Cricket World Cup 2015: Ranking Leading Run-Scorers and Wicket-Takers
AB de Villiers' 99 was the key knock for South Africa on Thursday in Wellington, as the Proteas posted 341 batting first and set up a 146-run victory over the United Arab Emirates.
The skipper's runs came from 82 balls with six fours and four sixes to put his team in a fine position to eventually claim the win they needed to book their place in the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup.
UAE were gallant in their response, but they fell a long way short chasing 342 to win, Morne Morkel proving particularly difficult to get away as the required run-rate increased ever further.
Read on to see how the day's play impacted the individual tournament rankings with bat and ball.
Top 10 Gross Run-Scorers
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| Player | Team | Runs |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 496 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 417 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka | 395 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | India | 333 |
| Shaiman Anwar | UAE | 309 |
| Hashim Amla | South Africa | 307 |
| Brendan Taylor | Zimbabwe | 295 |
| Sean Williams | Zimbabwe | 289 |
| Chris Gayle | West Indies | 279 |
| Faf du Plessis | South Africa | 277 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Batting Averages
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| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 124.00 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 87.66 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 83.40 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka | 79.00 |
| Sean Williams | Zimbabwe | 72.25 |
| David Miller | South Africa | 68.75 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | India | 66.60 |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | 64.25 |
| Mushfiqur Rahim | Bangladesh | 64.00 |
| Shaiman Anwar | UAE | 61.80 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Strike Rates
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| Player | Team | Runs | SR |
| Dinesh Chandimal | Sri Lanka | 52 | 216.66 |
| Andre Russell | West Indies | 77 | 208.10 |
| Farhaan Behardien | South Africa | 74 | 205.55 |
| Tawanda Mupariwa | Zimbabwe | 18 | 200.00 |
| Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | 249 | 193.02 |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | 257 | 190.37 |
| Kusal Perera | Sri Lanka | 24 | 184.61 |
| Brad Haddin | Australia | 119 | 163.01 |
| Thisara Perera | Sri Lanka | 62 | 155.00 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 417 | 144.29 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
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Top 10 Wicket-Takers
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| Player | Team | Wickets |
| Josh Davey | Scotland | 14 |
| Trent Boult | New Zealand | 13 |
| Morne Morkel | South Africa | 13 |
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 13 |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 12 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 12 |
| Mohammed Shami | India | 12 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | India | 11 |
| Jerome Taylor | West Indies | 11 |
| Wahab Riaz | Pakistan | 11 |
| Imran Tahir | South Africa | 11 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Bowling Figures
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| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 33 | 7 |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 28 | 6 |
| Trent Boult | New Zealand | 27 | 5 |
| Mitchell Marsh | Australia | 33 | 5 |
| Imran Tahir | South Africa | 45 | 5 |
| Sohail Khan | Pakistan | 55 | 5 |
| Steven Finn | England | 71 | 5 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 18 | 4 |
| Kyle Abbott | South Africa | 21 | 4 |
| Mitchell Johnson | Australia | 22 | 4 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Economy Rates
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| Michael Clarke | Australia | 14 | 1 | 2.80 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 136 | 12 | 3.00 |
| Jeevan Mendis | Sri Lanka | 18 | 2 | 3.60 |
| Mirwais Ashraf | Afghanistan | 63 | 2 | 3.66 |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 122 | 12 | 3.77 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | India | 19 | 1 | 3.80 |
| Rahat Ali | Pakistan | 107 | 5 | 3.82 |
| Trent Boult | New Zealand | 178 | 13 | 3.86 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | India | 183 | 11 | 3.89 |
| Sohaib Maqsood | Pakistan | 24 | 1 | 4.00 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Standout Performers
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De Villiers Leads the Way
As is so often the case with De Villiers, the Proteas skipper top-scored for South Africa as they put on an almost routine 341 to leave the UAE with a mountain to climb.
De Villiers arrived at the crease with his side looking comfortable at 85 for two in the 16th over, and proceeded to score runs in his typical style, hitting 10 boundaries in his innings.
If anything, he was slightly more sedate than usual, his 99 runs coming from 82 balls, although he did still manage to break a record, per cricket statistician Mazher Arshad:
"20 Sixes in WC 2015: AB de Villiers now holds record of hitting most sixes in a single WC. Hayden hit 18 in 2007; Gayle 18* in 2015. #cwc15
— Mazher Arshad (@cricket_U) March 12, 2015"
In attempting to reach his century in style, De Villiers was caught at third man by Amjad Javed for 99, but he moved himself into second place for tournament runs scored, and he currently has the third best average at the 2015 World Cup.
Morkel Strangles UAE
As if the UAE didn't have a big enough challenge to deal with as they looked to chase down 342 for victory, they had to face a miserly Morne Morkel in Wellington.
The fast bowler was at his hostile best, per BBC TMS' Charles Dagnall, as he took two wickets for just 23 runs in his 10 overs:
"Morne Morkel is bowling a seriously hostile spell.
— Charles Dagnall (@CharlesDagnall) March 12, 2015"
He bagged the key scalps of top-order men Andri Berenger and Khurram Khan as the UAE fell to 45 for three inside 13 overs.
Although the Associate side recovered well thanks to decent contributions from Shaiman Anwar and Swapnil Patil, they were eventually all out for 195, and suffered their fifth defeat in five tournament matches.
Morkel's 13 tournament wickets is second now only to Scotland's Josh Davey's haul of 14, and he will be key as the Proteas move forward into the knockout stages.
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