5 things that no one saw coming in World Cup 2015

The ICC World Cup 2015 that kick started on February 14 has seen a lot of ups and downs alongside some inspirational and aggressive performances. Here is a list of 5 things that no one saw coming:

#1 Destructive Dhawan

After an extended stretch of poor scores in the build up to the World Cup, where he hardly managed to cross the double-digit run mark, Shikhar Dhawan has come back strong scoring heavily in India’s first two matches – against Pakistan and South Africa – thus silencing his critics.

Hardly anyone expected him to regain his destructive power, but Dhawan proved them wrong as he scored a well-paced 73 against arch-rivals Pakistan in the team’s World Cup opener. His partnership with Virat Kohli laid the platform for India to reach the 300-run mark and eventually record their 6th consecutive triumph against Pakistan in World Cups.

He continued from where he left and notched up a century (137 off 146 balls) against the Proteas. It helped India set up their first-ever victory against South Africa in World Cups. So far, his performance in the WC has helped India create and rewrite history; let’s hope he continues to deliver such performances.

#2 The Proteas bow down

Not even the staunchest of Indian fans would have seen this coming despite India’s clinical victory against Pakistan. But as it turned out, MS Dhoni and Co., in their second match of the tournament, not just defeated but annihilated South Africa at Melbourne.

Shikhar Dhawan went on to score his first World Cup century, which also turned out to be his highest ODI score till date, while Ajinkya Rahane (79 from 60) cashed in on the platform provided to play the Proteas out of the game.

The Indian bowlers were no less destructive than the batsmen as they rattled one of the world’s best batting orders, cleaning up South Africa for 177 and leading India to a humongous 130-run victory. The turning point of the match was Mohit Sharma’s exceptional throw to run AB de Villiers out. Ravichandran Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers grabbing 3 wickets for 41 runs.

#3 McCullum masterclass

How about this for a jaw-dropping fact? Despite facing three of the strongest teams in their pool, New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum has a strike-rate of 193.5 in this World Cup so far. He also has three half-centuries to his name: every single one of them was no less brutal than the other and had severe effects on the opposition.

His captaincy skills along with his explosive striking have already thrashed the bowling attacks of Sri Lanka, England, Scotland, and, last but not the least, Australia. He made a quick-fire 65 from 49 in the WC opening match and scored 15 in the match against Scotland.

In his third match, the Kiwis bundled England for 121. Out came McCullum with his weapon and bashed the bowlers all around the park scoring 77 runs from just 25 balls, a knock that included 7 huge sixes. It looked as if McCullum misunderstood the fact that it was a 50-over match, with the entire match lasting only for 45.4 overs: his innings led to the Kiwis chasing down the target in just 12.2 overs.

The match against Australia was an absolute thriller. Set a target of 152, McCullum did not waste any time as he came out all guns blazing. Even the likes of Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc looked clueless as he helped himself to a 23-ball 50. A lot of drama happened after his dismissal, but the Kiwis had the final laugh.

#4 The Himalayan high Scores

This edition so far has hinted us at cricket becoming a batsman’s game with the top three scores in the history of the World Cup coming in this edition, all three being 400+ scores. One of the three also happens to be the highest score ever in WC history.

South Africa, led by AB de Villiers’ brutal attack on the West Indian bowlers, piled up 408 runs as he finished with 162 from just 66 balls. It is currently the fourth highest total in WCs.

It was the Proteas again who, in their next match triggered by Hashim Amla (159 of 128) and Faf du Plessis's (109 from 109) hundreds, went on to record the second highest WC total then – 411. It has now been pushed to the third spot, thanks to Australia.

‘The pocket-sized dynamite’ David Warner exploded to score 178 from just 135 balls as Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell joined the party with their knocks of 95 and 88 respectively. Australia’s 417/6 surpassed India’s 413/5 to top the table.

400 has become the new 300!

#5 The Mighty minnows

Of late, the big teams have come to the party. But it was the so-called ‘minnows’ or associate nations who kept the fans hooked onto the tournament in the first two weeks. Teams like Ireland, Zimbabwe, UAE, Afghanistan and Scotland have been giving a tough fight to the top-ranked teams. These scares have yielded many nail-biting finishes in this World Cup.

It was Zimbabwe who started it this time; they went very close to turning the tables on South Africa. Ireland followed it up by beating the two-time champions West Indies in a high-scoring game. New Zealand, in a chase of 143, just about managed to escape with a win in their match against Scotland losing 7 wickets in the process.

Sri Lanka were the next to see the Afghans battling it out against them as they were reduced to 178-6, needing 55 more to win before Thisara Perera guided them home. Zimbabwe again threatened their opposition, restricting Pakistan to just 235 and then coming periliously close to chasing it down.

Though all teams have not been able to cross the line and snatch the game from the opposition, they have managed to make a mark in the World Cup that earlier seemed like a tournament only for the ‘Biggies’.