Top 5 moments of the Knock Outs stages of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Top 5 moments of the Knock Outs stages of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: The knock out stages of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 promised to be really exciting as all the 8 teams that qualified had done so on the back of some exciting matches and dominating cricket. With New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Australia, Bangladesh, India, South Africa, Pakistan and West Indies being the teams, the knock outs were going to be full of action, the tournament advanced to the next stage, and the intensity increased moving towards the business end. Every team pulled themselves, the performance level up and brought up the best cricket that they could in the Quarter-Finals and the Semi-Finals. Here are the top 5 moments from the Knock out matches played in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: 1. South Africa win their first ever knock out match: The Protea spinners webbed the Lankan batsmen as Imran Tahir and JP Duminy shared 7 wickets between them. (© Getty Images) South Africa know how difficult it is for a team with a number of tags and names associated to it, to go out there play a pressure game and win it. They were up against Asian giants, 1 time Champion and two times runners-up Sri Lanka in the quarter-finals of the ICC world cup 2015, and ensured that South Africa was the team to advance ahead there on. AB de Villiers pulled out a surprise out of his hat for the Lankan’s and JP Duminy caught them off guard to strike a hat-trick in the quarter final. The Protea spinners webbed the Lankan batsmen as Imran Tahir and JP Duminy shared 7 wickets between them. 133 was all that the prestigious Sri Lankan batting could manage, and it took South Africa not more than 18 over’s and at the cost of one wicket to over haul this total. This was a historic win for the Protea team as it is thus far their only win in a knock out match of a cricket world cup. 2. Martin Guptil’s Double Hundred: Guptil was amazingly incredible and unstoppable in his knock where he scored 237* runs. (© Getty Images) In the fourth Quarter Final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, West Indies met co-hosts New Zealand and with this clash the little hopes that the Caribbean team had of advancing in the tournament were shattered as Martin Guptil the Kiwi opener Single Handedly took the game out of their reach. It was one of the best knocks we have seen in New Zealand by a Black Caps player, Guptil was amazingly incredible and unstoppable in his knock where he scored 237* runs with the help of 24 fours and 11 huge sixes. By this he also became the first New Zealander and 5th batsman overall to score a ODI double ton and is now has the second highest individual score to his name. 3. New Zealand’s incredible semi final win: Grant Elliott took them home on the penultimate ball of the match with a huge six. (© Getty Images) The New Zealand cricket team started the tournament as one of the favorites to lift the trophy, for the form they were in and of course the advantage of playing all their matches until the World Cup final at home. So did they, the Kiwi’s were unbeaten in their run to the semi-final, winning 7 in 7 games, and they had South Africa as their opponent in this all important match. South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first, the Black Cap bowler’s restricted them to 281 which was an almost par score and gave the batsmen a competitive chance to win it. Good knocks from skipper McCullum, all-rounder Corey Anderson and a match winning innings (84 from 73 balls) by Grant Elliott took them home on the penultimate ball of the match with a huge six. 4. India knocked out of the World Cup: Australia won the match convincingly by 95 runs and with that ensured the championship clash against New Zealand at the MCG.. (© Getty Images) They were the defending champions, but not many counted India a prime contender to retain the cup primarily due to the form and match skills they had shown in the run up to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. But a revived performance right from the first match against Pakistan in the world cup saw the hopes of fans rise to the peak. They entered the quarter-finals as the group topper and overhauled the Bangladesh challenge without too much stress in the QF either. And by that time they had 7 wins in as many matches; bowling all their opponents out. The semi-final was a title clash, the final before the final as India were to play four-time champions and co-hosts Australia at the SCG. Clarke won the toss, batting first Australia put up a huge 328 on board and it was always going to be tough for the star-studded line like India to chase it as well. Multiple failures from their middle order and with too much left to do for the last warrior skipper MS Dhoni ended their world cup journey. Australia won the match convincingly by 95 runs and with that ensured the championship clash against New Zealand at the MCG. 5. Australia’s Amazing World Cup win: Australia wins 5th World Title after New Zealand perishes under pressure. (© Getty Images) Australia is a Champion team, no doubt the history they have had in the game speaks for the rich culture and heritage they have in the sport. But winning this time was going to be a tough one for the Aussies as many other teams in the tournament played quality cricket. It is a Champion tradition to keep rising and be at your best when it matters the most; so did Australia. Once the knock out stages arrived, their bowlers were un-playable; any bowling change that Michael Clarke made worked wonders for the team. They overhauled India in the semi-finals comfortably and set the World Title match against New Zealand. Right from the first over of the World Cup 2015 final, Mitchell Starc inscribed their name on the trophy; a superb bowling effort controlled the New Zealand batters throughout before bowling them over for 183. Opener David Warner (45 from 46 balls), skipper Michael (74 off 72) and the man in form Steve Smith (56 from 71) balls took Australia to the World Cup Trophy with a four in the end and made them the World Champs for a record 5th time. Quick link : World Cup 2015 Highlights of the Group stage matches