2010 ICC World T20 - A Review

The 2010 ICC World T20 was the third edition of the== Super Eights ==
Twenty20 World Cup that began in 2007. The WestGroup E
Indies hosted the 2010 edition. The slogan for thisEngland, Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa
event was "Bring It" - one that aimed to counteractformed Group E for this stage of the tournament.
the sterile atmosphere of the 2007 ICC World Cup.England, who was without a victory in the group
Providence, Guyana; Gros Islet, St.Lucia; andstages, won all three Super Eights matches
Bridgetown, Barbados were the host venues.convincingly. New Zealand beat Pakistan by one run in
Format overviewa thriller; South Africa beat New Zealand; and
Twelve teams - the ten Test playing nations andPakistan beat South Africa. There was a three-way
two Associate qualifiers - participated in the event.tie for second place on points. As a result, Pakistan
The twelve teams were spread across four groupssneaked into the semi-finals with the best net run
(A, B, C and D), with each group having three teams.rate, joining England as Group E qualifiers.
The top two teams from each group qualified forGroup F
the Super Eights, with no points carried over fromAustralia, West Indies, Sri Lanka and India comprised
the group stage. The Super Eights consisted of twoGroup F. Australia were the frontrunners from the
groups of four teams each. The top two teamsoutset, sweeping aside all opponents in their three
from each group qualified for the semi-finals.matches. India, on the other hand, lost all three
Group Amatches. Sri Lanka beat the West Indies
Group A consisted of Australia, Bangladesh andcomprehensively, lost to Australia comprehensively
Pakistan - the only group with 100% active Testand narrowly beat India in their last match. The West
playing nations. Although Australia had their troubles inIndies crashed out of the tournament with only one
this format, they topped Group A, with comfortableSuper Eights victory, ensuring that the record of no
victories over Pakistan and Bangladesh. Pakistan washost nation winning an ICC World Cup remained
the runner-up in this group, after their opening victoryintact.
over their Asian neighbours. Pakistan and AustraliaSemi-finals
were through to the Super Eights.In the first semi-final, England swept Sri Lanka aside
Group Bby seven wickets. Sri Lanka posted an uncompetitive
New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe constituted128/6, which England successfully chased with 24 balls
Group B - the group that opened the tournament.to spare. In the second semi-final, Pakistan gave
The Kiwis and Sri Lanka had a thrilling match, whichAustralia a formidable 191/6 to match or surpass. The
the Kiwis narrowly won. Rain affected victories overAussies, after appearing as though their wickets and
Zimbabwe sealed their passage to the Super Eights.chances were running out, managed a superb, thrilling
Group Cvictory off the penultimate ball. Australia was through
This group had no surprises as Afghanistan lost toto meet England in the final after one of the best
India and South Africa. In topped the group by virtuematches of the tournament.
of its comfortable win over South Africa. The twoIn a tournament without any upsets, England
Test playing nations were through to the Supermanaged a minor surprise by upstaging Australia in
Eights.the final. That England won was not surprising in
Group Ditself; the ease with which they won the final was
Hosts West Indies had a good start to theremarkable. England beat the Aussies by seven
tournament with victories over Ireland and awickets with 18 balls remaining. The 2010 ICC World
controversial rain-affected win over England. EnglandT20 was not the best in terms of the quality of
and Ireland were both winless, since their match wascricket, however. There were only three close
abandoned in the middle stages. However, Englandfinishes, out of 27 matches. Too many one-sided
joined the West Indies in the Super Eights by virtuegames, and underperformance by the hosts, made
of their superior net run rate.the tournament somewhat underwhelming.