India– crowd and media favorite team
India were the crowd favorite, and I personally didn’t expect them to reach the last four. Reason being, pressure of being a defending the WC and tiredness as for 4 months they were away from home. Nevertheless they were able to refresh themselves and perform exceptionally well. Their fast bowling was most impressive.
Reason for not reaching the finals. Unable to create small opportunities in various phases while bowling. In Batting their top to middle order has all the skills, either to set or chase target. It’s the lower order that has been their problem for many years. Its like a quicksand, hence Dhoni decides to bat as low as possible, so that he can create a footing for the batting group.
| India mts 8 Won 7 (semi-finalist) | Batting | Bowling | Gap between bat and bowl |
| Runs scored/conceded | 1979 | 1752 | 227 |
| Wkts lost/taken | 43 | 77 | 34 |
| Avg | 46.02 | 22.75 | 23.27 |
| R/o | 5.84 | 4.93 | 0.91 |
| Scoring rate | 50.25 | 41.25 | 9 |
| Boundary rate | 10.74 | 9.04 | 1.7 |
| Centuries | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Top 4 batsmen(contribution) | 67.15 | 56.96 | 10.19 |
| Eco rate | |||
| Maiden over | 2.36 | 6.48 | 4.12 |
| Consecutive < 4 runs/overs (C 4) | 19.47 | 31.81 | 12.34 |
| < 4 runs/over (L 4) | 44.54 | 55.18 | 10.64 |
| >6 runs /over (6+) | 45.13 | 35.75 | 9.38 |
| >10 runs/over (10+) | 14.45 | 12.10 | 2.35 |
| Powerplay(Batting) | |||
| Avg | 55.00 | 25.90 | 29.1 |
| R/O | 4.80 | 4.20 | 0.6 |
| Scoring rate | 32.30 | 28.80 | 3.5 |
| Boundary rate | 11.90 | 8.10 | 3.8 |
| Maiden over | 6.30 | 11.30 | 5 |
| Consecutive < 4 runs/overs (C 4) | 21.30 | 30.00 | 8.7 |
| < 4 runs/over (L 4) | 51.30 | 58.80 | 7.5 |
| >6 runs /over (6+) | 31.30 | 28.80 | 2.5 |
| >10 runs/over (10+) | 8.80 | 8.80 | 0 |
| Powerplay(second ) | |||
| Avg | 237 | 32.10 | 204.9 |
| R/O | 7.00 | 8.30 | -1.3 |
| Scoring rate | 63.10 | 53.80 | 9.3 |
| Boundary rate | 15.20 | 20.00 | -4.8 |
| Maiden over | 0.00 | 0 | 0 |
| Consecutive < 4 runs/overs (C 4) | 8.80 | 20.00 | 11.2 |
| < 4 runs/over (L 4) | 32.40 | 22.90 | -9.5 |
| >6 runs /over (6+) | 61.80 | 65.70 | -3.9 |
| >10 runs/over (10+) | 23.50 | 40.00 | -16.5 |
| Partnerships | Bat | Bowl |
| Partnerships (>100 runs) | 7 | 2 |
| Opening stand avg | 53.63 | 23.25 |
| (>100 runs) top order(I,II, III) | 5 | 1 |
| (> 100) middle order(IV,V, VI) | 2 | 1 |
| (>50s) lower order(VII, VIII, IX, X) | 1 | 2 |
| Method of dismissals | Bat | Bowl |
| LBW | 2.32 | 3.89 |
| Bowled | 23.25 | 11.68 |
| Run out | 13.95 | 6.49 |
South Africa – intimated by external factor?.
The best form team(bat and bowl) in this WC, slightly better formed than host NZ. They were second favorites after Australia to win this WC. And statistically they had the best average in this WC!.
Reason for losing the semi-finals: external pressure, which cannot be controlled.
- Crowd factor: The first game against India was an intimating factor for them, when MCG was a full house, with everyone(almost) supporting India. That was the key factor for them. And since the new fielding law, they won only one(out of 8 games) chasing >275 score(v/s Australia) – as they lose an opener early and are not able to keep the run rate at leash. Opening stand in this tournament is 16.75- which is very poor for top side.
