part as Mithali and co. failed to thrive under pressure and eventually lost the match by nine runs.

The last one month saw some breath-taking performances from all the eight teams that played in the tournament. There were some individual performers who set the stage on fire.

Let us take a look at the team of the tournament that includes some of the best players from the tournament.

Openers

Tammy Beaumont and Sarah Taylor during their partnership against South Africa

England opener Tammy Beaumont and wicketkeeper-batswoman Sarah Taylor have been sensational throughout the tournament. Their 275-run stand for the second wicket against South Africa, who have the best bowling attack in the tournament, is an evidence of how good they were individually and as a pair in the extravaganza.

Beaumont, the leading run scorer of the World Cup and the Player of the tournament, made sure that England got off to a good start in almost all the matches with a cautious approach while Taylor was the aggressor as she took on the opposition bowling without any difficulties. In spite of scoring at over run-a-ball, Sarah maintained her consistency throughout, something that we don't see in women's cricket often.

In her nine innings in the tournament, Beaumont scored 410 runs at an average of 46 and a strike-rate of 77. Sarah Taylor, on the other hand, scored 396 runs in 9 innings at an extraordinary average and strike-rate of 49.5 and 99 respectively.

Sarah will also don the wicketkeeper's gloves in our team of the tournament.

Middle Order

Meg Lanning showed why she is the world no. 1 batter in the world

The middle-order of our team of the tournament consists of three of the best batters of the modern era.

Batting at number 3 will be Australian captain and the world no. 1 in ODIs, Meg Lanning. Lanning was instrumental in Australia reaching the semis as she dominated the bowling attacks in this tournament as if she was facing sub-par teams.

Extra cover: Meg Lanning, the wonder girl of women's cricket

In spite of suffering a shoulder injury during the tournament, Lanning showed some great character by playing through pain and ended the tournament with 328 runs in six innings at an average of 82 and a strike-rate 93.

Captain of the both the finalists, Mithali and Heather find a place in the WWC XI

Following Lanning will be her Indian counterpart Mithali Raj and England batswoman Nattie Sciver. Without a doubt, Mithali is the greatest batter to have graced the game and in the 2017 World Cup, she showed exactly why the fans consider her way above the rest.

She became the first batter to score 6000 ODI runs in women's ODIs during the ongoing tournament.

Mithali agonisingly fell one run short of Tammy Beaumont's tally of 410 runs. She scored her runs at an average of 46 and a strike-rate of 71 with the help of three fifties and one century.

In a tight contest between two English players, batswoman Natalie Sciver just pipped her skipper Heather Knight for a place in the middle order, thanks to her brilliant display of attacking brand of cricket in the tournament in which the right-hander has scored 369 runs in 9 innings at an average and strike-rate of 46 and 108 respectively.

Sciver also picked up 7 wickets in 9 innings at an average of 28.5 and an economy of 4.87.

All-rounders

Indian duo of Harman and Deepti feature in the playing XI

Without a second thought, Harmanpreet Kaur played the best knock of the ICC World Cup 2017 and showed why she is regarded as one of the best players going around at the moment by performing under pressure in two must-win matches for her team.

Harman did the job for her team with both bat and ball and finds a place in our team of the tournament along with fellow all-rounders Deepti Sharma and Ellyse Perry.

Extra cover: How Sachin Tendulkar helped Harmanpreet Kaur get a job in Western Railways

After a pale patch with the bat earlier in the tournament, Harman, who played the tournament with a finger injury, made amends scoring an unbeaten 171 in the semis against the Southern Stars.

In the seven innings she batted, Harman scored 359 runs at an average of 60 and a strike-rate of 96. Out of those 359 runs, 282 came in three must-win games, something that shows how good she is under pressure.

With the ball, she will be a decent option as the sixth bowler. She took five wickets at an average of 38.

Ellyse Perry had a great tournament again

Once again, Ellyse Perry set a tournament on fire with her heroics with both bat and ball. Perry amassed 404 runs with the bat in 8 innings at an average of 81 and a strike-rate of 78 and with the ball, she picked up 9 wickets in 8 matches at an average of 37.

Perry is also the only batter to score five fifties in the tournament and incidentally, she scored all her half-centuries in consecutive matches.

Deepti Sharma is the surprise package of the tournament. Deepti, who is just 19, had a memorable first World Cup and is one of the main reasons why India reached the final. She scored runs with the bat, took wickets with the ball and was safe in the field.

Deepti was India's leading wicket-taker with 12 wickets at an average and economy of 31 and 4.7 respectively. She also scored 216 crucial runs for the eventual runners-up at an average of 31 and a strike-rate of just under 60.

Bowlers

South Africa's Kapp and Van Niekerk are included in the WWC XI

South African pacer Marizanne Kapp will spearhead the bowling attack after her brilliant performances for the Proteas. She was also one of the fastest bowlers in the tournament.

Kapp scalped 13 wickets in 7 innings at an average of 19 and an economy of 4.46. Sharing the new ball with Kapp will be Australian pacer Ellyse Perry and they will be the only fast bowlers in the XI.

The spin-heavy team of the tournament also features South African skipper Dane Van Niekerk and Kiwi off-spinner Leigh Kasperek.

Van Niekerk was the tournament's best bowler without a doubt as she troubled every opposition she bowled at in the tournament. She was one of the main reasons why her side made it to the semis.

The leg spinner accounted for 15 wickets in the tournament in seven matches at an impressive average of 10 and an economy of 3.4. Adding to this, picking a wicket every 3 overs is something that puts her way above the rest.

Leigh Kasperek poses with the player of the match award after the match against West Indies

The only Kiwi in the line-up is off-spinner Kasperek. Unlike the other players in the team, Kasperek managed to play just four matches for the White Ferns and did a remarkable job for her side in the tournament.

In the four matches she played, she picked up 10 wickets at an average and economy of 14.6 and 3.6 respectively.

The Playing XI

Heather Knight is unlucky to not find a place in the WWC XI

The team of the tournament features three players each from finalists India and England, two apiece from losing semi-finalists South Africa and Australia and a sole member from New Zealand.

This team also has three captains in it and Mithali will lead the side ahead of the other three, thanks to her brilliant captaincy throughout the tournament.

Knight, on the other hand, did a fantastic job for England and was unlucky to miss out on getting into the playing XI and has been given the role of the 12th woman. Heather has scored 364 runs in nine innings at an average of 46 and a strike-rate of 81.

The Mithali Raj-led team has eight reliable batters and seven bowlers to bowl the 50 overs, a luxury that a captain always longs for.

The playing XI:

Tammy Beaumont

Sarah Taylor (WK)

Meg Lanning

Mithali Raj (c)

Nattie Sciver

Harmanpreet Kaur

Ellyse Perry

Deepti Sharma

Dane Van Niekerk

Leigh Kasperek

Marizanne Kapp

12th woman: Heather Knight