The game of cricket was the ultimate winner at Lord’s on Sunday evening following a breath-taking World Cup final that went down to the wire. Predicting the ultimate winner even in extended final was as difficult as anyone could have hoped and guessed.
The final between the ultimate champions and hosts country England and spirited, unyielding New Zealand has left countless moments of glory and excitements that would not only stay in the memories of cricket fans for ever but also have become part of record books for more than one reasons.
This is first ever World Cup final that would be more remembered not as which team has won it but how it was played and decided. When all other options to pick the winners of the Cup died down, the boundary hitting formula came into the play.
No one could have imagined prior to the start of the final that rule of boundaries would be the most important of factors and would ultimately decide the champions.
Though England turned out to be the luckier one, New Zealand would surely have won hearts of millions of fans the way they fought till the last.
The Black Caps attitude of not giving in was something never seen before on a cricketing field. Fighting for every delivery and making hundred percent efforts to seize the available opportunity was something that surely have shown others as how the game’s standard could be raised to such an ultimate level.
Though winning the Cup was never their destiny, Kiwis surely have won majority of moments during the epic and heart-throbbing final. Putting up a fighting score under trying conditions and making every efforts during the next fifty overs to defend that total against a powerful and inform batting lineup was something never seen before. Curtailing three’s in two and two’s into one was something that only Kiwis can do with their outstanding fielding. When it comes to fielding, Kiwis are surely stood at the front row as the team saved at least 20 to 25 runs through their share guts on field during almost every match of the Cup.
To lose such a close final at the end turned out to be an anti-climax for the team but what New Zealand achieved from this World Cup is unforgettable. Nothing taking out from England’s equally super efforts, even the loss could not make the Kiwis a weaker opponent. What England did, Kiwis emulate that even in a better way, possibly knowing little that it would not be runs, wickets or super over but the boundaries that would determine the fate of the Cup.
Some facts of 2019 World Cup: England have won the Cricket World Cup for the first time, they are the sixth different team to win the tournament.
• New Zealand have appeared in more World Cups without winning it than any other side (12 editions); they are the third side to finish as runners-up in back-to-back editions (England 1987, 1992 & Sri Lanka 2007, 2011).
• Kane Williamson has scored more runs (578) at World Cup 2019 than any other player has managed in an edition of the World Cup for New Zealand, Joe Root has set the same record for England (556 runs).
• Eoin Morgan (England) struck more sixes (22) at World Cup 2019 than any other player, only Chris Gayle (26 in 2015) has ever hit more in an edition of the tournament.
• Seven players scored 500 plus runs at World Cup 2019, previously just eight players had achieved this in an edition of the tournament.
• Ross Taylor (1,002) became the second player after Stephen Fleming (1,075) to score 1,000 World Cup runs for New Zealand; Virat Kohli (1,030), Shakib al Hasan (1,146) and Chris Gayle (1,186) all reached this milestone during the tournament also.
• Colin de Grandhomme finished World Cup 2019 with a bowling economy rate of 4.15, the best of any of the 48 bowlers to bowl 40 plus overs in the tournament.
• Rohit Sharma (India) notched up five centuries in ICC World Cup 2019, the most ever recorded in an edition of the tournament, his tally of 648 runs is the third most ever in a World Cup (Tendulkar 673 in 2003, Hayden 659 in 2007).
• Mitchell Starc (Australia) finished World Cup 2019 as the leading wicket taker for the second time in a row (2015 22 wickets, joint-most with Trent Boult). His tally of 27 in 2019 is the most ever recorded in an edition of the tournament, overall he has moved up to joint fifth on the World Cup wicket-takers list (49).
• Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) recorded seven scores of 50 plus at World Cup 2019, only Sachin Tendulkar (7 in 2003) has achieved this before in an edition of the tournament.
• England’s Jofra Archer bowled more dot balls (371) than any other bowler at World Cup 2019, second on this list is New Zealand’s Trent Boult (351, Pat Cummins 323).
• Ben Stokes (England) was not hit for a six in World Cup 2019, the only one of 59 bowlers to bowl 30 plus overs in this edition of the tournament yet to be hit for a maximum.
• Both Jofra Archer (20) and Mark Wood (18) have taken more wickets in World Cup 2019 than any England bowler had ever taken in an edition of the tournament previously (Ian Botham 16 in 1992).
• Joe Root took 13 catches at World Cup 2019, the most ever recorded by a fielder (excluding wicket-keepers) in an edition of the tournament (Ricky Ponting 11 in 2003).
• Tom Latham (New Zealand) recorded 21 fielding dismissals during World Cup 2019, equaling the most ever in an edition of the tournament (Adam Gilchrist 21 in 2003).