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With Australia beating Pakistan in the second semi-final of the ongoing T20 World 2021 Finals, we have our two finalists for the tournament. New Zealand, after thrashing Eoin Morgan's England, had already booked their tickets to Dubai for the finale.
Starting on October 17 with Round 1 Qualifying fixtures, the tournament has come a long way. Four qualifying teams - Sri Lanka, Scotland, Bangladesh and Namibia - reached the Super 12s, which began on October 23. Since then, every team made an all-out effort to finish in the top two in their respective groups.
However, only four of them, courtesy of their consistently impressive performances, made it into the semis. Having said that, there were a few sides who, despite having lesser resources and not as many big names as compared to other teams, punched above their weight.
South Africa and Sri Lanka are two unfeighed examples of the same from Group 1. They displayed wonderful performances on regular occasions but were unfortunate to miss out on the top two positions.
Group 2 teams like New Zealand and Namibia, who although finished in contrasting places on the table, impressed every cricket lover with their awe-inspiring spirits.
The Kiwis, of course, finished second in the table, beating India for that spot. Namibia, on the other hand, were a team that contested in a high-intensity tournament like the World Cup for the very first time. After winning a couple of their matches in Round 1, they also comfortably beat Scotland by four wickets.
However, apart from the aforementioned teams, there were a few sides as well who underperformed miserably. Nations, which came as a big threat prior to the commencement of the World Cup, but courtesy of their poor show, failed to cross the Super 12 stage.
On that note, let's look at those three sides who didn't play up the mark and disappointed the most during the T20 World Cup 2021.
3. West Indies
Group: 1
Position: 5th on the table
The Caribbean side failed to defend their 2016 title. They finished fifth on the table. A lot was expected from a side that boasts world-class talent, especially for the shortest format of the game. Filled with players having so much power and swagger, it was a massive disappointment to finish with just one victory.
And they could have easily ended up with no wins as they only beat Bangladesh by the skin of their teeth.
Their powerplay batting was disastrous, and they never got going with the bat after the 55-all out debacle against England. Kieron Pollard's side were thrashed by South Africa and Australia, and fell well short against Sri Lanka as well.
It was certainly not the ideal way to send out Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle after great careers respectively. They will also now need to play qualifiers for T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
The detailed T20 World Cup fixtures are available here.
2. India
Group: 2
Position: 3rd on the table
Heading into the tournament, India were one of the strongest contenders to lift the title. However, Virat Kohli-led side endured a rather embarrassing campaign in the UAE.
India’s hefty defeats to arch-rivals Pakistan and New Zealand respectively were too much to come back from as they had to rely on other results to go their way. Despite winning their last three matches against Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia in dominant fashion, India missed out on the spot for the semis in the end.
They seemed to play within themselves in the early part of the tournament, seeking to choose the safe route rather than take the game on. Going forward, India will need to assess and fix that aspect of their T20 cricket, along with sorting out their plans when batting first.
1. Bangladesh
Group: 1
Position: 6th on the table
The Tigers were one of the most unimpressive teams of the tournament. Arguably even more so than the Caribbean and India.
Bangladesh came into the tournament ranked sixth in the world after series wins against Zimbabwe away, followed by Australia and New Zealand at home. However, Bangladesh were horribly out of their depth in this tournament, losing all five matches in the Super 12s.
They also lost to Scotland in their first match of the first round. They were unable to adapt to UAE conditions after a diet of slow, turning tracks in Mirpur, and their fielding was abysmal as well.
There is a lot to think about for Bangladesh if they are to make their mark in next year's T20 World Cup in Australia.
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