Cricket World Cup
This year, India is hosting the 13th installment of the Men’s Cricket World Cup, an international event hosted every four years where cricket teams from across the globe compete for the coveted championship. This event is the pinnacle of One Day International (ODI) 50-over cricket and is organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Through the ICC Super League and the qualifier league, ten teams qualified to play at this stage. The teams participating in the Cup are, in no particular order, India, Afghanistan, Australia, England, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands. The event is organized into two consecutive stages. First, all teams will play against each other in a round-robin format in 45 total games. Teams are ranked based on their win count and net run rates. After that, the top four teams will advance to the semifinals, and the winners of each semifinal match will advance to the finals.
Matches will be played at ten different venues scattered across India. These include the world’s largest cricket stadium, Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, with a seating capacity of over 130,000. This stadium hosted the long-awaited India-Pakistan match and will also host the World Cup Final. The list of stadiums also includes the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium, which is situated in the beautiful Himalayan foothills in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.
The very first match of the World Cup on October 5 saw two major forces in the world of cricket compete, England and New Zealand. Coincidentally, these were the two teams that faced each other in the 2019 World Cup Final. In that match, England narrowly beat New Zealand during the Super Over, cricket’s form of a tiebreaker. Four years later in 2023, New Zealand celebrated a decisive victory over the defending champions. England scored 282 runs for 9 wickets (outs) during their innings of 50 overs (6 pitches is one over), while the Kiwis scored 283 runs required to win in only 36.2 overs (36 overs of 6 pitches, plus two pitches in the 37th over). New Zealand’s Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra scored an impressive 273 runs together, with both batsmen achieving a century (100 runs individually).
On October 14, India and Pakistan faced off in the most anticipated match of the entire World Cup. The rivalry between these two countries transcends beyond cricket—the countries have been pitted against each other ever since they both gained independence from the British Empire. As a result of this rivalry, both teams faced incredible pressure and were compelled to perform their best. During the match, in a shocking turn of events, Pakistan’s team severely blundered, suffering ten wickets for only 191 runs in 42.5 overs. This shocking turn of events allowed India to easily snag the victory.
One of the biggest upsets in World Cup history came the day after the India-Pakistan match, when England played against Afghanistan. Although both teams suffered ten wickets, England could not overcome the powerful bowling (pitching) and fielding of the Afghan team and scored only 215 runs compared to Afghanistan’s 284 runs. This match was England’s very first loss against Afghanistan, and critics questioned whether the English team is really as good as it was in 2019.
As of October 16, India leads the standings, with 3 victories and a net run rate of approximately 1.8. Behind India is New Zealand, also having 3 victories. In third is South Africa with two victories and a net run rate of about 2.4, and in fourth is Pakistan with 2 wins and 1 loss.
The defending champions are England, who defeated New Zealand at the 2019 World Cup held in England and Wales. This year, India is strongly favored to win this World Cup, especially since they are on home soil and have great batters such as captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and skilled bowlers such as Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah. However, India will not win the title so easily. The incredibly powerful New Zealand, South African, and Pakistan teams will always keep India on their heels as they trail India in the standings.
Many students and faculty around BASIS are closely tracking the events of this year’s World Cup, rooting for their respective teams, with India being the most popular. In all, The 2023 Cricket World Cup will see millions of people across the globe tune in to root for their teams or simply enjoy the great sport that we call cricket.
