ICC World T20 2021 has been one of the most bowlers-dominated ICC events. The bowlers ruled the tournament until the last phase.
As a result, there were plenty of impressive bowling performances to witness. Among them, we pick the five most impactful performers.
Adam Zampa
Adam Zampa was the joint highest wicket-taker of the super 12’s. His bowling figure of 5/19 is the best in the tournament. He took 13 wickets at a strike rate of 12.4 only.
Zampa took the wickets of players like David Miller, Charith Asalanka, Evin Lewis, Babar Azam, Martin Guptill in crucial moments. And he did it keeping an economy of 5.81 only.
The way he dominated the middle overs could not be replicated by anyone else. He is the most deserving bowler to be here and according to the Aussie skipper, “the best player of the tournament.”
Moeen Ali
The condition suited the spinners quite well. But few made the best out of it like Moeen Ali.
He bowled in 4 innings, mostly in power plays. In powerplays, he took 5 wickets with an economy of 5.73 and a strike rate of 13.2. Also, England had an excellent finisher in the form of an in-form Moeen.
Trent Boult
The prolific Kiwi seamer was the joint highest wicket-taker with Adam Zampa from the super 12s. He was their go-to bowler at any phase of a match.
When New Zealand had to win 4 games in a row in the group stage to qualify for the semi-final, Boult took 10 wickets in those with an economy of 5.38 and strike rate of 10.67.
Of them, 7 were in the death overs and 3 were during powerplays. He also bowled a brilliant spell in the final being a lone warrior for the Kiwis.
Dwain Pretorius
South Africa's unexpected good journey and missing the semi-finals by inches was possible for their bowling unit, specially Dwain Pretorious.
He played only 5 matches and picked up 9 wickets. His strike rate of 9.6 was the most among bowlers bowling more than one overs. He proved to be a game-changer for the Proteas in the middle overs.
Also, the wickets he took were all big names likes Malan, Nissanka, Pollard and Gayle. He along with Nortje spearheaded through the opponent batting lineup in the middle overs.
Wanindu Hasaranga
And finally, the list wouldn’t be complete without the highest wicket-taker.
Wanindu Hasaranga took 16 wickets - 10 in the super 12s, 6 in the qualifiers. Along with a hat-trick against South Africa, he averaged 9.75 only--2nd best among the bowlers who bowled 10 or more overs.
His overall bowling performance doesn’t need much description. He took 40 per cent wickets for Sri Lanka in the Super 12s. Except for Bangladesh, he shined against everyone.
Mentionables
Some other bowlers, whom we didn’t include in our list, deserve a mention for their excellent performance in the World Cup. Anrich Nortje, Ish Sodhi, Josh Hazlewood, Adil Rashid, Shadab Khan-- all served their teams well.
