Cricket World Cup 2015: Latest Record Holders, Top Wicket-Takers and More
Cricket World Cup 2015 is now in full flow, and Day 9 served up two more mouth-watering encounters for us to sink our teeth into, with Afghanistan vs. Sri Lanka and India vs. South Africa delivering the goods on all fronts.
Tournament minnows Afghanistan were demolished by Bangladesh in their World Cup opener, mustering just 162 runs in a 267-run chase, but they made a fantastic account of themselves against the Sri Lankans.
It took two doses of individual batting brilliance to see off the underdogs’ challenge, as Mahela Jayawardene romped to an excellent century before Thisara Perera slogged his way to 47 runs from just 26 balls to earn a four-wicket victory.
That haul of 100 was enough to propel Jayawardene into the top-10 run-scorers in the World Cup so far and a perfect redeemer for his duck in the tournament curtain-raiser against New Zealand.
All eyes were on the India vs. South Africa clash on Sunday, though, where the holders put together a sublime performance to comprehensively dispose of the Proteas by 130 runs.
Shikhar Dhawan was the star of the show for the Indians with the bat, chalking up a stunning 137 to move him to 210 runs for the tournament and top of the run-scorer standings by all of 50 runs.
Virat Kohli added 47 runs to his 107 against Pakistan to cement his place in the top four, while there were also some excellent performances with the ball.
Mohammed Shami added another two wickets to his World Cup haul, taking his total to six, although he’s still a long way off top spot—currently held by 11-wicket New Zealander Tim Southee.
Read on for all the top stats from the Cricket World Cup, as well as an in-depth look at the big movers on Day 9.
Top 10 Gross Run-Scorers
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| Shikhar Dhawan | India | 210 |
| David Miller | South Africa | 160 |
| Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | 157 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 153 |
| Lendl Simmons | West Indies | 152 |
| Aaron Finch | Australia | 135 |
| JP Duminy | South Africa | 121 |
| Darren Sammy | West Indies | 119 |
| Kane Williamson | New Zealand | 104 |
| Mahela Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | 100 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Leading Batting Averages
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| David Miller | South Africa | 160.0 |
| Aaron Finch | Australia | 135.0 |
| JP Duminy | South Africa | 121.0 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | India | 105.0 |
| James Taylor | England | 98.0 |
| Paul Stirling | Ireland | 92.0 |
| Ed Joyce | Ireland | 84.0 |
| Sean Williams | Zimebabe | 84.0 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 76.50 |
| Lendl Simmons | West Indies | 76.0 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Strike Rates
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| Andre Russell | West Indies | 69 | 265.38 |
| Brad Haddin | Australia | 31 | 221.42 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 8 | 200.00 |
| Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | 157 | 182.55 |
| Thisara Perera | Sri Lanka | 47 | 180.76 |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | 66 | 165.00 |
| Mashrafe Mortaza | Bangladesh | 14 | 155.55 |
| MS Dhoni | India | 36 | 150.00 |
| Luke Ronchi | New Zealand | 41 | 141.37 |
| David Miller | South Africa | 160 | 139.31 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
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Top 10 Wicket-Takers
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| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 11 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 6 |
| Mohammed Shami | India | 6 |
| Jerome Taylor | West Indies | 6 |
| Sohail Khan | Pakistan | 6 |
| Mitchell Marsh | Australia | 5 |
| Corey Anderson | New Zealand | 5 |
| Hamid Hassan | Afghanistan | 5 |
| Trent Boult | New Zealand | 5 |
| Steven Finn | England | 5 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Bowling Figures
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| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 33 | 7 |
| Mitchell Marsh | Australia | 33 | 5 |
| Sohail Khan | Pakistan | 55 | 5 |
| Steven Finn | England | 71 | 5 |
| Mohammed Shami | India | 35 | 4 |
| Jerome Taylor | West Indies | 15 | 3 |
| Corey Anderson | New Zealand | 18 | 3 |
| Mashrafe Mortaza | Bangladesh | 20 | 3 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 24 | 3 |
| Andre Russell | West Indies | 33 | 3 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Economy Rates
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| Mashrafe Mortaza | Bangladesh | 20 | 3 | 2.22 |
| Andy McBrine | Ireland | 26 | 0 | 2.60 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 77 | 6 | 3.03 |
| Taskin Ahmed | Bangladesh | 23 | 1 | 3.28 |
| Jeevan Mendis | Sri Lanka | 18 | 2 | 3.60 |
| Mitchell Marsh | Australia | 33 | 5 | 3.66 |
| Mirwais Ashraf | Afghanistan | 63 | 2 | 3.66 |
| Mohammed Shami | India | 65 | 6 | 3.82 |
| Mahmudullah | Bangladesh | 31 | 1 | 3.87 |
| Shapoor Zadran | Afghanistan | 68 | 3 | 4.00 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Day 9 Standout Performers
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Shikhar Dhawan shines as India thrash South Africa
As India and South Africa took to the hallowed MCG turf, a close encounter was anticipated.
