From Mohit tormenting SA to Gayle's 215: The defining World Cup moments from Pool B

With India, South Africa and Pakistan all in one Pool at the World Cup — along with Chris Gayle and the West Indies — the group was bound to produce some thrilling moments. Add to those teams chasing specialists Ireland and fellow ‘minnows’ Zimbabwe and UAE — who all contributed to taking the fight for fourth position to the wire.

India, South Africa, West Indies and Pakistan eventually qualified for the quarters — and here are the defining moments in their journey to the World Cup knockouts:

India: Bowling has been India’s weaker suit for as long as anyone could remember, and their performance leading up to the World Cup in the Tri-series wasn’t re-assuring. There was a marked improvement in the opening game against Pakistan but that could have been due Pakistan’s brittle order. However, when the Indian bowling put in a terrific performance against South Africa at the MCG, surrounded by 80,000 faithfuls, their outlook in the World Cup changed completely.

The moments came from the arm of Mohit Sharma — first with a sharp bouncer that caught the great Hashim Amla hooking to square leg and second — a sharp throw from the outside to catch the great AB de Villiers short. The kicker is that Mohit wasn’t even supposed to be in the side, and only made it due to Ishant Sharma’s injury. He provided two moments of brilliance that lifted the side which has now cruised through the first round and look well placed to even reach the final — a far cry from the doldrums of January.

Ireland: The Irish team was expected to cause upsets in the tournament and had the best chance of the teams outside the full member nations to get through to the quarters. They would be bitterly disappointed that they are not progressing but will take immense pride in defeating two Test playing nations – a thorough thumping of West Indies, and a nail-biter over Zimbabwe. The ease with which Ireland chased 305 runs against the West Indies would certainly stand out as their defining moment, and a siren should be sounding in the corridors of ICC — pushing them to realise that Ireland needs to be accommodated in their cozy club and needs further assistance in terms of regular playing opportunities against Test nations.

Pakistan: In what was turning into a very ordinary tournament, Pakistan went back to its roots to get themselves back on track with their fast bowling. With Mohammed Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan and Rahat Ali at his disposal, Misbah ul-Haq hedged his bets on dismissing the opposition rather than on his batting line up chasing down totals. The highlight so far has been the defence of 231 against pre-tournament favorites South Africa.

An all out attack by Misbah, criticised by every one as a conservative captain, undid the powerful SA line up with only AB de Villiers standing between Pakistan and a certain victory. When Sohail Khan repeatedly bounced him and de Villiers edged one behind, the jig was up. In the same match, Sarfraz Ahmed made his World Cup debut solving two issues for Pakistan – that of their struggling top order and unreliable wicket-keeping (by Umar Akmal). He scored a run-a-ball 49 and took six catches. His most recent exploits saw them beat Ireland in a do-or-die clash that sealed a last eight spot.

South Africa: It is hard to imagine a team consisting of the world-class trio of Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla — and a support cast that includes Faf du Plessis, David Miller, JP Duminy, Morne Morkel — to struggle to win a game. But that’s exactly what happened the two times South Africa chased in the first round. They were buzzed out of the MCG by India — and in a way that would bring back memories of the excruciating losses in previous World Cups, Pakistan decimated South Africa with sustained fast bowling and aggressive captaincy. Even a low score of 231 seemed to be so far for the rattled SA batting order in a performance that certainly opened up old wounds.

SA batsmen, raised on pacy wickets, were found wanting against a set of high quality Pakistani pacemen and looked to be like deer caught in headlights. South Africa will have to overcome more obstacles if they want to be one of the two teams which will play in Melbourne on 29 March.

UAE: A rag-tag team of amateurs and the lowest ranked team in the World Cup did an admirable job considering the resources they had at their disposal. Former Pakistani pacer Aaqib Javed, who is now their coach, tempered pre-tournament expectations by saying they’d be happy winning two games – against Ireland and Zimbabwe. In both those games, UAE. came within a whisker of winning but alas, they go home empty handed. The shining star for them was Shaiman Anwar (who was the tournament top scorer briefly) who went on to set the run-scoring record for Associate batsmen in a World Cup by piling 311 runs in six matches — surpassing Ryan ten Deschoate’s effort of 307 runs during the 2011 World Cup.

West Indies: A team capable of beating anyone on a any given day — and equally capable of losing against anyone — was personified by the performance of their talismanic opener Chris Gayle. Gayle has been inconspicuous in this tournament except for the first double hundred in World Cup play (against Zimbabwe). He averages 55.80 in the five matches he’s played and yet, scored 64 runs in the four innings outside of his 215. But what a brutal assault that was. He had a slice of luck on the first ball he faced, with – on first look – a plumb LBW turned down and saved again by “umpire’s call” on review. After that, he smashed the hapless Zimbabweans to all corners of the Manuka Oval, needing only 33 deliveries to go from 100 to 200. Gayle’s innings — a lucky reprieve, a massive score and a vanishing act from the rest of the games — pretty well sums up the West Indies in the 2015 tournament.

Zimbabwe: The defining moment for Zimbabwe came in an inconsequential match for them as the stand-in skipper Brendan Taylor pulverized the Indian bowlers at Eden Park in Auckland. It was his final game wearing the red shirt as he will now pursue a career in Nottinghamshire through the Kolpak deal. After more than a decade of bad administration and quality players leaving the country, Taylor decided he had had enough of it. As opposition players and his own teammates congratulated him on a terrific innings and a fabulous career, one couldn’t help but feel that Zimbabwe are descending further into the hole they have been digging for themselves all these years.