The best and worsts of World Cup 2023

On a golden Sunday evening in front of the vociferous, jam-packed crowd where tension, bedlam and euphoria swept through the Motera, Australia walked away with the World Cup crown for a record-extending sixth time. A gallant Indian side had been held off with both bat and ball, with eight other wearied teams having already departed the country after six weeks and 48 games overall.

The occasion, a game that built slowly and finished debatably and unforgettably, will be remembered for many things by those around the world who watched on any screen possible from a phone to flickering TV monitors to even giant projectors.

The 13th edition of the tournament lit up our screens with high quality play, highlights as well as lowlights, supremacy, timidity, sportsmanship, and a mass of other notables. Having said that, Mid-Day compiles a list of factors that one can appreciate, bewail and argue about.

Afghanistan are no minnows

After years of being reduced to cricket's favourite feel-good narrative, Afghanistan were meant to graduate to the next level in this World Cup with the likes of Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz in their ranks. The side boasted of several stellar performances starting with their trouncing of defending champions England.

In the first major upset of the tournament, Afghanistan posted 284 and bundled out England for 215 with Rashid's spin wizardry prevailing over all of Delhi that evening. The feat was no flash in the pan as they kept the winning spirit alive and next subdued neighbours Pakistan by eight wickets to spark wild celebrations back in the dressing room. They finished with four victories, including against Sri Lanka and the Netherlands, prompting coach Jonathan Trott to predict a ‘bright future' for each player.

The quietly explosive Glenn Maxwell

Wankhede's Australia vs Afghanistan league stage encounter ended up being one for the ages, for it is where Maxwell showed just why he is revered as one of the best batters in world cricket. Coming in to bat, Australia had a mountain to climb before Maxwell took over.

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He never looked back after two reprieves in the 22nd over, defied cramp and back spasms in a knock for the ages, and lifted Australia from 91-7 to victory with an unbeaten 201. This was Australia's highest individual score in a World Cup edition, surpassing Shane Watson's unbeaten 185 against Bangladesh in 2011.

Virat Kohli, the maverick power-hitter

Virat Kohli lived up to his billing as one of the modern-day greats, recording a 50th ODI hundred to eclipse childhood hero Sachin Tendulkar's 49 centuries. Remarkably, the 35-year-old achieved the rare feat during India's semi-final encounter against New Zealand at the home ground of Tendulkar.

Kohli amassed 765 runs, including three hundreds from 11 matches, to come off with flying colours and finish as the leading batsman in the tournament.

The fading brilliance of Pakistan

The Babar Azam-led side started off with two well-deserving wins before their campaign hit a wall in the shadow of tight security. One would think that after handing Sri Lanka one of the most comprehensive defeats in World Cup history, the Men in Green would have built on that performance. Instead, they failed to win any more matches until meeting Bangladesh and being presented with a rain-assisted competitive advantage against New Zealand in their final group stage clash.

A defeat to India and Australia hit them hard, but it was their mauling at the hands of Afghanistan that hurt the most as pace ace Shaheen Shah Afridi looked out of sorts with 58 runs from his 10 overs and only one wicket. To make matters worse, they slumped to their fourth defeat in a heartbreaking one-wicket loss to South Africa, which Babar believed largely dented their semi-final hopes.

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The fallen English heroes

Four years ago, the accolades flowed for the English while they outshone New Zealand in nerve-jangling fashion after ending a rather agonising 44-year wait to be crowned the world champions of the sport they take pride in inventing. Cut to 2023, most are preoccupied with heaping scorn on a squad that could manage to win only three out of nine matches.

Jos Buttler, who flopped with the bat to manage just 138 runs from nine matches, was largely to blame for their woeful World Cup performance. It was a rare failure for the skipper, who scored 269 in six matches when he led the team to their maiden T20 World Cup victory in 2021. The side fizzled out early after just one win in the first seven matches.

Much ado about ‘spirit of cricket'

The much-debated ‘spirit of cricket' became the topic of popular discourse once again this World Cup after Sri Lanka veteran Angelo Mathews became the first player in 146 years of international cricket to be adjudged out after failing to take strike within the two-minute time limit when he came out to bat against Bangladesh.

In turn, Mathews branded captain Shakib Al Hasan ‘disgraceful' at the post-match press conference as the episode left the cricket world divided for weeks. "I don't know where the common sense went because obviously it's disgraceful from Shakib and Bangladesh if they want to play cricket and stoop down to that level. I think there is something drastically wrong," an angry Mathews told reporters.