From Kohli’s heroics to upsets: T20 World Cup so far

After an unpredictable group stage, England, India, New Zealand, and Pakistan secured their spots in the Twenty20 World Cup semifinals.

Virat Kohli’s Heroics

Coming into the tournament off of his first T20 century in September, Kohli wowed over 90,000 ecstatic spectators at the MCG with a match-winning 82 against Pakistan.

As his team chased down their victory goal of 160 on the penultimate ball of a game that served as the campaign opener for India, his two sixes off Haris Rauf at the conclusion of the 19th over entered legend.

King Kohli continued to smash three more half-centuries as he surpassed Mahela Jayawardene, the former captain of Sri Lanka, and set a new record for most runs scored in a tournament (1,016).

Irish joy

After eliminating two-time champions West Indies in round one, Ireland entered the Super 12 stage with a reputation for taking down giants.

However, Andrew Balbirnie’s team didn’t stop there, shocking pre-tournament favourites England in a game that was hampered by weather.

England was given a 158-run target by Balbirnie’s quick 62 in Melbourne, and the Three Lions were 105-5 when play was suspended due to rain, five runs short of the DLS mark.

Zimbabwe blaze

Zimbabwe joined the tournament of surprises by upsetting Pakistan in a nail-biting last-ball match in Perth.

Sikandar Raza, a Pakistan-born spinner, and Brad Evans, a fast bowler, shared five wickets between them to limit Pakistan’s highly regarded batsmen to 129-8 as the Craig Ervine-led team successfully defended a modest 130.

After being run out on the very last ball, Shaheen Shah Afridi collapsed to his knees as Zimbabwe celebrated one of the tournament’s most memorable moments.

Australia’s horror

Australia’s title defence got off to a disastrous start from which they never really recovered.

In the opening match of the Super 12, the hosts, holders, and pre-tournament favourites — along with England — were humiliated by New Zealand by an absurdly large margin of 89 runs.

And it caught up with Aaron Finch’s team, as they were left out of the semi-finals on the basis of net run rate despite finishing tied with England and New Zealand on seven points.

Proteas falter

It was a bright morning in Adelaide as South Africa’s players began warming up for their crucial match against the Netherlands, but it was pretty much the only good thing on a bad day for them.

With his quickfire unbeaten 41, Colin Ackermann propelled the underdog Dutch to a daunting 158-4 before the Netherlands bowlers worked their magic for the underdogs.

The Proteas’ World Cup was over in an instant when their seemingly potent batting order broke down under the weight of the asking run rate.

In the Super 12, the last day’s surprise may have been the biggest of all.