Cricket

The top five matches from the 2009 T20 World Cup

Some incredible games. Which was the best though? 👇

Published by
Scott Pryde
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England had the honour of hosting the second T20 World Cup in 2009, although it did little for their on-field performance.

27 matches were once again played in a 12-team competition, although this time it was only nine of the Test playing nations.

Following a famous victory over Australia in the 2007 version, Zimbabwe pulled out of the tournament, allowing for Australia, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Africa, England and the West Indies to be joined by Ireland and the Netherlands, alongside Scotland, who won a third-place playoff at the qualification tournament.

It meant Kenya missed out, with Ireland and the Netherlands both making their first appearance.

Other T20 World Cup match countdowns
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Pakistan were able to avenge their final defeat from the inaugural tournament to hand Sri Lanka a beatdown in the final at Lord’s as two sub-continent nation once again faced off in pinnacle of the shortest format of the game.

Here are the five best matches from the 2009 T20 World Cup.

New Zealand and South Africa fight out low-scoring classic

Given the way the Super 8 format was worked out at the tournament, this match for the top spot in Group D was all kinds of important.

New Zealand winning the toss and electing to field might have been the first surprise, but they did a superb job with the ball at Lord's, limiting South Africa to just 7 for 128.

Those numbers were all the more impressive given the start South Africa got as Jacques Kallis made 24, and Graeme Smith 33. The run rate never got going though, and a mid-order collapse left JP Duminy as the man needing to save face for the Proteas.

Ian Butler was the pick of the bowlers for the Black Caps, taking 2 for 13 from his four overs at an economy rate of just 3.25. Given Nathan McCullum and Scott Styris both went at under six runs per over however, it was a performance which would have left them confident with the blade.

And when Brandon McCullum leads the way by scoring a half-century, to say the Black Caps faded and fail3ed to pick up the win is even more of a surprise.

He made 57 from 54 balls on a difficult deck, while Ross Taylor made 22 and Jacob Oram 24, and yet, the Black Caps finished one run short at 5 for 127 in what was a thriller.

Dale Steyn and Kallis himself were the pick of the bowlers, while Roelof van der Merwe's economy rate of just 3.5 from his four overs kept the Proteas alive.

Chris Gayle smokes the Aussies

The Australians had a poor 2007 campaign at the T20 World Cup by their usual lofty standards, and it didn't improve in 2009.

They would be bundled out of the tournament at the first hurdle as Chris Gayle scorched them. Australia might have won the toss and elected to bat at the Oval, with David Warner plundering 63 off 53 balls to lead them to 7 for 169, but it didn't help in the slightest.

A top order collapse left Warner having to anchor the innings, before contributions from Brad Haddin, David Hussey and Michael Hussey got the Australians to a respectable score.

It would be nothing in the face of one of the best batsmen the shortest form of the game has ever seen though as Gayle smoked 88 from 50 balls. He was joined in the middle by Andre Fletcher, who cracked 53 from 32 balls, the West Indies chasing down the total with over four overs to spare at almost 11 runs pr over.

Brett Lee went the journey, conceding 56 runs from his four overs, while the only bowlers under ten runs per over were Mitchell Johnson, James Hopes and Shane Watson.

David Warner during the 2015 Cricket World Cup match between Australia and Scotland at Bellerive Oval on March 14, 2015 in Hobart, Australia.

Defending champions have charge ended by hosts

One of the more important matches at the tournament, the loser of this one was set to be eliminated from the Super 8 stage.

Lord's hosted two of cricket's longest-standing rivals in a critical crunch match, with England being sent into bat. They struggled to get ahead of the eight ball with the exception of Kevin Pietersen, who blasted 46 off just 27 balls. With Ravi Bopara, Dimitri Mascarenhas and Owais Shah playing anchor roles, it allowed the hosts to reach 7 for 153.

That was despite an excellent spell of bowling from RP Singh, who took 1 for 13 from his four overs, and Ravindra Jadeja, who has 2 for 26 from his four.

India would have been confident of chasing down the total, however, a disastrous start left them at 2 for 24 off just four overs with both Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina back in the pavilion.

Gautam Gambhir and Ravindra Jadeja anchored the innings, but struggled to push the pace. When the big-hitting Yuvraj Singh was dismissed for 17 off just nine balls, leaving India needing 66 from six overs, it looked all but over.

It was anything but though as inspirational captain MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan put the rockets on. They scored 30 off 20 and 33 off 17 respectively, however, India would fall just three runs short of the target, being knocked out of the tournament.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni leads his team after victory during the third and final T20 cricket match in a serie of three games between India and Zimbabwe in the Prayag Cup at Harare Sports Club, on June 22, 2016.
Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bowl in Wednesdays third and decisive Twenty20 international at Harare Sports Club, giving India their first opportunity to post a total on their short tour. JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images

179 runs in 13 overs as Scotland and New Zealand swing for the fences

Rain-reduced T20 matches bring a whole new meaning to hit and giggle cricket, and this match at The Oval was no exception to the rule.

The two teams were only able to play seven overs per side on a typical English day, but it didn't stop them from putting on a festival of big hitting and swinging for the fences.

Sent in to bat, Scotland came into the game as massive outsiders, but managed to total 89 from their seven overs, with Ryan Watson scoring 27 off 10 and Kyle Coetzer 33 off 15.

Only a fabulous two overs from eventual man of the match Ian Butler stopped things from getting out of hand, with the Kiwi picking up 3 for 19 from two overs.

New Zealand, reading to score at better than 12 runs per over to chase the target down, wasted little time in blasting off, with Brendon McCullum (18 off 7) and Jesse Ryder (31 off 12) both striking at over 250.

By the time Jacob Oram was the third man out, the score was 3 for 68 off 4.3 overs, and the Black Caps needed just 22 runs from 3.3 overs, a relative walk in the park all things considered.

They would eventually reach the target with an over to spare, Ross Taylor not out on 21 from just 10 balls, with overs from Calum MacLeod, Craig Wright and Jan Stander during the chase going for 19, 20 and 22 respectively.

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND - FEBRUARY 14: Brendon McCullum of New Zealand leads the team off the field following the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at Hagley Oval on February 14, 2015 in Christchurch, New Zealand. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Netherlands stun England in last ball thriller

When you think of big victories from minnow cricket nations, the Netherlands beating of England on opening day at an England-hosted T20 World Cup is right up there.

It was the proverbial David vs Goliath battle, and yet England found a way to bottle it.

That was even after a fantastic start which saw Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright guide them to 1 for 102 off just 11 overs before the wicket of Bopara.

Wright would continue his devastating form, scoring 71 from 49 balls, but the run rate dropped off with the middle order unable to get going.

Kevin Pietersen was a big out for the clash, and with Owais Shah, Eoin Morgan and Paul Collingwood all failing, the Netherlands were able to drag England back to within a reasonable run chase. The hosts finished on 5 for 162.

The Netherlands looked out of it after a disastrous start though as James Anderson and Stuart Broad ripped through the top order to leave the outsiders at 2 for 23 from 3.3 overs.

An incredibly good performance from the middle order, as well as some wayward bowling from the hosts though, allowed the Dutch to chase the target down on the final ball, led by Tom de Grooth's 49 from 30 balls.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 27: Kevin Pietersen of England leaves the field after being bowled by Mitchell Johnson of Australia during day two of the Fourth Ashes Test Match between Australia and England at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 27, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Published by
Scott Pryde