World Cup 2019: Rating the finishers of all teams in the tournament

ODI cricket has witnessed a massive rise in scoring rates over the past few years. The pitches in England for ODIs have been so batting friendly that discussions are being held about breaching the 500-run mark in the coming World Cup. Though it looks quite impossible, with short boundaries and the kind of pitches nothing can be ruled out completely. The role of a finisher is not an easy job. They have to adjust their game according to the situation and are expected to make a big impact in a shorter period of time. Every team thrives for players who have the ability to score quickly in the death overs and change the momentum of the game. With this World Cup expected to be a high scoring one, the difference between teams will largely be decided on their performance in the death overs and hence finishers will have a big role to play. Here is the team-wise finishers rating in 2019 World Cup England – 9.5/10 Jos Buttler. (Photo Source: Twitter) The home team are the favorites to win the World Cup as they have a formidable batting lineup that has the ability to score at a brisk rate throughout the innings. One of the key reasons that the top order batsmen of the English side can bat freely and attack early is because of the depth in their batting. The England team has undoubtedly the best batting lineup and the best set of finishers in the World Cup. The onus to finish the innings will be on the trio of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali and all of them have the ability to change the course of the game in a few overs. Jos Buttler is one of the most destructive batsmen of the current era and has shown great consistency over the past few years. Also, the likes of Chris Woakes, Tom Curran, Jofra Archer, Liam Plunkett and even Adil Rashid are more than handy with the bat. In fact, Mark Wood is the only player in the 15-man squad of England who can be termed as a tailender and this kind of depth in their batting makes them the best batting side of the World Cup. India – 8/10 MS Dhoni. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) The Indian team is blessed to have one of the best finishers in the game of cricket in MS Dhoni. The wicketkeeper-batsman is known for his finishing skills and is a master of the art of finishing matches with his cool head and street smart batting. He looked out of form in 2018 but has been in tremendous touch in 2019. He had an excellent season of IPL and will be the key finisher for India in the World Cup. Hardik Pandya will also have an important role to play and his ability to hit big sixes and score quickly will be the key for India in death overs. He has the ability to score quickly and is a good player of both pace and spin bowling. Contribution from the likes of Kedar Jadhav and Ravindra Jadeja will also be crucial for the Indian side in order to have a good finish to their batting innings. South Africa – 8/10 David Miller. (Photo by Lee Warren/Gallo Images/Getty Images) The African side will look to overcome their “Chokers” tag and win their first World Cup. David Miller will be their key player in terms of finishing the game. The left-handed batsman has the ability to change gears quickly and hit boundaries at his will. His form throughout the tournament will be crucial for the African side. They also have a good set of all-rounders in Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris and Dwaine Pretorius, all of whom have the ability to play quick and impactful innings. The likes of Dale Steyn and Kaisgo Rabada are also handy with the bat and they give a sense of depth to the lineup. Windies – 8/10 Andre Russell of Windies. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images) The two-time champions are boosted by the return of Andre Russell to their team. The hard hitting batsman had an excellent IPL where he almost single handedly took his team Kolkata Knight Riders to the playoffs. He brings the ‘X’ factor to the Windies side and is expected to take the role of a finisher in the team. The Windies will want the big man to continue his good form and win some matches for them with his destructive batting. Apart from Russell, the likes of Jason Holder, Carlos Brathwaite and Nicholas Pooran will be crucial for the Windies in terms of finishing their innings. The ability of all these batsmen to play the big shots and score quick runs make Windies a dangerous side. They have one of the most explosive set of lower order batsman who can finish their innings on a high. Australia – 7.5/10 Glenn Maxwell. (Photo Source: Twitter) The defending champions will bank on the trio of Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Alex Carey to finish their innings. Glenn Maxwell, famously known as, “Big Show” holds the key to Australian batting lineup at the death overs. He has an impressive strike rate of around 122 in ODIs and has a wide range of shots in his arsenal. He is a 360-degree player and has the ability to hit big sixes. Marcus Stoinis and Alex Carey are expected to share the finishing duties with Maxwell. Both the players are clean strikers of the ball and are good players of both pace and spin bowling. Also, the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Coulter-Nile, and Nathan Lyon are capable of hitting some quick and useful runs for the team. New Zealand – 7.5/10 James Neesham. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images) The Black Caps have a deep batting lineup and are always considered as a “dark horse” in ICC tournaments. The left handed duo of Henry Nicholls and Tom Latham are expected to bat at No. 5 and No. 6 for them and will take the mantle to finish the games for them. Both the batsmen are good players of both pace and spin and are capable of rotating the strike and also hit the big shots at the end of the innings. The likes of James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, and Mitchell Santner provide the firepower to their batting and are capable of scoring runs at a quick rate. James Neesham has been in good form in the past few series and Colin de Grandhomme is known for his finishing skills. The only aspect to worry for them is the inconsistency of these two players and they will hope atleast one of them have a good tournament. Pakistan – 7/10 Asif Ali. (Photo Source: Twitter) Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed will be the key player for the side and its high time the skipper steps up and take the mantle of finishing the games for his team. If the Pakistan team are going to get anywhere near in repeating their title triumph of 1992, they will need their captain Sarfaraz Ahmed to bat sensibly and smartly to finish their innings. They also have Asif Ali in their team who has the ability to play the big shots. The dashing batsman is known for his ability to hit big sixes and can change the game in a few overs. Imad Wasim’s contribution with the bat in death overs will also be crucial for the side. The left-handed all-rounder is a useful batsman and will need to show some maturity with the bat. Bangladesh – 6.5/10 Mahmudullah. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Sabbir Rahman and Mahmudullah are given the responsibility to finish the matches for Bangladesh in the World Cup. Both the batsmen are capable of playing the big shots and are also good at rotating the strike. The young all-rounder Mosaddek Hossain is another clean striker of the ball and also played a match winning innings recently in the final of the tri-series against the Windies. The likes of Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Saifuddin and Mehidy Hasan are also quite handy with the bat and look to contribute for the team at the death overs. Bangladesh will hope for some consistently from their lower order batsman to have a successful campaign. Afghanistan – 6.5/10 Mohammad Nabi. (Photo Source: Twitter) Afghanistan skipper Gulbadin Naib along with Mohammad Nabi will be the two key players for them in terms of finishing their innings on a good note. Nabi has played in almost every major T20 league in the world and his experience at the end of the innings will be very useful for the team. He is a clean striker of the ball and the experienced campaigner has the ability to play the big shots. Rashid Khan has also improved his batting in the last few years and can play useful cameos for his side. The inconsistency of these lower order batsmen is a reason to worry for the team. Also, Afghanistan has played most of their International matches against the lower ranked sides and the performance of the lower order against the top bowlers of the game will be tested in the World Cup. Sri Lanka – 6/10 Thisara Perera. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images) The island nation will depend largely on the pair of Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera at the back-end of their batting innings. Angelo Mathews has won them matches single-handedly in the past but the all-rounder has suffered a lot of injuries in the last few years. His form will be very crucial for the side as he can the glue that holds the batting together in the death overs. Thisara Perera has been in good form over the past few years and shown good maturity with the bat. He is known for hitting big sixes and changing the course of the game in a few overs. He needs to bat sensibly and take the game as deep as possible. The likes of Isuru Udana and Milinda Siriwardana can also play some handy cameos at the end and the Lankan team will need these players to have a good tournament in order to change their declining fortunes since the last World Cup.

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World Cup 2019: Rating the finishers of all teams in the tournament

With this World Cup expected to be a high scoring one, the difference between teams will largely be decided on their performance in the death overs and hence finishers will have a big role to play.

South Africa – 8/10

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