AHMEDABAD, INDIA, March 9 (Reuters) - The brave displays of cricket's second-tier nations were the brightest feature of the Twenty20 World Cup, which got off to a rocky start and culminated in a predictable home win for white-ball behemoths India on Sunday.
India's strained ties with Bangladesh and Pakistan nearly derailed the 20-team tournament and the International Cricket Council (ICC) had to work overtime to keep it intact.
Bangladesh's refusal to travel to India over safety concerns was dismissed,as was their demand to play matches in Sri Lanka, which would have been a logistical nightmare for the organisers.
Scotland replaced them in the tournament but Pakistan dropped a bombshell by threatening to boycott their Group A match against India in solidarity with Bangladesh.
Hectic behind-the-scenes negotiations salvaged the tournament's most lucrative, from a broadcast revenue point of view, fixture, which India went on to win comfortably.
The ICC has been criticised for deliberately scheduling India-Pakistan clashes in major tournaments to milk their commercial appeal even if geopolitics tend to eclipse cricket every time the arch-rivals meet.
With Pakistan playing all their matches in Sri Lanka, there was no clarity about the semi-final venue much to the dismay of the fans, but in the end they failed to reach the last four.
Defeat by South Africa jolted India out of any complacency and opener Sanju Samson strung together three 80-plus match-winning knocks in a row in the business end of the tournament to set up their successful campaign.
India became the first team to win three men's T20 World Cup titles, the first to successfully defend it and the first to win the crown on home soil.
Their latest silverware sits alongside the Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup in their trophycabinet.
New Zealand batter Glenn Phillips marvelled at the strength of the world's most populous nation.
"Obviously, the talent that comes out of India is phenomenal," Phillips said ahead of Sunday's final.
"They could probably pick three sides that would compete just as evenly in this World Cup."
While India's triumph was little surprise, few expected the associate nations to light up the tournament despite the gulf in resources separating them from cricket's powerhouses.
Nepal and Italy pushed England all the way, the U.S. gave India a scare and the Netherlands nearly beat Pakistan.
Afghanistan, who reached the last four in 2024, underperformed but were involved in the tournament's closest match, won by South Africa via a double Super Over.
Some of the teams were left stranded in India even after being eliminated because of the crisis in the Gulf and its impact on the airspace.
South African players Quinton de Kock and David Miller, and West Indies head coach Daren Sammy accused the ICC of prioritising the return of England while they remained stranded, another sour note on which to end the tournament.
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in Ahmedabad; editing by Ed Osmond)
