With Afghanistan's loss today, the semi-finals scenario is finally cleared and we have England, Australia, Pakistan, and New Zealand who will be featuring in the semi-finals of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021, with India crashing out of the competition.
It was always New Zealand's game with the way they bowled against Afghanistan. The Kiwis were phenomenal on the field and ensured that Afghanistan didn't get any easy runs.
However, with the semi-finals set, today, we will throw some light on the top 5 individual performances in the semi-finals of the ICC T20 World Cups.
Lendl Simmons (West Indies)
It was the semi-finals of the ICC T20 World Cup in 2016 and it was West Indies playing India in Mumbai. West Indies had won the toss and were bowling first.
India came out to bat and batted brilliantly, finishing with 192/2 on the board, with Rohit Sharma scoring 43, Ajinkya Rahane scoring 40, and Virat Kohli scoring an unbeaten 89*.
West Indies had a job in hand and the total wasn't the easiest. However, in Mumbai, no score is big as chasing is something teams prefer on that ground.
West Indies were struck with early wickets as Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels were dismissed in quick succession. West Indies were 19/2 in 3 overs and it seemed like India would win the game with ease.
However, the West Indies had some other plans. Johnson Charles played a fantastic knock of 52 runs off just 36 balls alongside Lendl Simmons, whose catch was dropped on several occasions.
That hurt them bad as Simmons stayed unbeaten scoring 82, with Andre Russell playing a quickfire 43.
Simmons played one of the best innings of his life as he played against the home crowd and expressed himself via his shots. Luck was on his side as well and the player didn't hesitate to take the offensive route despite having some nervy moments.
West Indies knocked out the hosts on their turf while chasing and a huge credit goes to Simmons for such an innings.
Jason Roy (England)
Another semi-final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup and this time it was Jason Roy who produced a gem of a knock.
It was England vs New Zealand in the semi-finals and ENG were bowling first after winning the toss.
New Zealand registered 153 on the board at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground in Delhi, losing 8 wickets, with Colin Munro, Kane Williamson, and Corey Anderson scoring the majority of runs.
Ben Stokes bowled well, picking 3/26. England were chasing 154 on a pitch that could put some challenges but Jason Roy was ready to shine.
Roy scored 78 off 44 deliveries, firing 11 fours and two sixes, with a strike rate of 177.27, an innings that made England's job very easy. However, Eoin Morgan's golden duck did put pressure on them but Jos Buttler finished the game, standing strong scoring 32 off 17 balls with Joe Root scoring 27.
Michael Hussey (Australia)
T20 cricket is all about turnarounds and a match of moments. Well, Mike Hussey's performance in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup in 2010 is a perfect example.
Australia had won the toss and were bowling first at the Gros Islet Ground, St. Lucia. Pakistan posted a mammoth total of 191, with Kamran Akmal scoring 50, Umar Akmal scoring 56, and Salman Butt scoring 36.
#OnThisDay in 2010, Mike Hussey stunned Pakistan with a blistering 60* off 24 balls in the @T20WorldCup semi-final đź’Ą
— CricWick (@CricWick) May 14, 2021
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Australia were chasing 192 and found themselves 62/4 after a shambolic start to their batting. But that's when Michael Hussey produced one of the best individual performances in a semi-final in T20 World Cups.
Hussey scored 60 off just 24 balls and helped Australia chase what looked like an impossible task after the condition they found themselves in. A moment every cricket fan who watched the match would cherish.
Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)
The ICC T20 World Cup has witnessed some great semi-finals over the years involving some exceptional performances but Afridi's monstrous all-round display in the 2009 semi-final against South Africa was all Pakistan would've wished for.
At Nottingham, Pakistan had won the toss and were batting first. After being 28/2 inside three overs, Shahid Afridi came out to bat. Pakistan needed someone to anchor the innings to a decent total, something you don't see very often with Afridi but this time things went differently.
Afridi scored 51 off 34 balls, scoring eight fours and not a single six, and ensured Pakistan were headed to a good total. Pakistan finished with 149/4 and you must think that this is not a huge total.
However, Afridi compensated Pakistan's batting with some fantabulous bowling, picking two wickets and giving away just 16 runs.
Despite Jacques Kallis' and JP Duminy's efforts, South Africa fell short and lost the match by 7 runs. Afridi was the most economical Pakistan bowler and his performance with the bat made this performance one of the standouts in ICC T20 World Cups.
Yuvraj Singh (India)
India may have crashed out in this year's ICC Men's T20 World Cup but things were different in the inaugural season of the competition. India were facing Australia, the World Cup champions, and this format didn't seem any different to them.
They were still the favorites until Yuvraj produced a stunning batting display at Durban. India were batting first and scored 188 in 20 overs, courtesy of Yuvraj who scored 70 runs off only 30 balls, with five sixes and five fours.
While MS Dhoni stood by his side, Yuvraj didn't think twice before changing gears and thrashed a dominant Australian bowling attack.
This helped India to have a fixed bowling plan that could've gone wrong if they didn't have posted such a huge total. The 2007 T20 World Cup was remembered for a lot of reasons with Yuvraj Singh hitting six sixes in an over being one of the ideal moments but his rampant batting display in the semi-final against the likes of Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clarke, and Andrew Symonds deserve the praise of the top quality.
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Cover Image Credits- t20worldcup.com