It turned out to be anything but as the Indians put the Proteas to the sword with a stunning, 130-run victory.
At the heart of the holders’ brilliance was opener Shikhar Dhawan, whose innings of 137 laid the perfect foundation from which his team-mates built upon for a solid 307/7 haul.
Dhawan saw his opening partner Rohit Sharma dismissed for a duck early on, but it didn’t distract him, as he found boundary after boundary with the South African bowlers helpless to his class.
Among his 16 fours of the innings was one that took him over the century mark, and it was a stunning drive—per Sky Sports Cricket:
"WATCH: Shikhar Dhawan reaches three figures. See the action live on Sky Sports World Cup #fireitup #cwc15 - http://t.co/KlkmgQcGGG
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) February 22, 2015"
It’s very rare that South Africans don’t have an answer to an exemplary display of batting, but they simply didn’t know which way to turn with Dhawan.
It’s no surprise, then, that the Indian’s 137 was the highest individual score posted against the Proteas in a World Cup, as SuperSport revealed:
"Shikhar Dhawan's 137 this morning has become the highest individual score against South Africa in a #CWC. #SSCricket pic.twitter.com/YsShHoW5bY
— SuperSport (@SuperSportTV) February 22, 2015"
India’s class with the bat was reflected with the ball, as they bowled South Africa out for a feeble 177.
Ravichandran Ashwin took three wickets to bring his tournament tally up to four, but it was Mohammed Shami that moved to second in the overall standings with two impressive wickets.
His total of six for the World Cup is five wickets short of New Zealand’s Tim Southee, but his exceptional form shows just how formidable a force India are in this competition.
India captain MS Dhoni was quick to praise his side after their triumph, saying that the all-round performance against strong opposition was “satisfying”—per BBC Sport:
"South Africa are such a good side, so I think that makes it an even more satisfying win. It was a back-to-back good performance from both the bowling and batting unit. A couple of run-outs made things even more impressive."
Superb Afghanistan come up short against Sri Lanka
On paper, Sunday’s clash between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka looked a bit of a one-horse race, but the minnows made it anything but.
Batting first, the Afghans put together a respectable haul of 232 to put the pressure on Sri Lanka, which was especially good considering their measly total of 162 in their tournament opener against Bangladesh.
The underdogs’ star performer with the bat was Asghar Stanikzai, whose total of 54 was the first ever half-century posted by an Afghan batsman in a Cricket World Cup—per ESPN Cricinfo:
"Well done Stanikzai, for scoring Afghanistan's first World Cup fifty. A run a ball too, against Sri Lanka in Dunedin http://t.co/a88pPEgzXl
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 21, 2015 "
Stanikzai made individual history, but his side came perilously close to a team record by chalking up their first victory, only for Sri Lanka to produce late fireworks to claim the win by four wickets.
The Afghanistan bowlers certainly made them sweat for the triumph, though, with Hamid Hassan taking three wickets for 45 runs to take his tournament total to five.
In doing so, he got his 50th international dismissal—as ESPN Cricinfo revealed:
"Hamid Hassan becomes the first Afghanistan bowler to 50 wickets. SL in real trouble at 51 for 4. #afgvsl #cwc2015
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 22, 2015 "
However, even the superb Hassan couldn’t handle Mahela Jayawardene’s brilliant batting, as he chalked up an impressive 100 to move into the top-10 run-scorers for the tournament.
Had it not been for Jayawardene, Sri Lanka may well have been left red-faced. So, Afghanistan can take plenty of encouragement away from their defeat.
They face Scotland next time around in Perth, and if they produce a similarly strong performance, then we could well see that history-making first win.
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