The curtain on the Twenty20 World Cup 2022 dropped last Sunday with England finishing as the latest world champions, defeating Pakistan in dominant fashion by five wickets at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
There was hype within the cricket fraternity if Pakistan, playing their first World Cup final in 13 years, can recreate the scenes when they lifted the 1992 World Cup beating the same opponents at this venue.
However, Jos Buttler's side denied the expectation of the mass, emerging victorious in the final, and lifting the T20 champions' trophy for the second time after 2010.
England made a fine start to the tournament as they thrashed Afghanistan by five wickets in Perth, and validated their tag as the favorites in the competition.
But this was followed by a shocking five-run loss via Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method to minnows Ireland, and then a washout in their third game, against hosts Australia in Melbourne, putting them in a sticky situation in the group.
The Three Lions though came out firing, securing wins against New Zealand and Sri Lanka in their last two matches of the Super 12s.
They had equal points to Australia with three wins in five games, but a superior run rate to the hosts pushed them to the semis.
In the semis, the English side thrashed South Asian powerhouse India by 10 wickets.
Left-arm pacer Sam Curran finished as the Player of the Final for his three wickets as he conceded just 12 runs in four overs, and also bagged the Player of the Tournament title for 13 wickets in six games with an economy of 6.52.
The general perception now is that the world has witnessed the highest standard of competition between the teams on the field.
Credit is being given to the host nation, Australia, for ensuring true wickets to make the games even and exciting.
And on that note, the T20 World Cup 2022 couldn't have asked for a better start.
The First Round of the tournament, played between the eight qualifying teams, had produced interesting results as Associate teams the Netherlands, Namibia and Ireland displayed their potential.
Zimbabwe, the Dutch, Sri Lanka and the Irish qualified for the main event, but on the back of a shocker for other teams.
It was a nightmare of a campaign for T20 specialists West Indies who headed home after finishing an embarrassing bottom in Group B following defeats to Scotland and Ireland.
Moving to the main event, the tournament's first highlight was when India took on arch-rivals Pakistan in an MCG blockbuster.
The game went down to the last ball as India sealed a four-wicket win following a masterclass of an innings from Virat Kohli.
Also referred to as the King, Kohli had come to the game after copping criticism over his extended below par form.
The right-handed batter produced an unbeaten 82 off 53, laced with half a dozen boundaries and four over boundaries, to boost India in the chase of 160.
Kohli held onto his form for the remainder of the tournament and finished as the highest scorer with 296 runs at an average of 98.66 and 136.4 strike rate in six games, including four half-centuries.
The competition this year saw two centuries.
Glenn Philips of New Zealand scored 104 against Sri Lanka but it was South Africa batter Rilee Rossouw's that caught the most attention.
The southpaw struck a vicious 56-ball 109 with seven fours and eight sixes against Bangladesh in Sydney, and boosted the Proteas to a 104-run victory.
In the process he also scripted an incredible return to international cricket.
The 33-year old Rossouw had taken up a Kolpak deal in county cricket six years ago that did not go down well with Cricket South Africa.
Speaking of exciting package in the world event, the tag without an argument should go to the Zimbabweans.
Though the side finished last in Group 2 in the main round, they had stunned Pakistan, winning a Perth nail-biter by just one run, and taking the group right down to the wire.
As far as shockers go, it was no bigger than when the Dutch stunned the Proteas in Group 2, and set a knock-out between Pakistan and Bangladesh in Adelaide.
Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by five wickets, and confirmed a semi berth.
If you are a keen Bangladesh cricket follower, the story is already known.
The campaign is being called as the side's best ever in a T20 World Cup.
The occasion is the first that they have won two games to support the claim.
But there is ignorance to the fact that the wins have come against lower ranked teams in Zimbabwe and the Netherlands.
They had the opportunity of being praised widely if they had not lost the close game to India, and then put on a poor show against Pakistan in their last group game with the golden chance of being just a win away from the semis.