- Interrupted games: the semi-finals was interrupted by slight drizzle, although the score was sufficient for them to defend, but they lost momentum in batting. Surprisingly in past (since new law) only thrice(18 games) they lost defending >250 score. However it was a combination of brilliant innings by Grant Elliott and poor bowling by Steyn at the end.
The semi-final loss symbolizes these two facts. Their bowling, both while setting/defending lacks variation at the end.
Against India, the run rate was(GFX below) was slipping… India’s rate started to gallop after 30th over, featuring lot of big overs(>6 runs/over & > 10 runs/over) reaching its crescendo at second batting power play.
The NZ semi-final clash. Here they lost the plot when their fielding caved in last few overs. That phase saw maximum fielding errors by an South African team!. They were unable to defend >9 runs in last 6 overs with only 5 wickets needed to win that game. This might be due to the fact their strike bowler Styen was unable to bowl his customary yorkers, reverse swing or slower bouncers!.
Their WC bowling stats looks pretty impressive, but these two games reflects how they are not been able to produce consistency in last few overs in recent past. They have been conceded a lot of boundaries in last few years. This WC 10/100 balls is very high for a top side.
Before this WC, SA bowling conceded boundary @ 9.08/100 balls, which is higher than Aus(8.79) and few lower ranked teams like Bangladesh(8.91)Pak(8.67)SL(8.80)and ZIM (8.10).
| South Africa Mts 8 won 5 (semi -finalist) | Batting | Bowling | Gap between bat and bowl |
| Runs scored/conceded | 2293 | 1794 | 499 |
| Wkts lost/taken | 45 | 72 | 27 |
| Avg | 50.96 | 24.92 | 26.04 |
| R/o | 6.86 | 5.13 | 1.73 |
| Scoring rate | 55.75 | 41.71 | 14.04 |
| Boundary rate | 12.64 | 9.88 | 2.76 |
| Centuries | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| Top 4 batsmen(contribution) | 51.67 | 54.90 | -3.23 |
| Eco rate | |||
| Maiden over | 4.48 | 6.29 | 1.81 |
| Consecutive < 4 runs/overs (C 4) | 15.55 | 28.02 | 12.47 |
| < 4 runs/over (L 4) | 36.77 | 52.90 | 16.13 |
| >6 runs /over (6+) | 51.12 | 36.32 | 14.8 |
| >10 runs/over (10+) | 22.12 | 11.15 | 10.97 |
| Powerplay(Batting) | |||
| Avg | 34.60 | 27.10 | 7.5 |
| R/O | 4.80 | 4.80 | 0 |
| Scoring rate | 32.70 | 28.70 | 4 |
| Boundary rate | 11.30 | 12.40 | -1.1 |
| Maiden over | 13.80 | 11.40 | -2.4 |
| Consecutive < 4 runs/overs (C 4) | 20.00 | 25.30 | 5.3 |
| < 4 runs/over (L 4) | 48.80 | 53.20 | 4.4 |
| >6 runs /over (6+) | 37.50 | 29.10 | 8.4 |
| >10 runs/over (10+) | 13.80 | 13.90 | -0.1 |
| Powerplay(second ) | |||
| Avg | 49.70 | 29.40 | 20.3 |
| R/O | 9.30 | 6.40 | 2.9 |
| Scoring rate | 70.30 | 50.00 | 20.3 |
| Boundary rate | 19.80 | 13.80 | 6 |
| Maiden over | 0.00 | 3.10 | 3.1 |
| Consecutive < 4 runs/overs (C 4) | 9.40 | 21.90 | 12.5 |
| < 4 runs/over (L 4) | 21.90 | 40.60 | 18.7 |
| >6 runs /over (6+) | 65.60 | 56.30 | 9.3 |
| >10 runs/over (10+) | 46.90 | 18.80 | 28.1 |
| Partnerships | Bat | Bowl |
| Partnerships (>100 runs) | 7 | 4 |
| Opening stand avg | 16.25 | 25.38 |
| (>100 runs) top order(I,II, III) | 2 | 3 |
| (> 100) middle order(IV,V, VI) | 5 | 1 |
| (>50s) lower order(VII, VIII, IX, X) | 0 | 0 |
| Method of dismissals | Bat | Bowl |
| LBW | 11.11 | 6.94 |
| Bowled | 11.11 | 9.72 |
| Run out | 4.44 | 6.94 |
links to all the stats indicators http://allthatcricket.com/?p=1489
