Cricket World Cup 2015: Leading Batsmen and Bowlers After 2nd Quarter-Final
India preserved their perfect record at the 2015 World Cup as they got the better of Bangladesh by 109 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
A sensational innings of 137 from Rohit Sharma helped India make the most of the favourable batting conditions. He was given superb support by a fine knock of 65 from Suresh Raina, while a brisk 23 from Ravindra Jadeja helped push India towards an ominous total of 302 for six.
It was a score that was always going to be very difficult for the Tigers to chase down, and the loss of both opening batsmen in the seventh over set a sluggish tempo to the Bangladeshi innings. Nasir Hossain top scored with 35 for the underdogs, who were eventually bowled out for 193.
Here’s a look at how some standout performances here have affected some of the individual classifications at this competition and a closer examination of some star men from the second quarter-final from Down Under.
Top 10 Gross Run-Scorers
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| Player | Team | Runs |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 541 |
| Brendan Taylor | Zimbabwe | 433 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 417 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka | 395 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | India | 367 |
| Mahmudullah | Bangladesh | 365 |
| Sean Williams | Zimbabwe | 339 |
| Hashim Amla | South Africa | 323 |
| Misbah-ul-Haq | Pakistan | 316 |
| Shaiman Anwar | UAE | 311 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Batting Averages
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| Sarfraz Ahmed | Pakistan | 150.00 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 108.20 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 83.40 |
| Mahmudullah | Bangladesh | 73.00 |
| Brendan Taylor | Zimbabwe | 72.16 |
| Suresh Raina | India | 69.25 |
| David Miller | South Africa | 68.75 |
| Sean Williams | Zimbabwe | 67.80 |
| David Warner | Australia | 66.00 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka | 65.83 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Strike-Rates
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| Player | Team | Runs | SR |
| Dinesh Chandimal | Sri Lanka | 52 | 216.66 |
| Farhaan Behardien | South Africa | 74 | 205.55 |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | 257 | 190.37 |
| Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | 257 | 187.59 |
| Andre Russell | West Indies | 84 | 186.66 |
| James Faulkner | Australia | 23 | 176.92 |
| Tawanda Mupariwa | Zimbabwe | 19 | 172.72 |
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 12 | 171.42 |
| Brad Haddin | Australia | 119 | 163.01 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 26 | 152.94 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
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Top 10 Wicket-Takers
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| Player | Team | Wickets |
| Mohammed Shami | India | 17 |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 16 |
| Trent Boult | New Zealand | 15 |
| Imran Tahir | South Africa | 15 |
| Josh Davey | Scotland | 15 |
| Morne Morkel | South Africa | 14 |
| Umesh Yadav | India | 14 |
| Jerome Taylor | West Indies | 14 |
| Wahab Riaz | Pakistan | 14 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 13 |
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 |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 14 | 4 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 18 | 4 |
| Kyle Abbott | South Africa | 21 | 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 | 178 | 13 | 3.21 |
| James Tredwell | England | 25 | 1 | 3.57 |
| Jeevan Mendis | Sri Lanka | 18 | 2 | 3.60 |
| Mirwais Ashraf | Afghanistan | 63 | 2 | 3.66 |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 136 | 16 | 3.67 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | India | 19 | 1 | 3.80 |
| Dwayne Smith | West Indies | 27 | 1 | 3.85 |
| Ravi Bopara | England | 31 | 2 | 3.87 |
| Sohaib Maqsood | Pakistan | 24 | 1 | 4.00 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Standout Performers
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Sharma Sets the Tone for India
Rohit Sharma’s innings of 137 from 126 balls was a masterclass in how to open the batting. The 27-year-old dug in initially to see off the new ball, provided a steadying influence throughout the innings as some key wickets tumbled. Once he reached three figures, he accelerated with distinction.
As the batsman said in the aftermath of his superb knock, the intention was always there to get to the end of the innings, per ESPNcricinfo:
"Rohit Sharma: "Big game, wanted to make it count. I wanted to take my time. I wanted to stay till the end" #CWC15
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 19, 2015"
While he was eventually dismissed in the 47th over, Sharma certainly shouldn’t feel disappointed. His presence was vital in allowing Suresh Raina to bag a quick-fire 65, in Ravindra Jadeja hammering 23 off 10 balls in the final stages and cumulatively, India setting a total that would have required a miraculous effort to chase down.
Therefore, it was no surprise to see Sharma pick up the Man of the Match gong in the aftermath of this emphatic win, per the ICC:
"The #INDvBAN Player of the Match for his sensational innings of 137 is Rohit Sharma #TwitterMirror #cwc15 pic.twitter.com/QlkCkFfmye
— ICC (@ICC) March 19, 2015"
As the tournament rumbles on and India go in search of their second successive world title, the role of Sharma will become increasingly vital. In these precarious, high-pressure encounters it’s imperative that a strong early precedent is set and the opener has illustrated at this tournament that he has the quality to exactly that for this India team.
Naturally, the challenge for him will be to do so with the pressure on in the semi-finals and when up against a bowling attack that will inevitably be of superior quality.
India’s Bowling Attack Shines Again
While the reigning champions boast a plethora of destructive, watchful and aesthetic batsmen in their lineup, arguably the most impressive facet of this team during this tournament has been the bowling attack.
Once again, the men with the ball in hand for India were superb. They created pressure on the Bangladeshi batsmen by bowling clever lines and induced rash shots out of frustrated players at the crease. The manner in which they ruthlessly finished off the Tigers’ tail-enders was also extremely impressive.
As noted by former India player Aakash Chopra, they’ve bowled out every opponent in all their matches so far:
"70 wickets in 7 matches...India bowling has been the unlikely hero of this World Cup. Kudos. #ChaseCricket with @AltoK10
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) March 19, 2015"
Umesh Yadav was the star of the show with ball in hand at the MCG, as he helped himself to four wickets. But as is the case with the likes of Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin, he bowled with a control and acumen that was able to strangle the opposition scoring rates.
As noted by OptaJim, Yadav has been bowling economically with an unerring consistency at this World Cup so far:
"4 - Yadav has posted an economy rate below 4 for the 5th time in 46 ODIs. His economy was 4+ in all 6 recent Test inns v Australia. Format.
— OptaJim (@OptaJim) March 19, 2015"
The exploits of Kumar Sangakkara, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell have ensured that there has been much discussion about the quality of batting at this World Cup. But India have a bowling arsenal that seems capable of nullifying even the very best players around.
They did so against South Africa, the West Indies and Pakistan in the group stages, and with plenty of world-class batsmen remaining in the competition, it’s going to be intriguing to see just how these bowlers fare with the sharp end of the tournament fast approaching.
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