Cricket World Cup 2015: Leading Run-Scorers and Bowlers Ahead of Final
Australia downed the India juggernaut to book their spot in the final of the 2015 Cricket World Cup, securing an emphatic 95-run win at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Steve Smith was the hero once again for this Baggy Greens team, as he rose to the occasion to notch a magnificent century. Alongside Aaron Finch—who played well for his 81—they laid a fine platform, and although Australia’s aggressive batsmen couldn’t capitalise, Mitchell Johnson did, striking an unbeaten 27 off nine balls to haul the co-hosts to 328 for seven.
India got off to a respectable start in their chase, but the loss of Shikhar Dhawan prompted a flurry of wickets. Captain MS Dhoni dug in to score 65 and help his side preserve an outside chance of victory, but wickets fell as the run-rate crept up and the reigning champions were all out for 233.
Here’s how this engrossing match affected some of the individual classifications and a closer examination of some of the standout performers in this semi-final.
Top 10 Gross Run-Scorers
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| Player | Team | Runs |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 541 |
| Martin Guptill | New Zealand | 532 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 482 |
| Brendan Taylor | Zimbabwe | 433 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | India | 412 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka | 395 |
| Faf du Plessis | South Africa | 380 |
| Mahmudullah | Bangladesh | 365 |
| Misbah-ul-Haq | Pakistan | 350 |
| Steve Smith | Australia | 346 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Top 10 Batting Averages
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| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 108.20 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 96.40 |
| Sarfraz Ahmed | Pakistan | 80.00 |
| Martin Guptill | New Zealand | 76.00 |
| Mahmudullah | Bangladesh | 73.00 |
| Brendan Taylor | Zimbabwe | 72.16 |
| Sean Williams | Zimbabwe | 67.80 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka | 65.83 |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | 64.80 |
| David Miller | South Africa | 64.80 |
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 |
| Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | 328 | 191.81 |
| Andre Russell | West Indies | 104 | 185.71 |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | 324 | 182.02 |
| James Faulkner | Australia | 44 | 176.00 |
| Tawanda Mupariwa | Zimbabwe | 19 | 172.72 |
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 12 | 171.42 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 41 | 164.00 |
| Brad Haddin | Australia | 126 | 157.50 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
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Top 10 Wicket-Takers
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| Player | Team | Wickets |
| Trent Boult | New Zealand | 21 |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 20 |
| Umesh Yadav | India | 18 |
| Mohammed Shami | India | 17 |
| Jerome Taylor | West Indies | 17 |
| Morne Morkel | South Africa | 17 |
| Wahab Riaz | Pakistan | 16 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 15 |
| Imran Tahir | South Africa | 15 |
| Josh Davey | Scotland | 15 |
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 |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 204 | 20 | 3.65 |
| Mirwais Ashraf | Afghanistan | 63 | 2 | 3.66 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | India | 19 | 1 | 3.80 |
| Dwayne Smith | West Indies | 27 | 1 | 3.85 |
| Ravi Bopara | England | 31 | 2 | 3.87 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 282 | 15 | 3.98 |
| Sohaib Maqsood | Pakistan | 24 | 1 | 4.00 |
All statistics via ESPN Cricinfo.
Standout Performers
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Steve Smith Shines Again
The transformation in Smith’s role in this Australia team has been astounding of late. His unorthodox batting style used to draw ridicule from plenty, but over the past 12 months, he’s not only emerged as one of the world’s very best batsmen, but as a genuine leader in this Australia team, too.
His 105 against India was a fine example of that. Smith is relatively new to the spot at three in limited-overs matches, but he judged the situation superbly after the early wicket of David Warner, dug in alongside Aaron Finch and helped his team to post a wonderful score.
He even contributed in the field, too, as we can see here courtesy of Sky Sports Cricket:
"WICKET:Brilliant from Steve Smith to run out Jadeja & India close to miracle territory here. 208/6, SS World Cup now. pic.twitter.com/GdMSkCxj0G
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) March 26, 2015"
Smith deserves immense credit for the manner in which he played in Sydney, and scoring a century in a World Cup semi-final in front of his home fans must have been one of the standout moments of his career to date. But there’s an unerring sense about this Australia team that they know the job isn’t done yet with New Zealand lying in wait.
Indeed, when receiving his man-of-the-match award after the semi-final, Smith was already looking ahead to that showdown, per ESPNcricinfo:
"Steven Smith: "I hope so (have more runs in the bank). A big hundred will be nice (on Sunday)" http://t.co/eWb6xeoqjS #CWC15
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 26, 2015"
Given the extraordinary temperament of this infectiously enthusiastic player, to see him secure another game-winning century in the final would be no surprise whatsoever. For Australia, it’s a luxury to know they have an adaptable player like Smith ready to seize responsibility at the top of the order regardless of circumstances.
Mitchell Johnson Injects Timely Initiative
While centuries and five-wicket hauls typically stand out in the record books, in matches like semi-finals, it can often be tiny moments that swing the game one way or another. And with bat and ball in hand, Johnson gave his team two huge fillips of momentum.
The first came late in Australia’s batting innings. India had battled back to take some wickets to their great credit and were looking to rattle through the tail, but Johnson had other ideas as he helped the co-hosts surge past 300 with some magnificent late hitting.
As we can see here courtesy of ESPNcricinfo, his nine-ball cameo was pretty spectacular:
"Mitchell Johnson 27* - 4 4 4 1 2 1 4 6 1 takes Australia to 328. Can India hunt that down? http://t.co/eWb6xeG1bq #AUSvIND #CWC15
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 26, 2015"
It meant Australia bounced out into the field and, buoyed by his batting, Johnson looked almost unplayable with the ball in hand. He was typically aggressive with his left-arm fast bowling, unsettled the Indian batsmen throughout and seized the crucial wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to give the Baggy Greens some early momentum in the field.
He won his individual battles, too, as we can see here courtesy of Sky Sports Cricket:
"WATCH: Sharma smacks Johnson for six & this is how Mitchell responded. India now 91/3, live on Sky Sports World Cup http://t.co/RIKTjBj7HD
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) March 26, 2015"
Johnson is a man who seems to relish the big occasion and, although he can occasionally be costly in terms of runs conceded, his brutish brand of bowling and belligerent hitting make him a risk worth accommodating. Michael Clarke will be desperate for his talismanic bowler to conjure a few more moments to savour in Melbourne.
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