The ongoing 2022 T20 World Cup is arguably the greatest there ever has been, but it could all have turned out very differently.

‘What-if’s don’t really have a place in the sports field. In a battle that’s always oscillating, the player or the team that manages to seize the big moments, even if the smaller moments have not been won, will emerge victorious.

The T20 World Cup has seen plenty of close finishes, umpiring howlers and turning points, and we take a look at how the edition could have been impacted if those incidents ended up with a different result.

What if Virat Kohli had not hit that impossible six off Haris Rauf?

Kohli left himself, and the world, stunned when he slapped a back-of-a-length delivery over Rauf’s head for a six. The stellar shot left everyone talking, not only because it was spectacular but also because it helped transfer the pressure away from India onto Pakistan. Needing 28 runs off the final eight balls, the six came at an opportune time, with Kohli smashing another six next ball to reduce the equation further. If the former India skipper had mistimed the ball, sending it to the longer square boundary instead of the shorter straight one, he could well have been dismissed and it could have been game over.

That match, however, was not short of ‘what if’ moments. What if Mohammad Nawaz had not bowled the last over with a longer run-up? What if Mohammad Rizwan was standing up to the stumps and had fielded the ball off the free-hit when the batters ran three after it ricocheted off the stumps when India needed five off three? Rizwan then came up to the stumps a delivery later.

What if R Ashwin had not casually seen off the wide in what was supposed to be the last ball of the game? If he had misread the line even slightly, or even attempted to go after the ball, like Dinesh Karthik had done a delivery earlier, and been dismissed, India would have lost by one run. Kohli would have been unbeaten in a run chase in a loss for the first time and India would have lost to Pakistan twice in the matter of two T20 World Cups.

The points table could also have looked different, with India ending with six points if other results were the same as what transpired. India would have been taking on New Zealand in the semi-final, and Pakistan, group-toppers, playing England. However, if, in an alternate universe they also lost to Bangladesh (more on that below), India could have been eliminated in the Super 12s itself.

What if the clash between Zimbabwe and South Africa had not been washed out?

If it’s a World Cup, there has to be rain pouring down all over South Africa’s hopes. The Proteas could well have been in the semi-final instead of Pakistan if the rain had relented, even if for a while, in their clash against Zimbabwe.

In the rain-curtailed game, South Africa were set a target of 80 in nine overs, which was eventually reduced to 64 in seven after another rain interruption. They reached 51-0 in three overs and were well ahead of the five-over DLS par score – and the would-be five-over target – when the game was halted again. The match could not be resumed and was eventually abandoned, with no result. For a T20 match to be completed, both teams have to face a minimum of five overs (unless the chase is completed before then, and Duckworth and Lewis themselves would argue that South Africa should have been declared winners in this game.)

If the rain had relented for a while, and the match would have officially been reduced to five overs, South Africa would have won without facing another delivery as they were already ahead of the target. But as a three-over game does not constitute a match, South Africa lost out on two points, which came back to hurt their qualification chances.

What if the England-Ireland clash had not been interrupted by rain?

England might well have been the only undefeated team in the edition if their match against Ireland had not been affected by rain. Chasing 158 for a win, England lost early wickets and were reduced to 86-5 in 13.1 overs, needing another 72 in 41 balls. Moeen Ali smashed a quick 24 in 12 balls, helping the side reach 105-5 in 14.3 overs before the rain came down. Ireland were five runs ahead of the DLS score at the point, and caused another upset in the tournament, defeating England for the second time in any World Cup.

The result could have been entirely different had England kept in mind the weather conditions and tried to stay ahead of the DLS at all times, which might have also included promoting Moeen up the order. While the result would not have changed the teams that qualified for the semis, if England had won against Ireland, they would have topped the group with nine points, and taken on Pakistan in the semi-final.

What if India had been penalised for fake fielding against Bangladesh?

Nurul Hasan claimed that India were not penalised five runs for fake fielding in their defeat last week. The match went down to the wire, and, as with most India games, had plenty of talking points.

The rain caused a 42-minute delay during Bangladesh’s innings, and if the match had not resumed, Shakib Al Hasan’s team would have been victorious after they were ahead of the DLS score after seven overs. The match, however, went on and was reduced to 16 overs, with Bangladesh’s new target set as 151.

The rain break changed the momentum of the game. Litton Das slipped over before he was run out on a “very wet” outfield, as Bangladesh slipped from 68-1 to 108-6. They eventually lost by five runs, but the outcome could well have been very different if the umpires had penalised India and Kohli for miming a throw despite not having the ball.

Fake fielding costs a team five runs, and Bangladesh could have ended with six points, with India losing to the side in the World Cup after 2007. Had everything else remained the same, they would have still made the semi-final, but in second place.

What if David Wiese had not been dismissed against the Netherlands?

It could have been Namibia and not the Netherlands who made it into the Super 12 had Wiese not been dismissed in the last over against the UAE. A win for Namibia would have helped them pip the Netherlands on Net Run Rate, and would have seen them qualify for the second round.

Needing 149 for a win, Namibia fell to 69-7 before Wiese steadied the innings, scoring 55 in 36. They were in with a chance, needing 13 runs off the last over, which was bowled with only four fielders outside the circle after they fell behind the allocated time limit. Muhammad Waseem conceded four runs off the first three balls before proceeding to dismiss Wiese, which effectively sealed the game for Namibia.

A number of events would have panned out differently if Namibia, and not Netherlands, had made it through. South Africa, whose loss to the Netherlands and missed out on a semis berth, could have been in the top four if they were playing Namibia instead – the latter being arguably a weaker team than the Dutch. Pakistan would have had to miss out, in that case.

The Netherlands also sealed a direct qualification for the 2024 T20 World Cup by virtue of finishing in the top eight. With four points, they edged ahead of Bangladesh on NRR to finish fourth in Group 2. That has also significantly eased the progress of Ireland and Scotland to qualify for the next T20 World Cup. Were it not for Wiese’s dismissal, one of those three teams would almost certainly not be at the 2024 T20 World Cup.

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