World Cup 2015: Eleven memorable moments
New Delhi: As we bid adieu to the World Cup 2015 with vintage Australia having emerged as a champion for the 5th time, the tournament has been a great success not just in terms of
4) India's record winning streak
Led by the best ever captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Team India recorded eleven consecutive wins in the World Cup starting from 2011 and took the team to the semifinals when there were very low expectations of crossing the group stage.
After a horrendous tour Down Under, India were in the semi-finals though it was a heart-break for all the Indian cricket fans when the defending champions were outplayed by Australians in a one-sided game.
For every future captain, it will be a very tough task to beat Dhoni's captaincy record.
5) Virat Kohli's century against Pakistan
Ahead of this World Cup, no Indian was ever able to score a hundred against the arch-rivals Pakistan despite a 5-0 record in World Cups.
But Virat Kohli changed that when India met Pakistan in Adelaide and defeated them for 6 straight times in the World Cup. It was a sublime century by India's best batsman and also one for the history books.
6) Mitchell Starc's sensational spell against the Kiwis
Who could have imagined at the start of the World Cup that in a batsman-dominated game, the player of the tournament would eventually be a fast bowler? Australia's Mitchell Starc showed that a bowler with the right pace and control can make a mark in cricket's biggest stage, even in conditions favouring willowers.
Months after being labeled "soft" by one of Australia's cricket great Shane Warne and getting dropped from Australia's Test XI, Mitchell Starc was voted the Player of the World Cup.
He finished as the leading wicket taker with 22 wickets in his kitty. He was also the most economical bowler in the World Cup.
In a tournament that saw two double-hundreds, two batsman get past 500 runs overall and 35 centuries scored, Starc's figures of 6/28 in Australia's first match against New Zealand at the Eden Park in Auckland gave an indication of the promising career ahead for the Sydney-born cricketer.
7) Indian bowlers on the roll
Mohammed Shami, UmeshYadav and Mohit Sharma woke up from deep slumber to kickstart India's World Cup campaign. They were stunning in the run-up for their deliveries and the aggression in their bowling was refreshing.
Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav, in particular, bowled consistently above 145 Kmph to produce some of the best spells anyone has ever seen from Indian seamers.
India also set a record of bowling out their opponents for 8 consecutive times ahead of the semis.
The pacers collectively took 49 wickets and out of which 25 were from using short deliveries.
However, they failed in the semis but that does not take away all good that they produced leading up to that moment. They have been largely impressive in this World Cup and they will take back a lot from their Australian sojourn and return as better bowlers in the future. The tour must have steeled them a lot.