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The World Cup is one of the most awaited sporting events of the cricketing world. The 2015 World Cup took place in Australia and New Zealand which saw both the hosts contend for the coveted trophy in the finals which took place in Melbourne on the 29th of March 2015.
Prior to the finals, both the teams had met each other in the group stages which saw New Zealand win a nail biter. In the finals, the Aussies showcased some brilliant all-around cricket to win the match by 7 wickets. James Faulkner received the Man of the Match for his outstanding show with the ball whereas Mitchell Starc won the Man of the Series Award for emerging as the tournament's highest wicket-taker.
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The World Cup witnessed some great performances coming from both bat and ball. One of the biggest upsets in the World Cup was witnessed when Bangladesh got the better off England in a Pool A game by 15 runs.
Following the World Cup, a few greats of the game brought down the curtains to their illustrious career. 5 players who performed exceedingly in the 2015 World Cup and will be missed dearly in England this year are as follows:
#1 Daniel Vettori
Daniel Vettori announced his retirement from all forms of the game following the loss to Australia in the finals of the World Cup. The all-rounder made his debut for the Test side in 1997 to become the youngest New Zealand player to feature in an international Test match.
The former Kiwi skipper had a great time in the 2015 World Cup where he picked up 15 wickets in 9 games to end up in the top 10 bowlers list for the most wickets. Vettori had a fitting end to his career as he bowled with an economy rate of 4.04 throughout the tournament. His best performance in the tournament came against Afghanistan in the group stages where he picked up figures of 4 for 18 in his 10 over spell which comprised of 4 maidens. Daniel Vettori's catch off Marlon Samuels in the game against West Indies was one of the most iconic moments of the tournament.
#2 Morne Morkel
Morne Morkel made his international Test Debut in 2006 which was followed by his ODI and T20 Debut in 2007. The tall bowler from Transvaal became a regular in the South African side after the retirement of Makhaya Ntini. Morkel was one of the most feared bowlers in international cricket and was the only bowler to get Michael Hussey out on 8 occasions.
The South African team fell short in the semifinals of the 2015 World Cup against the hosts New Zealand in a rain-hit game which was reduced to 43 overs. The Kiwis were racing towards the South African total with McCullum scoring a 50 in less than 25 balls. Morkel brought the South Africans back into the game with the wickets of Baz and Kane Williamson in successive overs.
Later on, he picked up the wicket of Corey Anderson who scored 58 off 57 balls to put on a century stand with Grant Elliott for the 5th wicket. Eventually, the Kiwis won with one ball to spare. The images of the South African players after the loss brought tears to the eyes of cricketing fans all around the world, showing that cricket is much more than a game.
Morkel had a great time out in the 2015 World Cup which saw him emerge as the joint fourth highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 17 wickets in 7 games coming at an average of 17.29. Morne retired in 2018 after the test series against the Aussies.
#3 Tillakaratne Dilshan
Tillakaratne Dilshan was known to be as one of the most dangerous opening batsmen in the cricketing world at his peak and also known as the founder of the 'Dilscoop'. Dilshan had an impressive 2015 which saw him as one of the leading run scorers of the World Cup where he amassed 395 runs at an average of 65.83. Dilshan scored 2 centuries and one 50 in 7 matches out of which his best performance came against Bangladesh in a Pool A game in Melbourne where the Sri Lankans won the toss and elected to bat first.
The Sri Lankan innings was opened by Dilshan and Thirimanne who got Sri Lanka off to a flier to put on 122 for the first wicket as Thirimanne departed for 52 off 78 runs. Dilshan, on the other hand, looked in a menacing mood as he hammered the Bangladeshi bowlers all around the stadium as Sangakkara and he took Sri Lanka to 332 runs at the end of their 50 overs. Dilshan remained unbeaten on 161 off 146 balls whereas Sangakkara scored 105 off 76 balls. Sri Lankan won the match convincingly by a margin of 92 runs.
Dilshan retired at the end of the T20 series against the Aussies as the Sri Lankan side looked to build a team for the 2019 World Cup.
#4 Kumar Sangakkara
The 2015 World Cup was special for Kumar Sangakkara as he became the first cricketer to score 4 consecutive centuries in a row. Apart from that, he became the only player after the great Sachin Tendulkar to score 14,000 in ODIs. Sangakkara took the Sri Lankans to the quarterfinals of the 2015 World Cup with his flamboyant show with the bat. He ended as the 2nd highest run scorer of the tournament with 541 runs in 7 games coming an appalling average of 108.20. These 541 runs came with a strike rate of 105.87 which comprised of 57 4s and 7 6s.
Sanga had earlier led the Sri Lankan side to the finals of the 2011 World Cup where his side fell short to hosts India who went on to win the tournament after 28 years. He hung his boots following a disappointing loss to South African in the Quarter Finals of the World Cup in 2015. He played his last game for Sri Lanka in the Test series against India following the World Cup. Sangakkara was given a Guard of Honour by the Sri Lankan team in his last test match for Sri Lanka:
#5 AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers is known as a cricketer who can play all the shots in the cricketing book. Apart from that, ABD has always been a team man who even donned the wicketkeeping gloves for his side as and batted from positions ranging from Number 1 to 8 in his international career.
AB de Villiers led the South Africans to the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup where his side fell short due to the heroics of the Grant Elliott. De Villiers had a great time out in the 2015 World Cup as he emerged as the third highest run scorer of the tournament with 482 runs in 7 games coming at an average of 96.40. What made this more special was his strike rate of 144.31.
One of his best innings in the World Cup came against West Indies where he not only scored the 2nd fastest century in the World Cup but also recorded the fastest 150 in ODIs. 'Mr. 360' scored an unbeaten 162 off just 66 balls to take South Africa to a mammoth total of 408 for 5 in their 50 overs.
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