The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 has been marred by rain but it has provided some very good matches being played on very good surfaces. The toss has not mattered a lot and good cricket has been required to win matches.
Let us look at some of the best matches that have been played so far!!
Namibia vs Sri Lanka - Simonds Stadium, Geelong
Namibia defeating Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka in the first match set the tone for the World Cup! It was a total capitulation by the Asian Champions against a spirited Namibian side.
Scotland vs West Indies - Bellerive Oval, Hobart
Scotland repeated Namibia's feat on the second day defeating 2 time World Champions West Indies. Again, it was a comprehensive victory by Scotland and would later prove pivotal as West Indies would crash out in the qualifier stage after the Irish would trash them again 2 days later.
New Zealand vs Australia - Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
New Zealand weren't given much of a chance on the opening day against hosts and current champions Australia but Finn Allen and Devon Conway came out and launched a blitzkrieg against Aussie bowlers, one they would never recover from and crash to an 89 run loss in their first match.
Pakistan vs India - Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
India and Pakistan squared off at MCG in front of a packed 90,000 racous crowd. Young Arshdeep nipping out Babar and Rizwan, Ifthikhar counterattacking 50, Haris Rauf 2 quick wickets - the match provided magic moments at regular intervals but the last ball finish left everybody stunned as Virat Kohli snatched victory from jaws of defeat by timing his acceleration to perfection.
Ireland vs England - Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
MCG was again to be at the center of a wonderful game when Ireland defeated England a few days later in a match decided by DLS method. Ireland showed tremendous grit to first put up a big score under cloudy conditions and later picked regular wickets of a star studded English batting line up before the heavens opened up and sent Irish fans and players into delirium.
Zimbabwe vs Pakistan - Optus Stadium, Perth
You can count on Pakistan to provide regular hum-dingers! They were at it again in their second match when they faced Zimbabwe at Perth. Chasing 131 to win, they seemed to be in control at 88/3 in 13.3 overs but they kept losing regular wickets from that point onwards to lose the game by 1 run. Zimbabwe bowlers gave nothing away and their fielding was top notch. Special mention to Sikandar Raza who snared 3 important wickets to derail the run chase!!
Looking forward to more good cricket over the next few weeks!! Any more matches stand out to you?
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