Is it going to be a batsman’s World Cup?

[sudheer kumar]

Two weeks and 19 matches into the World Cup 2011, we’ve seen teams pile up 300-plus scores on nine occasions so far, while there have been three others which have just fallen short of the 300-run mark. Further, we’ve seen England post 338 chasing and tie a match against India, while Ireland chased down 329 to rewrite the record for the highest successful run-chase in the history of the World Cup. Just browsing these statistics and many more, one wonders if the World Cup 2011 is turning out to be a batsman’s World Cup. With the World Cup being played in the sub-continent, one always knew that the pitches were going to be placid and filled with runs. It was always expected that the bat would dominate the ball. But has the domination of the bat over the ball gone to the extent of making it a no-contest? We analyse. Comparison of various parameters (First 19 matches) Tournament 100s / 50s 300+ totals Boundary% Avg Runs/Match Run Rate WC 2003 7 / 26 3 42.50% 374 4.76 WC 2007 8 / 48 9 49.02% 437 4.99 WC 2011 10 / 36 3 41.19% 432 5.20 above gives us a sense of how things have panned out so far. The 2011 World Cup certainly scores as a better batting World Cup in three of the five parameters analysed and comes a close second where Average Runs per match are concerned. Those are startling numbers, especially considering there have been two matches in this year’s tournament when teams batting first have been bowled out for under 100. What’s also amazing is that the run-feast – and the incredible scoring rate which is the best-ever for any single edition of the World Cup - has come about despite the fact that the boundaries have been pushed back a couple of yards at most venues, which is reflected in the fact that the boundary percentage has come down to 41%. What also reinforces the fact that this is turning out to be a batsman’s World Cup is that teams have chased down better in this competition when compared to the past. Here are some numbers: Successful run-chases in 2011 World Cup - 8 (plus 1 chase to Tie) Successful run-chases in 2007 World Cup - 7 (plus 1 chase to Tie) Successful run-chases in 2003 World Cup - 7 Runs Per Wicket in Run Chases in Previous World Cups World Cup Runs / Wicket 2003 77.23 2007 45.36 2011 78.84

[gaurav92]

Yaa its a batsman's game, :dontmentionit: