Cricket World Cup 2015: Stars with Best Bowling Figures and Highest Strike Rate
Chris Gayle lit up the Manuka Oval in the Australian capital with the highest ever individual batting score at a World Cup.
The West Indies batsman smashed 215 runs from 147 balls to set up a crucial win for his country over Zimbabwe on a day that saw plenty of records tumble.
The popular 35-year-old was aided by Marlon Samuels—who made 133 not out—as they helped the Windies rack up a total of 372-2; the innings contained a partnership of 372, which is the highest ever in one-day international history.
Zimbabwe made a decent fist of the chase but lost wickets at regular intervals. Despite brisk half-centuries from Sean Williams and Craig Ervine, they were eventually bowled out for 289, 73 runs short of the revised total of 363 following a brief rain delay.
Here’s how this momentous day impacts the individual standings in a host of different categories and a look at the highlights from an engrossing Day 11 at the Cricket World Cup.
Top 10 Gross Run-Scorers
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| Player | Team | Runs |
| Chris Gayle | West Indies | 255 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | India | 210 |
| Marlon Samuels | West Indies | 192 |
| David Miller | South Africa | 160 |
| Sean Williams | Zimbabwe | 160 |
| Moeen Ali | England | 158 |
| Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | 157 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 153 |
| Lendl Simmons | West Indies | 152 |
| Aaron Finch | Australia | 135 |
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 |
| Marlon Samuels | West Indies | 96.0 |
| Paul Stirling | Ireland | 92.0 |
| Chris Gayle | West Indies | 85.0 |
| Ed Joyce | Ireland | 84.0 |
| Sean Williams | Zimbabwe | 80.0 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 76.5 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Strike Rates
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| Player | Team | Runs | SR |
| 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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| Player | Team | Wickets |
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 11 |
| Jerome Taylor | West Indies | 9 |
| Steven Finn | England | 8 |
| Josh Davey | Scotland | 7 |
| Mohammed Shami | India | 6 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 6 |
| Sohail Khan | Pakistan | 6 |
| Mitchell Marsh | Australia | 5 |
| Corey Anderson | New Zealand | 5 |
| Chris Woakes | 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 |
| Josh Davey | Scotland | 68 | 4 |
| Jerome Taylor | West Indies | 15 | 3 |
| Corey Anderson | New Zealand | 18 | 3 |
| Mashrafe Mortaza | Bangladesh | 20 | 3 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 24 | 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.
Standout Performers
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Gayle Smashes Windies to Vital Victory
While there’s no denying that Chris Gayle is one of the best batsmen ever in the limited overs format, as of late things haven't been going particularly well for him. But if anything, that made his stunning knock against Zimbawbe all the more impressive.
As we can see here courtesy of Bleacher Report UK, Gayle is a rather laid back character:
"Chris Gayle: 1st man to hit 300 in a Test, 200 in ODI, 100 in T20. http://t.co/CUhGXPlOCA #GayleForce #WIvZIM #cwc15 pic.twitter.com/roYLP9vB35
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) February 24, 2015"
But when he finds his groove, he’s devastating. After reaching his century off 105 balls, Gayle turned on the afterburners to take the game away from the Zimbabwe team, smashing sixes at will in the latter stages and pushing his team towards an enormous total.
Here’s the moment he reached his double hundred—the first ever in Cricket World Cup matches—courtesy of Sky Sports Cricket:
"WATCH: Chris Gayle reaches his double hundred. Watch the action on Sky Sports World Cup #fireitup #cwc15 - http://t.co/DMTddkOJip
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) February 24, 2015"
He was duly assisted by a classy knock from Marlon Samuels. The West Indies no. 3 assumed the role of anchor while Gayle went about his blistering boundary hitting, playing with a studiousness and serenity to keep things ticking over for his country.
The result was a staggering partnership, one which lasted from the third ball of the day when the Caribbean islanders lost Dwayne Smith right up until the final ball of the match when Gayle was dismissed.
As noted by BBC Test Match special, their partnership of 372 is the highest in the history of one-day international matches:
"The new World record for an ODI partnership is 372 by Chris Gayle & Marlon Samuels. Gayle 215 Samuels 133* #bbcsport pic.twitter.com/dpH1nGdaod
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) February 24, 2015"
The Windies will be desperate for Gayle to preserve this kind of form moving into the second half of the pool stages. He brings something different to this team and when he gets on a roll like the one aforementioned, can take the game away from you in a flash.
Taylor Amongst the Wickets Again
Another player who has found some form at this World Cup is Jerome Taylor and he was amongst the wickets for the second time in two matches during the Windies’ win over the Africans; the fast bowler finished up with impressive figures of 3/38 from his ten overs bowled.
That trio of strikes moves Taylor up into the second place in for the most amount of wickets taken in the tournament. He can be erratic on occasions, but when Taylor gets it right—something he’s definitely been doing as of late—he’s a bowler that is very difficult to shut down.
According to scorewithdata, aside from the two batting heroes previously mentioned, Taylor put in the best performance in West Indies colours:
".@henrygayle , Marlon Samuels and Jerome Taylor were the highest impact players today! #WIvZIM #IBM #scorewithdata pic.twitter.com/3NmpoP5Xu2
— scorewithdata (@scorewithdata) February 24, 2015"
The conditions Down Under should help Taylor. It’s easy to get bounce and carry on these pitches, but the fast bowler has shown in the previous two matches that he’s capable of getting the ball to seam and swing too.
If he can put it all together, Taylor has the class to decimate any side’s batting order in this tournament, just as he did against Pakistan in the Windies’ previous match. But as is the case for so many members of this West Indies squad, consistency is key.
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