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The ICC World Cup is one of the most prestigious cricketing events in the world. The ICC World Cup in 2015 was hosted by Australia and New Zealand which was watched by 1.5 billion people all around the world.
Out of the many grueling encounters, one of the most watched games of the World Cup was the Group A game between India and Pakistan which took place on the 15th of February 2015. The game between the 2 arch rivals was viewed by 288 million people in India alone, whereas the semi-final between India and Australia was watched by 309 million people. The tournament witnessed some great upsets with Ireland and Bangladesh getting the better of the West Indies and England respectively.
The World Cup saw history being made with Afghanistan registering their first ever win in the World Cup and Kumar Sangakkara becoming the first player to score 4 back-to-back centuries in ODIs.
Australia beat the defending champions India in the semi-finals. Australia and New Zealand played the final of the 2015 World Cup which turned out to be a one-sided affair as the Aussies cruised home to win by 7 wickets.
With the World Cup in England around the corner, here's a look at 5 of the most remarkable moments of the 2015 World Cup:
#1 AB de Villiers's unbeaten 162 off 66 balls vs West Indies
The 19th match of the World Cup saw West Indies take on South Africa in Sydney on the 27th of February 2015. South Africa, led by AB de Villiers, won the toss and elected to bat first. The South Africans had got off to a shaky start as they lost their opener Quinton de Kock in the 6th over of the innings.
The second-wicket partnership of 127 runs between Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla brought South Africa on course for setting up a big total. Chris Gayle was tasked with the responsibility of breaking the partnership, and he did just that, dismissing both the batsmen in the same over. This brought the skipper AB de Villiers and Rossouw to the crease.
When de Villiers arrived at the crease, the score was 146 for 3 in 29.4 overs. What followed was something inconceivable which left the cricketing fans all around the world in awe of the South African skipper who looked to be in a different zone that day.
With Rossouw at the other end, de Villiers went on a rampage as both the batsmen were hammering the West Indies bowlers all around the park. While Rossouw brought his 50 up in 31 balls, the skipper brought his 50 up in 30 balls after punishing Benn for 18 runs in the 40th over.
Prior to bowling the 48th over, Jason Holder had only conceded 40 runs in his 8-over spell which consisted of 2 maidens and a wicket. Holder's 9th over went for 34 runs which comprised four 4s and two 6s as de Villiers became the 2nd fastest centurion in World Cup history.
The last over of the innings was bowled by Holder who got whacked by de Villiers for 30 runs which comprised four 6s and a 4, making de Villiers the fastest player to score 150 runs in an ODI game. The video of his innings of 162 not out in 66 balls is as follows:
#2 Boult's 5 for 27 and Starc's 6 for 28 in the group game between New Zealand and Australia
The 20th game of the tournament saw the hosts New Zealand and Australia take on each other in Auckland on the 28th of February 2015. Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. Finch got dismissed early on in the innings but Watson and Warner steered the Aussies ahead.
The wickets of Watson and Warner in successive deliveries rocked the Aussies as the score read 80 for 3 in 13.1 overs. After the dismissal of Smith on 4, it was the Boult show. Boult took the wickets of the next 5 Aussie batsmen to reduce them to 106 for 9 at the end of the 21st over.
Boult had made a brilliant comeback in his second spell as he had already conceded 24 runs in his first 5 overs whereas in his comeback spell he bowled 3 maidens and picked up 5 wickets, conceding just 3 runs. Haddin's 43 off 41 balls took the Aussies to a total of 151.
The Aussies needed something special to defend their total of 151. The Kiwis were cruising to victory with the score at 72 for 1 at the end of the 6th over as Mccullum hit 50 off 20 balls.
What followed was a magical spell from Starc which took the game right down to the wire as the Aussies came back into the game. After Cummins removed Mccullum in the 7th over, Starc produced a double-wicket over to reduce the Kiwis to 80 for 4 at the end of the 9th over.
