Coetzee makes Wisden’s team of the tournament

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Nov 22, 2023, 13:31

Rohit Sharma

597 runs @ 54.27; SR: 125.94
One hundred, three fifties

Rohit Sharma hit five hundreds at the 2019 World Cup but his impact on home turf this time around was arguably more significant. His bravery against the new ball got India off to flyer after flyer – six times they scored 79 runs or more in the opening powerplay. Rohit’s aggression against the new ball signaled a shift in gameplan for India, one that allowed them to reach new heights with the bat.

Travis Head

329 runs @ 54.83; SR: 127.51
Three hundreds, one fifty

Travis Head missed the first half of the World Cup with a broken hand, but lit up the World Cup when he returned, starting with a blistering century against New Zealand, and then winning the Player of the Match in the semi-final and the final. Quinton de Kock, with four centuries by himself, was close to selection.

Virat Kohli

765 runs @ 95.62; SR: 90.31
Three hundreds, six fifties

A Bradman-esque campaign for Virat Kohli who scored more runs than anyone ever has in a single World Cup. The India No.3 passed fifty a staggering nine times in 11 innings as he ensured that Rohit’s rapid starts were always capitalised upon. A vintage campaign that will go down in the history books.

Daryl Mitchell

552 runs @ 69; SR: 111.06
Two hundreds, two fifties

There are few run-scorers as consistent as Daryl Mitchell across formats. He saved his best two innings for the best attack of the tournament, scoring 130 and 134 in his two appearances against India. That hundred in the Mumbai semi-final was the highest ever score in a men’s World Cup semi-final.

KL Rahul (wk)

452 runs @ 75.33; SR: 90.76
One hundred, two fifties

A tournament bookended with half-centuries against Australia, Rahul was the most adaptable No.5 at the tournament, equally competent coming in at 2-3 (as he did in India’s Australia’s tournament opener) or 327-2 (as he did in India’s semi-final win over New Zealand). He had an off day with the gloves in the final but was consistently a calm presence behind the stumps, especially when it came to offering advice for reviews. His 66 in the final was far from his fluent best but it gave India something to bowl at.

Glenn Maxwell

400 runs @ 66.67; SR: 150.37
Two hundreds, no fifties
6 wickets @ 55.00; ER: 4.81
No five-fors; BBI: 2-34

Glenn Maxwell’s double hundred against Afghanistan is firmly in the conversation around the greatest ever innings not just in ODIs but across all international cricket. Rarely has one man played such a prominent role in victory. Remarkably, the Afghanistan innings came fewer than two weeks after he broke the record for the fastest ever World Cup hundred against the Netherlands. His bowling played an important role in Australia’s campaign; his 67.3 overs were sent down at fewer than five runs an over.

Ravindra Jadeja

16 wickets @ 24.87, ER: 4.25
1 five-for; BBI: 5-33
120 runs @ 40.00; SR: 101.69
No hundreds, no fifties

Another whose all-round skills were crucial to his side’s balance. With the bat he helped take his side home in India’s closest group stage fixture against New Zealand but it was with the ball that he really thrived, going at less than four an over in five of India’s 11 matches.

Gerald Coetzee

20 wickets @ 19.80; ER: 6.23
No five-fors; BBI: 4-44

One of the finds of the tournament. The burly 23-year-old regularly surpassed the 90mph-mark and nearly bowled his side to the final with a Herculean eight-over spell in the semi-final that saw off Australia’s two set batters. He was occasionally expensive but only Mohammed Shami boasted a better strike rate among regular bowlers across the tournament.

Mohammed Shami

24 wickets @ 10.70; ER: 5.26
3 five-fors; BBI: 7-57

Benched for India’s first four games but still finished the 2023 World Cup as its leading wicket-taker. Shami was irresistible, his 10-ball doing over of Ben Stokes was one of the passages of the tournament and sandwiched between the economical Bumrah and Jadeja, he was always a threat. His seven-for in the second semi-final was the first time an Indian had taken a seven-wicket haul in a men’s ODI.

Adam Zampa

23 wickets @ 22.39; ER: 5.36
No five-fors; BBI: 4-8

Zampa had a few quiet outings, notably against India in Australia’s opener and then in the semi-final victory over South Africa, but the leg-spinner’s return to form helped drive Australia from two defeats in two to nine wins on the bounce.

Jasprit Bumrah

20 wickets @ 18.65; ER: 4.06
No five-fors; BBI: 4-39

On the biggest stage Bumrah reminded the world why he’s the standout fast bowler of his generation. A constant threat whatever the conditions and with the exception of the semi-final, always hard to get away.

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