he super-12 stages of the ongoing World Cup in Australia saw many brilliant individual performances. Both the bowlers and batters put on some splendid exhibitions.
But which ones were the 5 finest individual performances in the super-12 round? Let’s find out.
1) Marcus Stoinis vs. Sri Lanka
After being humbled by New Zealand in their World Cup opener, Australia were up against Sri Lanka in Perth. The Lankan Tigers batted pretty well to post a competitive total of 157. The chase started to prove too big a mountain to climb for the Aussies.
They were unable to score even a single boundary in the first seven overs of the chase. No four or six in the first 42 balls of a T20 innings sounds unbelievable, right? The score was just 38 in 7 overs, and when Australians lost their 3rd wicket in 12.2 overs, the score was just 89.
With 69 runs required in the last 46 balls, in came Marcus Stoinis. On a pitch where everybody struggled to get going, Stoinis was hitting fours and sixes for fun. His breezy knock of 59*(18) comprised four boundaries and six maximums.
This masterclass T20 knock came at an astonishing strike rate of 327.78. As a result, Stoinis grabbed a stunning 101.5 SportiScore to top the list of best individual performances in the super-12 round.
2) Rilee Rossouw vs. Bangladesh
The first game of South Africa in the World Cup was washed out as the Proteas missed out on a certain win vs. Zimbabwe. Now, SA were up against Bangladesh, and they desperately needed a win to lift their spirits. But, things didn’t start well for them as they found themselves at 2 for 1 after the first over.
Rossouw arrived at the crease, and the ball was moving around. He got himself in during the next couple of overs before taking the attack to the Bangladeshi bowlers. Once he got into his mood, he spared no one and was hunting for a boundary every ball. Whether it was a spinner or a pacer, he dealt everyone with no respect.
His sensational knock of 109 runs on just 56 balls ended with 9 balls left in the innings. His superlative batting display included 7 fours and 8 sixes, and his strike rate was 194.64. Rossouw’s masterclass earned him 90.2 points according to SportiScore’s formula for points.
3) Sam Curran vs. Afghanistan
England were up against Afghanistan to kickstart their World T20. The Afghans were off to a decent start after scoring 62 runs at the loss of 2 wickets in 11 overs. But then came Sam Curran to dismantle their batting lineup.
He used short balls and change-ups with great accuracy to keep the Afghan batters in check. His 3.4 overs went for just 10 runs and gave him his first 5 wicket haul in the format. His incredible bowling performance saw Afghanistan getting bowled out for just 112 runs.
These are the best bowling figures in the competition till now, and Sam Curran is the only bowler to pick up a 5-fer in this tournament. This excellent spell of bowling gave him 85 SportiScore points in the match and ranked this bowling effort third in the best individual performances in the super-12 stages.
4) Suryakumar Yadav vs. Zimbabwe
SKY bagged 83.5 SportiScores for his splendid batting display against Zimbabwe. It was the last match of the super-12 round, and India needed a win to finish on top of the table in their group. They were off to a fine start on the back of KL Rahul’s 34-ball 50. But, then, 3 wickets for 14 runs reduced them to 101 for 4 in 13.3 overs.
With 39 balls and 6 wickets left for India, it seemed they wouldn’t go past 160 in 20 overs. But, SKY was in no mood to take his team to a par score; he instead wanted to go above par. After losing quick wickets, SKY took the counter-attacking route to put the pressure back on the Zimbabwean bowlers.
He played just 25 balls in that innings, 10 of which (6 fours + 4 sixes) went beyond the boundary ropes. He finished unbeaten on 61, and his scintillating knock came at a strike rate of 244. It certainly was one of the most fluent cameos of the second stage of the World Cup.
5) Rashid Khan vs. Australia
It was Afghanistan’s last match of the T20 World Cup, and they were already out of the semi-final race. Australia were still in it, and the Afghans were desperate to win their first game in the competition. Australia batted first and posted 168 runs on the board.
They were going well on course in the chase after scoring 99 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in 13 overs. With 10 runs per over needed for the last 7 overs, the Afghans were the favourites to win the game. However, in the next 9 balls, they lost 4 wickets for just 4 runs and got reduced to 103 for 6 in 14.3 overs.
Rashid Khan arrived at the crease with 68 needed off 33 and played an absolute gem of a knock. He kept hitting the odd boundary while striving to keep his team alive in the game. But with the 45 needed off the last 14 balls, the game looked like finished for them. Rashid was in no mood to give up though, as he bunted two consecutive sixes to keep things interesting.
The game was slipping out of their hands once again as 32 were required of the last 9 balls. Rashid kept fighting by hitting a six and a four in the following 3 balls. Then, he was asked to score 21 off the last 5 balls. Rashid Khan hit two fours and a six in the remaining deliveries, but Afghanistan fell just 4 short of Australia’s total.
His spirited knock of 48(23) didn’t give his team a win but awarded him 77 SportiScore points, and that was indeed one of the very best individual performances in this tournament.
