Cricket World Cup 2011 – Blast from the past
The 10th ICC Cricket World Cup was held in 2011 and was co-hosted by Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh. This mega event included 14 teams, of which there were 4 associated member teams that were granted special permission to participate in the tournament. India, for the second time in Cricket history, lifted the World Cup, after defeating Sri Lanka in the final match by 6 wickets. This was the first time that a Cricket team won a World Cup on their home soil.
World Cup Statistics 2011
Tillakaratne Dilshan did the most runs in the entire competition. He made 500 runs in 9 games, averaging 62.50. It was followed by the 482 races of Sachin Tendulkar and the 465 races of Kumar Sangakara.
Shahid Afridi and Zaheer Khan took the highest pitches of the tournament, each with a total of 21 pitches. However, Shahid Afridi had a better average of 12.85 and an economy rate of only 3.62.
Yuvraj Singh was declared Man of the Tournament. He made a total of 362 runs and took 15 wickets in the 9 games he played.
Group and knockout stages:
Group A:
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Zimbabwe
- Kenya
- Canada
B Group:
- South Africa
- India
- England
- West Indies
- Bangladesh
- Ireland
- Netherlands
Pakistan and South Africa topped their groups with 5 wins each. Not surprisingly, the other teams that advanced to the knockout stages were England, India, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Australia, and the West Indies.
The West Indies faced Pakistan and were thrashed in the first match of the quarterfinals. India was ready to face Pakistan in the semi-finals, after they defeated Australia with 5 wickets to spare. South Africa crashed again in their quarter-final match and failed to chase a small total of 221 made by New Zealand. Sri Lanka achieved a comfortable victory against its opponent England.
The first semi-final was against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Sri Lanka won the match with ease, as they chased a goal of 220 with 5 wickets and 2.1 overs to spare. Arch-rivals India and Pakistan met in the second semi-final which was attended by the prime ministers of both countries. India made 260, after Sachin received 5 lifelines on his 85 hit. Pakistan could not chase the scoreboard and was eliminated by 231 runs.
The final between Sri Lanka and India was also the final for legend Muttiah Muralitharan. Although Sri Lanka managed 274 in the early innings, India chased the target with 6 wickets to spare. The Indian team lifted the World Cup for the second time. It was a unique achievement because India became the first country in cricket history to win the Cup in its homeland.
World Cup 2015
The 2015 World Cup will be played in Australia and New Zealand. The last World Cup to be played in these 2 countries was in 1992. This will be a difficult tournament for teams from the subcontinent, as they will have to fight on fast and bouncy terrain. Australian, South African and English players will enjoy their chances and look forward to taking the Cup home.