New Delhi. The ICC T20 World Cup 2024 is at a crucial stage. After defeating England by 68 runs in the second semi-final of the tournament, Team India has ‘booked a ticket’ to play the final with South Africa. Earlier, South Africa defeated ‘Giant Killer’ Afghanistan by 9 wickets to make it to the final. The title match in Bridgetown on June 29 will decide which team will be crowned champions? Apart from the winning team, the top bowlers and batsmen in the tournament are also being speculated among the fans. Currently Afghanistan players are dominating this race.
The Afghan team may not have reached the final of the World Cup, but its players have dominated their individual performances. Afghanistan’s players topped the race for both best batsman and bowler of the tournament. There is more than one Afghan player in the top 5 of both these categories. Fazalhaq Farooqui (17 wickets in 8 matches) bowler and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (281 runs in 8 matches) of the Afghan team are currently at the top of the batsmen race. As far as top bowlers are concerned, it is almost certain that a bowler from Afghanistan or India will get the credit for taking the most wickets. This is because the top 5 bowlers of the tournament currently have three players from Afghanistan and two from India, while the rest of the bowlers involved have been eliminated. The seasonal situation is similar for batsmen. Among the top 5 batsmen are two players from Afghanistan while the other three players have been ‘out’ of the team. After the semi-final against England, the captain of Team India Rohit Sharma has reached the third place.
Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq and Arshdeep are in the running
India’s Arshdeep Singh is the second highest wicket-taker in the tournament after Fazalhaq Farooqui, who has taken 15 wickets in 7 matches. Arshdeep has played one less match than Fazal Haq as the India-Canada group match was washed out due to rain. Arshdeep did not take any wicket in the semi-final against England. Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and Bangladesh’s Rishad Hussain are joint third with 14 wickets each, while India’s Jasprit Bumrah, Afghanistan’s Naveen Ul Haq, South Africa’s Enrique Norcia, West Indies’ Alzari and Australia’s Adam Zampa are joint fourth with 13 wickets each. .
The teams of Naveen, Joseph and Zampa (Afghanistan, West Indies and Australia) have been eliminated from the tournament, leaving the battle between Fazal Haq, Arshdeep, Bumrah and Norkia. However, Arshdeep has the best chances of matching or surpassing Fazal Haq. Bumrah and Norkia have taken a 4-wicket decision against top-ranked Fazal Haq, which is not impossible but certainly difficult to make up for. Another South African bowler Kagiso Rabada has also taken 12 wickets.
Arshdeep or Fazal, we have to wait?
Most likely, one or both of Fazal Haq and Arshdeep will become joint top wicket takers in the tournament. Whether the credit goes to an Afghan bowler or an Indian bowler, history will surely be made. If Fazal Haq remains number one, it will be the second chance for an Afghanistan player to take the most wickets in the T20 World Cup. In the 2016 T20 World Cup, Mohammad Nabi of Afghanistan became the top bowler with 12 wickets, while Rashid finished second with 11 wickets. These three bowlers have surpassed Nabi’s record of 12 wickets. Fazal has also surpassed Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga (16 wickets) for taking the most wickets in a single edition of the T20 World Cup. Arshdeep can also do the same by taking two or more wickets in the final. If Arshdeep becomes the highest wicket-taker, it will be the first time for an Indian player to become the highest wicket-taker in a T20 World Cup. However, fans will have to wait until the final to find out who gets the credit for taking the most wickets.
Gurbaz and ‘Hitman’ in race for top batsman
In the race for the highest run-scoring batsmen, the main face-off is between Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz and India’s Rohit Sharma. Gurbaz is the highest scorer with 281 runs in 8 matches and he is second with 255 runs in 7 matches and India’s Rohit Sharma is third with 248 runs in 7 matches.
Ibrahim Zadran from the same country as Gurbaz is in the fourth position with 231 runs in just 8 matches. West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran with 228 runs and America’s Andreas Gauss with 219 runs are fifth and sixth. Interestingly, except for Rohit Sharma, all the batsmen present in the top 6 have been eliminated from the tournament. Quinton de Kock has 204 runs in 8 matches for the South African team that reached the final, but will need to score big in the final to match or surpass Zadran.
Tags: Arshdeep Singh, Hitman Rohit Sharma, ICC T20 World Cup, ind vs sa, India vs South Africa, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rohit Sharma, T20 World Cup
First published: June 28, 2024, 09:27 IST