On November 13, England won the eighth T20 World Cup by five wickets at the MCG. Jos Buttler’s squad won their second T20 title after the 2009 World T20.
The T20 World Cup 2022 began on October 16 with a thrilling preliminary round. Only four teams advanced to the knockout stages with strong performances. Several teams outperformed expectations.
This year’s T20 World Cup was full with surprises.
Ireland, the Netherlands, and Zimbabwe had impressive results. Their magic improved the tournament.
As with any competition, many teams flopped. Prior to the T20 World Cup, some major threats failed to advance to the Super 12s.
Some did not advance past the first round.
Let us look at three teams that underwhelmed at the T20 World Cup 2022.
Group B West Indies
Super 12s ineligible.
West Indies were anticipated to reach the Super 12s despite missing Chris Gayle, Keiron Pollard, Andre Russell, and Sunil Narine. In Round 1 of the T20 World Cup, they were in Group B with Ireland, Scotland, and Zimbabwe.
Many anticipated the Men in Maroon to win. The two-time champs appeared toothless and did not advance. Scotland placed above the Caribbean due to a higher net run-rate.
Nicholas Pooran’s West Indian hitting team struggled in Australia. West Indies were bowled out for 118 chasing 161 in their opener against Scotland.
The Caribbean batsmen crept past 145 on an excellent batting surface in a must-win match against Ireland. Irish hitters beat West Indies’ goal with 15 balls and nine wickets to spare.
The West Indies and the USA will co-host the 2024 T20 World Cup. In the immediate term, they’ll have to deal with another disappointing performance in an ICC event.
1. Australia
Third in Super 12s group; missed semifinals.
Australia was the favorites to defend the T20 World Cup crown they won last year at home. Their cricket style surprised many fans.
The Aussies struggled despite having T20 batting and bowling superstars. Their fans were disappointed that they did not advance to the knockout rounds at home.
Defending champions lost to Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in their opener. A 89-run loss was a sign of things to come and hurt the Aussies’ net run-rate.
After losing to the Kiwis, the Kangaroos needed a big win to advance to the semifinals. They failed to capitalize against seemingly easy opponents.
Despite beating Ireland and Afghanistan, Aaron Finch’s team didn’t improve its net run rate. Their match against England washed out added insult to injury.
The Aussies’ batting line-up, which won the T20 World Cup last year, was a concern. David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Tim David, and Matthew Wade failed to help their team and were eliminated.
2 South Africa
Third in Super 12s group; missed semifinals.
In one of the final Super 12s matches, the Netherlands stunned South Africa. The Dutch side’s win knocked the Proteas out of the T20 World Cup.
South Africa was favored to win its first World Cup. The Proteas appeared to be a dangerous team on paper, given their immensely talented pace attack that was well-suited for Australian surfaces.
Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, David Miller, and others batted well.
South Africa’s opening game against Zimbabwe was washed out. The Temba Bavuma-led side roared back strongly and looked like the team to beat as they eased past Bangladesh and India in their next two games.
Barring questions over the poor form of skipper Bavuma and premier pacer Kagiso Rabada, everything looked pleasant for the Proteas. They needed to bag just two points from their two remaining games against Pakistan and the Netherlands, respectively.
Despite having a hold on the game, a spirited performance by Pakistan saw them get the better of South Africa. That loss against the Men in Green put the Proteas in a must-win situation against the Dutch.
South Africa have a history of losing their focus and wilting in key moments in ICC tournaments. However, most fans believed that they would have too much for the Netherlands.
What followed left everyone in shock. No South African player put his hand up as the team crumbled under pressure once again and eventually lost the game by 13 runs.
The T20 World Cup 2022 ended in horrible fashion and South Africa once again must pick up the pieces from a disappointing campaign in an ICC tournament.
