The good ,the bad and the best- T20 cup!!

The T20 world cup in Srilanka has finally come to an end and the team from West Indies are the deserved winners.They showed lot of character and fight and they took the challenges head on. Their star player Gayle did not fail to impress and he put up a magnificent performance in the semifinals.But this West Indies team was not all about a single player.Others contributed excellently to take West Indies to the finals where Marlon Samuels had the day of his life.West Indies played one of their brilliant tournaments to date where everything clicked and they were on their way to being the champions. Hats Off Windies!!


                                                   This tournament brought out some new talents like Raza Hasan,Akila Dananjaya and it was a come back of sorts for many players including Yuvaraj, Harbhajan and Mendis among others.While there were many good performances, only a few stood out like beacon for their team while a few others disappointed very badly.I'm going to list these performances and rate them for the contributions that they made for their team :

The Best :

1.Shane Watson : No points for guessing.This all rounder was in peak form smashing the bowlers to all parts of the ground and taking crucial wickets.He won a record 4 man of the match awards and was instrumental fof Australia in reaching the semi-finals.His tally of 249 runs and 11 wickets helped his otherwise mediocre team to rise above all and make a mark.

2.Chris Gayle : This man from Jamaica has been a T20 star right from the day he played his first T20 international. The West Indians fancied their chances in this tournament and he was one of their key players who can win a match on his own.His massacre against the Australians put them out of the tournament.Adding to Gangnam style dance he was the talk of the tournament.

3.Ajantha Mendis : This mystery spinner from Srilanka was heavily relied upon to perform after the exit of Murali.Though Mendis was not in the best of forms when he came into the tournament,he made a immediate contribution to the team by picking up his career best 6-8 against Zimbabwe.From then on he has been quite good and he went to become the highest wicket taker(15) in the tournament and beat competiton from his team mate and Srilanka's no 1 strike bowler Lasith Malinga.

4.Marlon Samuels : He was the silent contributor for the team's cause getting crucial runs in almost every match and picking up wickets too.He is the 3rd highest run getter in the tournament and his blazing knock (78) in the finals sealed the victory for the team.

5.Mahela Jayawardene : The Srilankan skipper has been the key for the Lankans.Mahela is a person who always takes responsiblity at big stages and the century he got against India in the finals is a testament to that.he amassed 245 runs, second to only Shane Watson and he captained the team brilliantly to take them to the finals.

The Good :

1.Brendon Mccullum : This wicket keeper batsman should have been in the above list had his team reached the last four.They were extremely unlucky to miss out on a semi final berth losing two consecutive super overs.Brendon was brilliant right from the start getting a magnificent 100 against Bangladesh.He made more than 200 runs and could have made more had his team been in the semi finals.

2.Virat Kohli : This batsman from Delhi is on a purple patch and he is the leading run scorer for India.He scored around 185 runs and has been instrumental in the chase against Pakistan. Though he could have done well against Australia and South Africa,he did manage to win hearts with his performances,

3.Yuvraj Singh : The warrior who came back from the jaws of death had a pretty good tournament picking up 8 wickets though he couldn't do much with the bat.He got 2 man of the match awards and played a crucial role in the match against Afghanistan,Pakistan and South Africa.

4.Saeed Ajmal :Pakistan's best bowler came good once again picking up wickets(9) and was economical too.Though he doesn't feature in the list of wicket takers he was a key to Pakistan's semi final entry.

5.Raza Hasan : This young cricketer from Pakistan had a very good tournament.He bowled with control and accuracy troubling the best of batsmen throughout the tournament and picked up crucial wickets.His economy was below 5 which was an added bonus.

6.Dale Steyn :Dale was in his fiery best form having the best economy(4.8) in the whole tournament and was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa.

7.Mitchell Starc : He bowled some very good death bowling through out the tournament picking 10 wickets in the process.His pace and line-length varaiations were superb and he is going to be one of the mainstays of the Aussie team in the years to come.

