World Cup 2019
Falling helmets, flying bats, and a four-armed fast bowler
The jury was out on the pre-tournament favourites: hosts England and two-time winners India, pundits and bookmakers predicted, could give defending champions Australia a run for their money.•Alex Livesey/Getty Images
The tournament had its first upset when Pakistan stunned England. Mohammad Amir had more than a hand in it.•Getty Images
He hit only two fifties, but Chris Gayle did entertain otherwise - whether by turning up at an unplanned press conference and reversing his retirement or staring batsmen down in his inimitable style.•Getty Images
Sheldon Cottrell's salute was the most iconic celebration of the World Cup. Imran Tahir's sprints remain unrivalled, though.•Getty Images
"Oh, hello, Shai Hope." That's what Archer seems to tell him with this bullet of a bouncer.•IDI via Getty Images
Joined at the hip: Australia found themselves in a tangle in their final league-stage match as Faf du Plessis set up a consolation win for South Africa with a hundred. Glenn Maxwell's predicament was more literal.•AFP / Getty Images
Rohit Sharma set India's World Cup alight with a record five hundreds, but fell short of breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record for most runs in one edition of the tournament.•Getty Images
A tie within a tie: 100 overs weren't enough to yield a result. The Super Over, too, ended in a tie. In a telling twist of fate, Martin Guptill and New Zealand ended on the losing side; England were the new world champions.•Getty Images
This young fan's expression summed up the early part of the tournament, where rain washed out four matches, and the heavyweights dominated the points table.•AFP / Getty Images
Show of hands: Who did it better? Amir, Marais Erasmus or... Julie Andrews (in The Sound of Music)?•Action Foto Sport/NurPhoto via Getty Images
A #throwback from the young and the old: In a reprise of Misbah-ul-Haq's Lord's push-up act, Gayle and Carlos Brathwaite brought out a workout routine to celebrate Rahmat Shah's wicket.•Getty Images
A dead rubber came to life when Fabian Allen flew. Some of our collective jaws - those of the batsman Kusal Mendis included - are still possibly on the floor.•IDI via Getty Images
Archer didn't spare the Australians either. Alex Carey was left bloodied as he copped a nasty one on his chin in the semi-final.•Getty Images
The Afghanistan-Pakistan encounter turned ugly with clashes erupting in the stands at Headingley. Several pitch intrusions, too, took place, within moments of Imad Wasim sealing a thriller.•AFP / Getty Images
'Gosh, a tie in the final?' Fans from both teams were in utter disbelief after Mark Wood's run-out at the non-striker's end, off the last ball of the match, sent the England-New Zealand epic into a Super Over.•Getty Images
Fast, fierce and unforgiving: Jasprit Bumrah steamed in at batsmen, threatening ribs, necks, elbows, and various other body parts, and even sent his team-mate Vijay Shankar home early with a toe injury.•IDI via Getty Images
Washouts, injuries, misfiring batsmen, and a controversy involving an absent superstar headlined South Africa's campaign. Can Kagiso Rabada lead them out of this darkness?•Getty Images
Seventy-two days on from his England debut, Barbados-born Jofra Archer would be crowned a World Cup winner. He predicted every step of it on Twitter, years ago, perhaps not even unwittingly.•Getty Images
Superstar Shakib: The Bangladesh allrounder did several things right in his best World Cup to date: scored over 600 runs, picked up 11 wickets, and showed 'em all how to duck under an Archer bouncer. You see this, kids?•Action Plus/Getty Images
Unrest of a different kind played out elsewhere. In Amritsar, as fans burned posters of Virat Kohli and his team-mates in the wake of India's semi-final exit.•AFP / Getty Images
Agony and ecstasy exploded like confetti at Lord's as the 2019 men's World Cup finally found its winners (two-time tie-ers with more boundaries?)•Getty Images