The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 may be nearing its business end, but the exhibition of individual displays continues to enthral audiences.
Out of everyone’s expectations, the latest edition of the T20 World Cup has seen lesser popular teams take a leap of faith and put on confident fights against the full-member nations in the tournament.
We highlight the two standout performers whose brilliance elevated the watching experience in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.
Karthik Meiyappan: 3/19 (hat trick) vs Sri Lanka
There isn’t a bigger stage than the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup for a bowler to show the mettle they are made of. And for UAE’s Karthik Meiyappan, his performance against Sri Lanka will be etched in history as one of the greatest from a player of an Associate member in the ICC.
Bowling the 15th over, Meiyappan gave away three runs (two, one, dot) off the first three balls. But, his moment of brilliance came in the next three deliveries. Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s deep cover catch by Kashif Daud was followed by Charith Asalanka’s caught behind dismissal by Vriitya Aravind.
Karthik Meiyappan became just the fifth bowler to register a hat-trick in T20 World Cup history, and the first UAE bowler to do so, as he castled Dasun Shanaka straight through the inside edge.
Sikandar Raza: 82 (48) vs Ireland
Sikandar Raza has headlined the Zimbabwe batting in recent months, but his knock against Ireland was perhaps one of the greatest.
Coming to bat at number five, Raza raced to his half-century in 26 balls as he helped Zimbabwe cross 100 in the 13th over before ending his innings with a 48-ball 82. While his innings helped Zimbabwe plot a match-winning score of 174/7, it it went down in the record books as the highest-ever score by a Zimbabwe batter in the history of the T20 World Cup.
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