The 2019 edition of the World Cup has witnessed many highs and lows - from teams consistently putting up 300-plus totals to getting bowled out in 30 overs.
With one-third of the league phase done and dusted, Cricbuzz looks into a few trends and patterns that have emerged so far from the tournament.
Average first innings totals plummet
One of the pre-tournament expectations was a high scoring tournament with 300 totals aplenty. However, if the trends of the first two weeks are to be explored, it is anything but that. The average first innings score from the 13 completed games read 254, a far cry from what happened in English conditions in the last four years.
The average first innings totals in England, since 2015 every year was upwards of 290 with 2017 being an exception thanks to a few games on tired tracks in the latter half of Champions Trophy, which had an average score reading 271. The England - Pakistan bilateral series which preceded the World Cup was a particularly high-scoring one with seven 300 plus totals and a 297 in eight completed innings with the average first innings score reading a dizzying 356.
Upping ante in middle overs
The ODI scores in England in the last four years have made the teams target 350 often and as a result, try to push the scoring rates from the 30th over rather than during the final ten. The first three ten-over blocks (1-10, 11-20 and 21-30) have remained somewhat consistent with average runs per wicket between 36 and 44 and a wicket falling roughly every 44 balls.
However, there is a sharp dip in the 31-40 overs block. The average runs per wicket value cascades to 24.72 and a wicket falls every 26th ball but the average run rate does not increase proportionally - 5.40 in the first 30 overs to 5.84 between overs 31 and 40. The parameters fall off further in the third Powerplay (41-50), but the run rate in this phase nearly touches eight per over.
Finger spinners having a say
One of the biggest changes during the current World Cup cycle has been the emergence of the wrist spinners thanks to their ability to pick up wickets in the middle overs to restrict scoring. 13 matches into the World Cup, the wristies are yet to come to the party. There is little to separate the finger spinners from the wrist spin counterparts as of how things stand and the finger spinners have been more economical than the wrist spinners. Mehedi Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan have bowled well in tandem for Bangladesh in the middle overs conceding at 5.27 and 5.60 respectively. Moeen Ali put brakes on Pakistan in a high scoring affair at the Trent Bridge picking 3/50 in a total of 348. Mohammad Nabi bowled arguably the over of the tournament taking three Sri Lankan batsman out in the match in Cardiff.
Butterfingers
In the 14 matches so far, there have been an estimated 27 dropped chances - at a rate of one every innings. India has been the luckiest team getting six lives including two crucial ones. Rohit Sharma was dropped by Faf du Plessis when on one and went on to make an unbeaten 122 in a 228-run chase. Against Australia, Hardik Pandya got a reprieve off the first ball from wicketkeeper Alex Carey and his 27-ball 48 provided the impetus for India scoring 116 in their final ten overs which eventually turned out to be the turning point of the game.
Drops and reprieves so far
Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are the two other sides with a positive difference of getting dropped and dropping chances of their own bowlers, though it hasn't necessarily converted to game-changing moments. New Zealand have been scrappy on the field dropping four, although it hasn't prevented them from winning all their three games. England have been the sloppiest on the field, putting down five catches in all with the Jason Roy drop of Mohammad Hafeez in Nottingham proving to be the costliest. Hafeez was dropped on 14 and he went on to add 70 more runs to his tally as Pakistan piled up 348 which was out of England's reach.
DRS to the rescue
The first fortnight of the World Cup hasn't been great for the umpires. There have been 29 decisions challenged of which nine were overturned - a success rate of 31 per cent which is nearly ten per cent more than the global average.
West Indies have been at the receiving end for the most decisions - they challenged seven calls of which five were overturned with one umpire's call. Four of the five overturned decisions came in the game against Australia in Nottingham. Afghanistan, on the other hand, have been the poorest in DRS usage losing four challenges out of the five they made with one umpire's call. Chris Gaffaney has had the most shockers with three of five decisions getting reversed while Ian Gould and Ruchira Palliyaguruge had two each reversed.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
