World Cup 2019: Four reasons why the tournament has been low-scoring

#4 The pressure factor

Najibullah Zadran

In a tournament like the World Cup, the pressure is the biggest hurdle for any batsman or bowler. The players usually succumb under it and end up committing mistakes. As a bowler, you get a second chance to recover, but it's not quite the case for a batsman.

This pressure had almost scripted a fairytale comeback for Bangladesh against New Zealand, only to be prevented by a match-saving cameo from Mitchell Santner. The run-rate was gradually soaring, which made the batsmen go for wrong shots. This was later confessed by their skipper Kane Williamson as well.

The run-out of Najibullah Zadran against Sri Lanka was also a result of the pressure that was building up on both the teams toward the business end of the game. He was the lone batsman left in the middle, and in order to remain on the strike, he had to run. But that got rid of him.