Anderson was dismissed by Maxwell as he and Williamson built a 57-run partnership. With Williamson at the other end, the Kiwis lost 3 wickets in quick succession as Starc was again on a hattrick after removing Southee for a duck. Boult played off the following 2 deliveries off Starc as the Kiwis needed 6 runs to win with 1 wicket in hand.
Williamson finished the game off with a six off the next ball he faced Cummins to bring a win in a remarkable game of cricket. Starc ended with figures of 6 for 28 in his 9-over spell.
Boult was awarded the Man of the Match trophy for his 5 for 27. The video of Starc's bowling performance is shown below:
#3 Wahab Riaz's spell against Australia in the first Quarter Final between Pakistan and Australia
Pakistan took on Australia in the 1st Quarter Final of the ICC World Cup 2015. The Pakistani skipper, Misbah had won the toss and elected to bat first. The Pakistanis had a below-par performance with the bat as they got skittled out for 213 in 49.5 overs with Haris Sohail top scoring with 41 off 57 balls.
While Wahab Riaz was batting, there was a lot of crosstalk going on among Mitchell Starc, Shane Watson and Riaz. The latter got the opportunity he waited for as Watson walked out to bat with the Aussie skipper Michael Clarke sent back to the pavilion by Riaz. Wahab welcomed him with a short ball which left Watson astounded. He followed it up with a good length delivery at 150 kph which Watson let go.
Smith took a single off the first ball of the 12th over to get Watson back on strike. Riaz bowled 2 back-to-back short balls which Watson had no reply to. The next 3 balls were all around the 150 kph as Watson looked bewildered.
Wahab's terrifying spell didn't prove to be enough as half-centuries from Smith and Watson took Australia to a 6-wicket win. Here's a video of Wahab Riaz talking about his spell against the Aussies:
#4 Daniel Vettori's blinder against West Indies
The Kiwis took on West Indies in the 4th Quarter Final of the tournament as they looked to book a place in the semi-finals of the tournament. The Kiwis won the toss and elected to bat first. Martin Guptill produced a phenomenal batting performance to hit a double century and take the Kiwis to a mammoth total of 393 for 6 at the end of their 50 overs. Guptill remained unbeaten on 237 off 163 balls which comprised 24 4s and 11 6s.
The West Indies got off to a shaky start in their quest to chase down the massive total set by the Kiwis. They lost Charles in the 2nd over and Simmons in the 5th over with the score at 27 for 2 in 5.3 overs. Marlon Samuels walked out to bat with Chris Gayle at the other end. Both Samuels and Gayle hammered 50 runs off the next 21 balls.
Samuels was batting on 27 off 14 as the 9th over began. Boult bowled a short delivery upfront which Samuels hit towards the point region. Vettori was positioned right on the boundary line and executed his jump to perfection to take a blinder as Marlon Samuels got dismissed on 27. The video of Vettori's catch is as follows:
#5 Grant Elliott picking up Dale Steyn after hitting the winning runs for New Zealand
South Africa took on New Zealand in the 1st Semi-Final of the World Cup in Auckland. The South Africans batted brilliantly to put up a total of 281 for 5 in 43 overs, thanks to the whirlwind innings which came from de Villiers and David Miller at the end. The top scorer for South Africa was Faf du Plessis who scored 82 runs.
The rain-hit game was reduced to 43 overs with the Kiwis being given a revised total of 298 to chase in 43 overs. Mccullum and Guptill got the Kiwis off to a flier as they put on 71 runs in the first 6 overs. Morne Morkel brought the South Africans back into the game with the wickets of Mccullum and Kane Williamson.
With Guptill and Taylor falling, Elliott and Anderson put on an important 103-run partnership for the 5th wicket. Elliott hung on till the very end to produce a spectacular batting performance. With 5 needed off 2 deliveries, Elliott hit Dale Steyn for a 6 over long on, which broke the hearts of millions of South Africans around the world.
What won everyone's hearts was Elliott's gratifying gesture of picking up Dale Steyn and consoling him, showcasing that cricket is much more than just a game. It was heartbreaking for everyone to see the South African players so emotional with the skipper AB de Villiers and Morne Morkel breaking into tears.
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