Cricket World Cup 2015: Top Run-Scorers, Wicket-Takers Ahead of Semi-Finals
The best in the business make up the Cricket World Cup 2015 semi-final spots, with New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and India all battling it out for the crown.
The quartet have undoubtedly been the top performers in the tournament so far, and that much is reflected in the World Cup statistics, as their big-name stars rank at the top of the charts for both batting and bowling.
Here we take a look at who could shine across the two ties before diving into the key World Cup stats.
New Zealand vs. South Africa
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New Zealand’s Martin Guptill was late to arrive to the run-scoring party, but an emphatic, unbeaten innings of 237 in the quarter-final against the West Indies has put him second in the charts.
The opener’s knock was emphatic. He was coping with everything that was thrown at him in style— producing fantastic fours and stunning sixes.
Unsurprisingly, the praise came in thick and fast for Guptill, with former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming labelling it as the best innings by a Black Cap, per ICC Cricket World Cup:
"It is easy to throw around superlatives to describe and categorise Martin Guptill’s monumental 237 not out against the West Indies in the ICC Cricket World Cup quarter-final in Wellington. But there is no question in my mind that it is the greatest limited-overs innings in history by a New Zealand player.
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Guptill will be looking to carry his form into the last-four meeting with South Africa on Tuesday, but doing so won’t be easy against the Proteas’ formidable bowling order.
Imran Tahir took four wickets and JP Duminy struck a hat-trick as the South Africans bowled Sri Lanka out for just 133 in their quarter-final tie, with the former moving up to 15 wickets for the tournament and just four behind Kiwi Trent Boult in the standings.
The South Africans have been in incredible bowling form throughout the tournament, and even with Guptill in top form, it will take a big performance from New Zealand to post another big score.
They certainly have the recipe to do as much, as they’re approaching every game with an attacking flair that simply can’t be handled.
ESPN’s Freddie Wilde reflected on as much, saying that the Black Caps are excellent to watch.
South Africa don’t make for bad viewing, either, so expect fireworks when the two collide in Auckland.
With sensational batsmen and solid bowlers on show, this one could go all the way to the final delivery.
Australia vs. India: 2 Giants of Cricket Collide
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Australia went into the World Cup as the tournament favourites, and they’ve more than lived up to their billing with a brilliant campaign.
The batting has been exceptional; the bowling has been just as good—summed up by their six-wicket victory over Pakistan in the quarter-finals.
Josh Hazlewood took four wickets as Australia dismissed Pakistan for just 213, before their batsmen chased down the total with minimal fuss.
Mitchell Starc was at it again with the ball, taking two important wickets and moving up to 18 dismissals for the tournament.
The pacer has been in irresistible form throughout, and the Indian order need to be very wary of him as he chases the wicket-taker crown.
The Aussies aren’t exactly bad with the bat, either, and in Glenn Maxwell, they have a player who thrives on the big occasions.
Maxwell has resurrected his Indian Premier League form in the World Cup, sitting in the top five for batting averages with 75.25.
He was at his best against Pakistan in the quarters, as an unbeaten 44 from 29 balls saw the Aussies over the line.
When Maxwell takes to the SCG on Thursday, he’ll be brimming with confidence and in the mood to score big. He has every right to be too, because India’s record in ODIs in Australia isn’t fantastic, as he was quick to point out in an interview, per Cricbuzz:
"They haven't won a game against us all summer, [and] hopefully we can make the most of that. Hopefully that is pretty clear in their memories. We've been dominant all summer in the ODI format. Hopefully we can continue that.”
India have more than proved they’re not a team to be taken lightly, though, putting together strong performance after strong performance thus far.
Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has been in top form and has 367 runs to show for his efforts. His partner in crime, Rohit Sharma, however, hadn’t been as impressive but seems to have caught fire at the right time.
Despite being under pressure ahead of the quarter-final, Sharma put together an impressive knock of 137 to propel his side to victory against Bangladesh.
While that wasn’t enough to take him into the top-10 run-scorers for the tournament, it was a much-needed innings. BBC Sport reflected on its brilliance as he crossed the century mark.
It’s India's bowlers who need to produce something special in the semi-final, though, and in Mohammed Shami they have a man in form.
Shami has 17 wickets for the tournament and seems to be improving with every match, which will undoubtedly strike fear into the Aussie order.
It’s the reigning champions against the champions elect, so something’s got to give in Sydney.
It could all come down to which set of bowlers shines on the day, and with both of them in outstanding form, it’s all set to be another SCG cracker.
Top 10 Gross Run-Scorers
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| Player | Team | Runs |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 541 |
| Martin Guptill | New Zealand | 498 |
| Brendan Taylor | Zimbabwe | 433 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 417 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka | 395 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | India | 367 |
| Mahmudullah | Bangladesh | 365 |
| Misbah-ul-Haq | Pakistan | 350 |
| Chris Gayle | West Indies | 340 |
| Sean Williams | Zimbabwe | 339 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
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Top 10 Batting Averages
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| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 108.20 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 83.40 |
| Martin Guptill | New Zealand | 83.00 |
| Sarfraz Ahmed | Pakistan | 80.00 |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | 75.25 |
| 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 |
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 |
| Andre Russell | West Indies | 104 | 185.71 |
| Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | 257 | 185.51 |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | 301 | 183.53 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 34 | 178.94 |
| 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 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Wicket-Takers
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| Player | Team | Wickets |
| Trent Boult | New Zealand | 19 |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 18 |
| Mohammed Shami | India | 17 |
| Jerome Taylor | West Indies | 17 |
| Wahab Riaz | Pakistan | 16 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 15 |
| Imran Tahir | South Africa | 15 |
| Josh Davey | Scotland | 15 |
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 15 |
| Morne Morkel | South Africa | 14 |
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 |
| 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 | 176 | 18 | 3.74 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | India | 19 | 1 | 3.80 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 236 | 15 | 3.81 |
| 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.
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