8..Luke Wright :He played brilliantly against the Afghans and made  good contributions against other teams scoring 193 runs in the process.

9. Steven Finn : The tall lad has been the pick of the bowlers for England picking up 8 wickets at an economy of 6.1 which is quite good for the shorter format. 

10.Sunil Narine :He was not in the best of forms in the league stages but came back well to pick up 9 wickets to help the windies win the trophy.

11.Tim Southee : He bowled with a huge heart in sub continent conditions but was very unlucky.He picked up 7 wickets at an economy of 5.6

The Average :

1.Suresh Raina : He was playing well throughout the tournament but was not able to convert his starts into big scores because he batted too down the order and his fielding was brilliant as usual.

2.Nasir Jamshed : Apart from his whirlwind knock of 57 in the first match he was pretty ordinary and didnt have much to offer.

3..Eoin Morgan :The south paw has been in scintillating form for the Poms scoring at nearly 170 strike rate and has been an asset to the team .His only problem is his consistency.Other than the two matches where he played brilliantly,he was quite ordinary in the others.

4.Ravi Rampaul : The sturdy bowler from West Indies was average because he was too expensive though he picked up wickets at crucial junctures.His ball to Dilshan in the finals was praised by many and was called the ball of the tournament.He picked up 9 wickets at an economy of almost 8.

5.Kumar Sangakkara : The wicket keeping south paw from Srilanka was pretty okay in the tournament.But his keeping abilities have come under the scanner in recent times with him dropping a couple of catches.He scored 170 runs in the tournament.

6.Tillakratne Dilshan : This explosive opener was in average form scoring 179 runs in the tournament.But he played some crucial cameos to help the team reach the finals.

7.Graeme Swann : He was not able to capitalize on the sub continent conditions and was able to bag only 7 wickets.

8.Lasith Malinga :He was good in some matches and was patchy in the others.He gave away more than 50 runs in the finals which cost his team the match.Other than that he was good as usual.

9.Lakshmipathy Balaji : He was the highest wicket taker for India with 9 scalps but his economy took a beating (almost 8).

10.R.Ashwin : Though he bowled well against Pakistan and South Africa, he was taken to the cleaners against the Aussies.Dhoni could have put a better use of him.

The bad :

1. Gautam Gambhir :This south paw from Delhi was very poor and was not able to play a vital inning for the team when needed.His casual approach to batting has been his bane and he has let his team down big time.

2. Shahid Afridi : He had a very contrasting world cup when compared to 2011.He was expensive, didn't pick many wickets and he was batting like a school kid. No more can be said.

3.M.S.Dhoni : The Indian skipper has been out of sorts in the shortest format both in batting and captaincy.His poor decisions have been a factor in India's exit and he hasn't played one significant knock in the tournament.

4.Zaheer Khan : Though he was quite economic, he hasn't picked up many wickets, a trait that he is usually known for.

5.Kane Williamson : He has seldom lived up to his potential and has been very mediocre without a single credible performance to his name.

6.Rohit Sharma : Other than the 50 in the dead rubber against England,Rohit was pretty mediocre in the tournament.I fail to understand why Dhoni kept him on the team.

7.Shoaib Malik : He was only making up the 11 and was not of much use in the team.

8.Farhaan Behardien : His talent was not justified by his performances.

9.Wayne Parnell : He was a poor bowler who didn't know which length to bowl in subcontinent conditions and was taken to the cleaners.

10.Hashim Amla :He was supposed to be the lynch pin of South African batting line up but he failed to impress .

11. Ab De Villiers : His poor form cost the tournament because he was that kind of a player who can take the game away from you if he gets set.

These are my rankings based on the performances I witnessed over the last two weeks.I might have missed out some players because they would have fallen between two categories (ex:Irfan pathan - between average and bad) or maybe because a certain player did not play more than 1 or 2 matches.