Published: Apr 04, 2016, 09:48 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 05, 2016, 01:53 PM (IST)
The T20 World Cup 2016 has come to an end. Fittingly, West Indies won the title, thus becoming the first team to win ICC World T20 for the second time. Not surprisingly, spinners played a major role in the tournament, and used conducive Indian pitches extremely well. Having said that, the seamers did an excellent job as well, bowling accurately with the new ball and at the death, using canny variations of pace, and sometimes managing reverse-swing. also did a fine job. Associate teams like Netherlands, Ireland, Oman and Afghanistan also did extremely well in the tournament, to the extent that the top two leading wicket-takers are from Afghanistan. Let us have a look at the best bowlers of ICC World T20 2016. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: England vs West Indies, ICC World T20 2016, Final at Kolkata
Rashid Khan (Afghanistan): The 17-year-old leg-spinner recently represented Afghanistan in Under-19 World Cup earlier this year. He bowled exceptionally well, finishing just one wicket behind Nabi at 11 wickets, with a best of 3 for 11. He formed an excellent partnership with Nabi and slow left-armer Amir Hamza throughout the tournament, and looks all set for a bright future. READ: West Indies vs Afghanistan, T20 World Cup 2016: Asghar Stanikzai lauds team after 6-run victory
Mitchell Santner (New Zealand): Santner took everyone by surprise with the amount of turn he and his spin partner Ish Sodhi obtained, especially against India. Santner is a no-nonsense, wicket-to-wicket bowler, and with some assistance in the pitch, can be extremely deadly, as he proved in the tournament. He picked up 10 wickets from 5 matches at an economy rate of 6.27. With a strike rate of 10.9, his was the best among the top five wicket-takers in the tournament. READ: New Zealand vs England, T20 World Cup 2016, Semi-Final 1: New Zealand lost to a better side, says Kane Williamson
Samuel Badree (West Indies): Badree was perhaps the best bowler of the tournament. His economy rate of 5.39 was among the best, and he chipped away at the wickets at crucial junctures as well. Badree played a crucial part in ensuring West Indies clinched their second title. He got things rolling in the finals as well, getting rid of Jason Roy in his first over. His role turned out to be extremely crucial, more so because his spin partner Sulieman Benn was not in particularly good from in the tournament.
Ashish Nehra (India): Nehra was excellent in the Powerplay overs as well as in the death throughout the tournament. He picked up 5 wickets from as many matches. He was called to bowl in the initial stages and then used in the death by MS Dhoni. He eventually finished with an economy rate of 5.94. He did not pick more than one wicket in any match, but was effective in containing the batsmen. READ: India, Virat Kohli retain No. 1 spot in T20I rankings post T20 World Cup 2016
David Willey (England): England’s best bowler in the tournament by a long margin, Willey was also their leading wicket-taker in the tournament. He did for England what Nehra did for India: he was good in the initial stages of the innings, and also delivered when brought back by in the middle overs, setting the match up beautifully for the death overs.
Ish Sodhi (New Zealand): Ludhiana-born Sodhi bowled well in tandem with Santner. Like Santner, he, too, picked up 10 wickets. While Santner went for 6.27 an over, Sodhi complimented him well with an economy rate of 6.10. Santner and Sodhi formed what was probably the most formidable spin pair of the tournament.
Imran Tahir (South Africa): South Africa crashed out in the Super 10 stage. Though Tahir could not guide them to the semi-final, he was head and shoulders above his colleagues. He bowled his quota of four overs in every match, and no South African could control the run flow like he did. Though Kyle Abbott picked up more wickets, he was expensive. Tahir not only kept the runs down, he also picked up wickets at crucial stages. READ: T20 World Cup 2016: Faf du Plessis has ruled out plans to step down as captain
Paul van Meekeren (Netherlands): Surprised? Van Meekeren deserves a special mention. In his three matches he bowled in two, and finished with 6 wickets to his name. The interesting part is that his average and economy rate were both 4.67 (no typo there), and he had a staggering strike rate of just 6. Though Netherlands failed to progress to the Super 10 stage, van Meekeren was excellent for his side.
Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh): Mustafizur missed the initial stages of the tournament, but he was back for Bangladesh’s last three matches, and was excellent in all three. He finished with a total of 9 wickets, which included a five-wicket haul against New Zealand. This was only the second time a Bangladesh bowler picked up a T20I five-wicket haul. With a strike rate of just 8 and an average of 9.55, Bangladesh would have hoped that they could have had him for the entire tournament, where he could have had an even bigger impact.
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)
