(Cricket news) The Group stage of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup has concluded and it has been a rollercoaster ride. Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Ireland and Zimbabwe have made it to the Super 12s. Srilanka and Ireland will be in group 1 while Netherlands and Zimbabwe will be in group 2. The quality of cricket has been top notch and it showed that if given a stage, associate nations have the ability to hold their own against the big boys.The next stage of the tournament is very promising and if it is as entertaining as the first round then it will be a good month of cricket down under. 

The biggest takeaway was the elimination of two time champions West Indies. The Windies were the best T20I side in the World for the longest time but now they have failed to even qualify for the Super 12s. West Indies lost their opening game against Scotland by 42 runs. They did come back with a 31 run victory over Zimbabwe but were eliminated after losing by 9 wickets to Ireland. These are tough times for the West Indies as the level of their team is constantly dropping in all formats. Sri Lanka also had a shocking first game as they lost against Namibia by a mammoth 55 runs. Wins against UAE and Netherlands was enough to get them over the line but only just. Namibia came ever so close to making it to the Super 12s but were left heartbroken after a loss against UAE.

The performance of some of the players was excellent. Sikandar Raza has been impressive for Zimbabwe over the last couple of years and he showed his quality at the big stage as he is the highest run scorer of the tournament. Last year Wanindu Hasaranga was the leading wicket taker at the World Cup and also broke the record for most wickets in a single edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup with 16 wickets. This year also he has started well and is the highest wicket taker with 7 scalps. 

Also read: The T20 World Cup Super 12 to kick off with Trans-Tasman clash