Best team to not win the cup - Pakistan, 2011

Pakistan enjoyed a brilliant run in the 2011 World Cup until they came up against their arch rivals, India. Their run was largely attributed to their bowling might. Two of their bowlers ended in the top-10 of leading wicket-takers. They conceded 300+ on only one occasion and restricted the likes of Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe and Kenya to totals less than 200. Captain Shahid Afridi, in particular, enjoyed a fruitful tournament, his 21 wickets put him joint top of the wicket-takers chart, along with India's Zaheer Khan. To a large extent, Pakistan delivered what they promised. But a poor effort on the field, which led to their defeat in the semi-finals to India, left a bad after-taste.

The terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in 2009 cost Pakistan the chance to co-host the World Cup in the sub-continent, but they seemed keen to prove a point - that in familiar conditions, they were a mighty force to reckon with. Pakistan have always been a mercurial side, inconsistent even when they played some of their best cricket, but in the 2011 World Cup they seemed like a well-knit unit eager to prove to the rest of the world that they were there to tame some of the best teams.

Although they did not have a single batsman from their side in the top-10 list of highest run-getters in the 2011 World Cup, it hardly mattered as the bowlers more than made up for it. Not that the batting unit was a complete failure as there were four batsmen who aggregated in excess of 200 runs in the tournament and they did come up with crucial knocks. However, what stood out was their bowling and they did have one of the best bowling line-ups in the event.

If Afridi was an unstoppable force with the ball, Umar Gul complemented him well. Change bowlers, Wahab Riaz and Mohammed Hafeez, chipped in with useful contributions in support of their senior counterparts. Shoaib Akhtar was the lone bowler in the side with an economy of more than five an over. An indication of Pakistan's bowling might lay in the fact that five of their bowlers averaged less than 25 and three of them had brilliant strike rates - less than 26.

Pakistan are known to crack under pressure, but that was not the case for most part of the 2011 edition of the world event. They held their nerve when defending a total of 277 against Sri Lanka, did not panic despite being bowled out for 184 against Canada and overcame jitters with the bat to get over the line against Australia. They looked pretty much in control even in the game against New Zealand, when they reduced the Black Caps to 210/6 in the 46th over. However, Ross Taylor's brilliance took them by surprise and they ended up suffering their only loss in the group phase. In the quarter-final, West Indies were hardly any trouble for Afridi's team as the skipper's brilliant performance with the ball ensured Pakistan's qualification to the final four stage.

India vs Pakistan, a World Cup semi-final, Prime Ministers of both countries attending the match - there couldn't have been a better stage for Pakistan to end their barren run against their arch-rivals in World Cups. They seemed on track to do that as well, despite letting India get to a total of 260/9, which was only possible because Pakistan grassed multiple opportunities to send Sachin Tendulkar back. Nevertheless, a target of 261 was quite gettable. However, Pakistan's batting failed to rise up to the occasion when it mattered the most and fell short by 30 runs.

When it came to number of wins in the 2011 World Cup, Pakistan occupied the second spot along with Sri Lanka. While the sub-continent conditions may have proved difficult for most other sides, these were the two sides that could match up to India's prowess. However they stumbled at their most important steps, which meant that India, and not Pakistan or Sri Lanka, lifted the title for the second time.