My Best Playing XI in the ICC Cricket World Cup (After the first 30 matches)

From clinical wins to close encounters, we have seen everything in the first 30 matches of the ICC Cricket World 2019. Virat Kohli in the captain’s conference had said, “Chasing 270-280 is going to be as difficult as chasing 340-350.” His point has been proved with teams finding it difficult to chase down totals. The norm has been to bat first, put 300 runs on board and entrust the bowlers to do the job. Some players have put up some exceptional performances throughout the tournament and in today’s blog, I am going to put forward my best playing XI from the performances from the first 30 matches of this ICC Cricket World Cup. 

1# David Warner - So far in the tournament he has been the highest run scorer with 447 runs from 6 innings at an average of 89.40. His highest score of 166 runs off 147 balls was made against Bangladesh. This also happens to be the highest knock so far in the tournament. 

2# Rohit Sharma - Rohit has scored 320 runs in 4 innings at an average of 106.66. In this World Cup, we have seen a very different Rohit Sharma. Often known for his dashing shots all over the ground, he has played some matured knocks like the one against South Africa when he scored 122* off 144 balls. That was also the slowest hundred Rohit Sharma has ever made. Aaron Finch was a stiff competition to him but the maturity with which he has played gives him the slight nod over the Australian captain. 

3# Joe Root - He is definitely a part of the fab 4 (which includes Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Joe Root himself.), but nobody expected him to come out dashing with such extraordinary. He has already notched up 2 hundred's and has amassed a total of 424 runs from 6 innings at an average of 84.80. He has also been pretty handy with the ball and can serve as a 6th bowling option in my side. 

4# Kane Williamson - He will be the captain of my side. His performances have been overshadowed by the brilliant performances from his bowlers. He has hit 373 runs from 4 innings at an astonishing average of 186.50. His knock of 148 against West Indies was the best of the lot. 

5# Shakib al Hasan - He has easily been the MVP of the tournament so far. Being able to bowl a full quota of 10 overs, then bat at number 3 is a big demand. But he grabbed that opportunity with both hands. So far he has made 425 runs in 5 innings at an average of 106.25 and has picked up 5 wickets at an economy of 6. With these kinds of consistent performances, he is likely to win the MVP tag of the tournament. 

6# Eoin Morgan - The English captain has been in some serious striking form. Although his numbers haven’t been as appealing as someone like Kane Williamson or David Warner, his strike rate of 124.42 is the highest among the top 10 top run scorers in the tournament. So far in the tournament, he has hit 270 runs from 5 innings at an average of 54. He also broke the record for the most sixes in an innings (17), when England had played against Afghanistan earlier this week. 

7# Jos Buttler - Also known as the freak, Jos Buttler so far has scored 197 runs from 5 innings at a scintillating strike rate of 134. His best knock was against Pakistan when he scored a brilliant 103 from 76 balls. He along with Joe Root had almost chased down the highest total in World Cup history but, it wasn’t to be. He hasn’t got many chances to bat but going forward in the tournament we all must expect fireworks from this freak. 

8# Jofra Archer - It is very ironic that almost half of the players featuring in my team are English and England are not even placed in the top 3 in the points table. Such has been the dominance of only a few players. Jofra Archer so far has been the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 15 wickets from 6 matches. Whenever Eoin Morgan has needed a wicket he has turned to his ace pacer, Jofra Archer. His selection in the World Cup was a gamble by the English team but it has paid off. 

9# Mitchell Starc- Starc too like Jofra Archer has taken 15 wickets from 6 matches. But, for me, Mitchell Starc has been the bowler of the tournament so far. Let it be in the first 10 overs, or the middle overs, or in the death; Mitchell Starc has not disappointed his captain, Aaron Finch and has provided crucial breakthroughs. Starc has been one of the main reasons why Australia are placed so high on the points table. If the defending champions are to retain their trophy then Starc will have to play a huge part (like he did in the previous edition by winning the man of the series award.)

10# Mohammed Amir - Pakistan needed him to rise to the occasion and Oh Boy did he! He was struggling big time before the World Cup started. He was parched for wickets and now he has 15 from 6 matches. His best performance, also the best bowling performance in the tournament so far was 5-30 against the mighty Australian team. His economy to has been really impressive ( conceding 4.72 runs every over). Pakistan right now is in the bottom half of the table and if Pakistan has any chance of qualifying for the semi’s Amir will have to continue his form with the ball. 

11# Yuzvendra Chahal - By far he has been the most impressive spinner in the tournament. He has picked up 8 wickets from 4 games at an impressive economy of 5.5. His best performance was against the South African team with figures of 4-51. He has been asked to bowl in the powerplay, the middle overs and even the death overs and has been successful in all 3 stages of these games. 

This was my best XI after the first 30 matches. Tell me yours in the comments section!