The World Cup 2015 was held in Australia / New Zealand from 14
th Feb to 29
th March, 2015. A total of 14 teams were part of the World Cup 2015.
Teams
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- India (Defending Champions)
- England
- South Africa
- West Indies
- Sri Lanka
- Bangladesh
- Zimbabwe
- Afghanistan
- Ireland
- Scotland
- United Arab Emirates (UAE)
These 14 teams were divided into 2 pools with each pool consisting
of 7 teams. Both pools were also made fairly as they accommodate teams with higher
and lower ranking equally in both pools.
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The pool stages are the first course of the World Cup 2015. Each team in the pool must play a match with every other team. Hence, each team must play 6 matches in the pool stages.
Points allocation
Win: 2 points
Tie: 1 point
NR (No Result): 1 point
The top 4 teams from each pool make it to the quarter finals.
But, what happens when 2 or more teams have the same points?
- If there are teams that have the same number of points, then the team having higher number of wins will be placed up the table.
- In case they have the same wins, the team having higher NRR (Net Run Rate) will be placed higher on the table.
- In rare cases, teams are evaluated on head to head matches with each other, the one having greater number of wins is placed higher on the table.
Quarter Finals
There are 4 quarter finals. Each one played by one pool team
with the other pool team. To give advantage to the teams ending up on top of
the pool table, they will play with the team at the bottom of the other pool
table. The fixtures were these:
Quarter Final 1
Pool A Team 1 vs Pool B Team 4
Quarter Final 2
Pool A Team 2 vs Pool B Team 3
Quarter Final 3
Pool A Team 3 vs Pool B Team 2
Quarter Final 4
Pool A Team 4 vs Pool B Team 1
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Semi Finals
The winners of the Quarter final will play with the Semi-Finals
in the following way
Semi Final 1
Winner of Quarter Final 1 vs Winner of Quarter Final 3
Semi Final 2
Winner of Quarter Final 2 vs Winner of Quarter Final 4
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The defending champions, India were knocked out in the semi-final against Australia. Australia sealed a comfortable win by 95 runs and were once again on the road to win the World Cup. The in form New Zealand team was able to seal the deal in the semi final against South Africa. Hence, the hosts of the World Cup 2015 are to face off in the finals.
Incase a semi-final is tied, there will be no super over. Rather, the teams will be evaluated upon their position in the pool tables. The team having higher position in the pool table will be declared as winner. (Incase same positions, then NRR will come into play).
Final
Final to be played between the winners of the Semi Finals. Incase the final ends up in a tie, super over will be played. However, if the match is abandoned, both teams will be declared winners.
The final was played in Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia. However promising the performance of the New Zealand team was in the whole World Cup, they failed to give Australia a tough time in the final. Australia won the match comfortably by 7 wickets and became the World Champions for the fifth time.
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