In this article, we will look at some of the memorable moments from the 2023 CWC....
GROUND REALITY
The thirteenth edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup (2023 CWC), held from October 5 to November 19, 2023, was an exhilarating journey for cricket aficionados around the world. From teams scoring 300-plus runs in an innings to players creating history, it was a tournament filled with highs and lows. In this article, we will look at some of the memorable moments from the 2023 CWC.
Six-time champs
The 2023 CWC was Australia’s eight appearance in a final. It won the finals in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015. Australia secured its sixth Cricket World Cup title by defeating India with a six-wicket victory in the finals.
The greatest innings in CWC history
Australia’s Glenn Maxwell did the unthinkable during his heroic effort to score 201 not out and led his team to a win against Afghanistan. This was also the highest individual score in the 2023 CWC. After scoring his century he began experiencing pain in his leg before he fell because of a hamstring. He did not want to leave the game and decided to stand his ground and fight. With his face turning pale and unable to walk or run, Maxwell put on a show of epic proportions. He hit 21 boundaries and 10 sixes to score an unbeaten 201 off 128 deliveries with a strike rate of 157.03. Cricket commentators, analysts, and the people who witnessed this feat think it was the greatest World Cup innings in history.
Kohli’s 50 centuries
India’s Virat Kohli gained prominence as he surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s record to score the most ODI hundreds. Kohli achieved this milestone during the semi-final against New Zealand on November 15.
Mighty team totals
Out of the 45 matches played in the group stages, there were 24 instances when teams scored 300 plus runs. These included three teams scoring 400-plus runs in the first innings. Moreover, 16 teams scored 300-plus in the first innings and five teams scored 300-plus runs, chasing the total.
Highest and lowest totals
South Africa was the first team to score 400 plus runs in the 2003 CWC. It scored 428/5 (50 overs) against Sri Lanka on October 7, 2023. Sri Lanka replied by scoring 326 before being bowled out, making South Africa victorious by 102 runs. India scored the highest team total in the 2023 CWC with 410/4 in 50 overs against the Netherlands on November 12, 2023. India’s Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul scored centuries by scoring 128 (94 balls) and 102 (64 balls) respectively. Moreover, half-centuries were scored by India’s Rohit Sharma (61 off 54), Shubman Gill (51 off 32) and Virat Kohli (51 off 56).
Sri Lanka scored 55 all out (19.4 overs) when chasing India’s 357. This made them accumulate the lowest team total in the 2023 CWC. South Africa’s 83 in 27.1 overs when chasing India’s 326/5 in 50 overs and Netherlands’ 90 (21 overs) when chasing Australia’s 399/8 (50 overs) are also among the teams scoring less than 100.
England’s departure
England, the winners of the 2019 CWC could not defend their title in 2023. England could win three of its matches, lost 6 and ended with a net run rate of 0.572.
Afghanistan’s rise
Afghanistan Cricket Team proved its mettle by defeating England (by 69 runs), Pakistan (by 8 wickets), Sri Lanka (by 7 wickets), and the Netherlands (by 7 wickets).
100-run winning margins
The 2023 CWC saw teams winning their matches by a margin of 100 or more runs. South Africa defeated Sri Lanka by 102 runs; England beat Bangladesh by 137 runs and South Africa, once again, won a match by over 100 runs by defeating Australia. New Zealand thrashed Afghanistan by 149 runs and South Africa rammed through England’s defenses by winning the match by 229 runs. South Africa, once again, beat the opponent by 149 runs when it bowled out Bangladesh on October 24 when SA was defending 382. A day later, Australia won its match against the Netherlands by 309 runs. India triumphed over England by 100 runs while South Africa clinched a win over New Zealand by 190 runs. India won two of its matches by huge margins. First, it defeated Sri Lanka by 302 runs and later shook South Africa by 243 runs. India also defeated the Netherlands by a margin of 160 runs.
Victory margins
Teams that won the matches by highest margins when batting second were New Zealand (by 9 wickets chasing 283 vs. England), India (by 8 wickets chasing 272 vs. Afghanistan), New Zealand (by 8 wickets chasing 245 vs. Bangladesh), Afghanistan (by 8 wickets chasing 282 vs. Pakistan), Sri Lanka (by 8 wickets chasing 157 vs England), Australia (by 8 wickets chasing 307 vs. Bangladesh).
In contrast to the winning margins by wickets, Australia won its match against New Zealand by 5 runs when defending 388. In a rather unusual incident on November 4, 2023, New Zealand scored 401/6 in 50 overs against Pakistan. the Green Shirts had to defeat New Zealand to stay in the tournament. Since it began to rain, the DLS method was applied and Pakistan won the match by 21 runs.
Most runs
Kohli became the batsman to score the highest runs in the 2023 CWC. In his 11 innings, he scored 765 runs with an average of 95.62. He scored his 117 against New Zealand in the semifinal. This includes three centuries and six half-centuries. He scored a total of 68 fours and nine sixes.
Most wickets
Mohammed Shami of India emerged as the highest wicket-taker in the 2023 CWC with 24 in seven innings. His best figures were 7/57 against New Zealand in the first semi-final. Earlier, Shami took 5/18 in the group stage match against Sri Lanka. India’s Ravindra Jadeja also took a five-wicket haul when he ended his 9-over spell with figures of 5/33 against South Africa in the group stage match. Adam Zampa of Australia took 23 wickets with 4/8 being the best that he took against Sri Lanka.
Successful run chase
When talking about run chases, Pakistan tops the list. It chased Sri Lanka’s 345 in 48.2 overs. Australia did it twice by chasing 292 (vs Afghanistan) and 207 (vs. Bangladesh) respectively. Afghanistan also successfully chased Pakistan’s total of 282 in 49 overs with eight wickets remaining.
Lowest total defended
The Netherlands managed to bowl out Bangladesh in 42.2 overs to prevent it from chasing 230. Similarly, India prevented England from chasing 230 when the English team was bowled out on 129 in 34.5 overs.
Fastest 50 and 100
Sri Lanka’s Kusal Perera scored the fastest 50 of the tournament in 22 deliveries against New Zealand. His teammate Kusal Mendis scored the second-highest fifty off 25 against South Africa. Australia’s Travis Head scored his fifty also on 25 deliveries against New Zealand followed by Glenn Maxwell, scoring it in 27 balls against the Netherlands. Maxwell played on and scored 100 in 40 deliveries to score the fastest century in the 2023 CWC. Interestingly, he is also the player to score the fastest 150 and 200 in the 2023 CWC on 104 and 128 deliveries respectively. Aiden Markram of South Africa scored a century in 49 balls against Sri Lanka which was the second highest 100 in this year’s CWC.
Highest partnerships
New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway (second wicket) scored an unbeaten partnership of 273 which was the highest in this tournament. They achieved this feat against England. David Warner and Mitchell Marsh with this first-wicket partnership scored 259, the second-highest of the tournament, against Pakistan.
5-wicket hauls
A total of seven times did we witness bowlers taking 5-wickets in an innings during the 2023 CWC. Mitchell Santner was the first to do it in 2023 against the Netherlands. He ended with figures of 5/59 (10 overs).
Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi took 5/54 against Australia; Dilshan Madushanka took 5/80 against India and India’s Ravindra Jadeja took 5/33 against South Africa. India’s Mohammed Shami took three 5-wicket hauls against New Zealand (5/54 in 10), against Sri Lanka (5/18 in 5), and once again against New Zealand (7/57 in 9.5). Shami is also the only bowler in the 2023 CWC to take a four-wicket haul.
