Coming good when it counts

In the recent final of the DLF Cup, Australia were at an uneasy 80 for 3 after 24 overs when Andrew Symonds strode to the crease. So far he had scored 8 and 2 in the tournament but those who watched Symonds bat after Australia were 10 for 3 in the VB series final against Sri Lanka would have exuded quiet confidence. In such winner-takes-all games Symonds averaged 49 while his career equivalent was 38. Sure enough, he rose to the occasion and scored 52 to take Australia towards a matchwinning target. This week we look at the best performers in knockout matches which comprise of finals, semi-finals, quarter-finals etc.

South Africa's Gary Kirsten clearly raised the bar when it counted most. His record in knock-out matches - he averaged 16 more than his career average of 41 in them - was impressive enough but his record in grand finals of tournaments has been simply stunning. In 20 finals, Kirsten scored three hundreds and seven fifties and averaged a massive 67.93. South Africa won 14 of those 20 finals and four of the defeats were against Australia in Australia.

Biggest difference in batting average between finals and non-finals in ODI (qualification: 10 innings in both finals and non-finals)

Player		Finals	Runs	Ave	100		Not	Runs	Ave	100		Diff
G Kirsten (SAf)		24	1084	57.05	3		161	5714	38.87	10		18.18
RP Arnold (SL)		21	735	49.00	0		144	3003	33.00	1		16.00
PJL Dujon (WI)		20	359	35.90	0		149	1586	21.43	0		14.47
Javed Miandad (Pak)		21	761	54.35	1		212	6620	40.61	7		13.74
DJ Richardson (SAf)		16	157	31.40	0		106	711	18.23	0		13.17
A Symonds (Aust)		20	642	49.38	1		129	3117	37.11	4		12.27
AP Gurusinha (SL)		15	535	38.21	0		132	3367	27.15	2		11.06
DM Jones (Aust)		32	1219	53.00	2		132	4849	42.91	5		10.09
AL Logie (WI)		15	335	37.22	0		143	2474	28.11	1		9.11
KLT Arthurton (WI)		11	272	34.00	0		94	1632	25.11	0		8.89

A lot of criticism has been heaped on Sachin Tendulkar because he under performs in knockout matches especially tournament finals. However, the stats reveal that he still averages 46.52 in all knockout games and 47.96 in grand finals while in other games he averages 44. Take a closer look and you'll realise that Tendulkar's performances in crunch matches have been on the decline. Before 2000, he averaged 54.92 in 30 knockout games with five centuries and eight fifties. After 2000, he's averaged a mere 31.40 with only three fifties in 17 knockout games and only 27 per game in grand finals .

Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Inzamam-ul-Haq are some other current heavy-weight batsmen who average lesser in knockout games compared to their performances in other matches. Click here to see where they stand in the tables.

Imran Khan and Mohammad Yousuf are two names that catch the eye among the top ten batsmen who've performed the worst in knockout matches. Yousuf averaged 29.70 in 23 games while Imran averaged 23.06. Even with the ball Imran struggled in these games, taking only 16 wickets at 35.12 apiece in 19 matches.

Biggest difference in batting average between finals and non-finals in ODI (qualification: 10 innings in both finals and non-finals)

Player		Finals	Runs	Ave	100		Not	Runs	Ave	100		Diff
JC Adams (WI)		16	97	8.81	0		111	2107	31.92	0		-23.11
L Klusener (SAf)		21	347	24.78	0		150	3229	44.23	2		-19.45
PV Simmons (WI)		16	199	14.21	0		127	3476	30.76	5		-16.55
HDPK Dharmasena (SL)		25	96	9.60	0		116	1126	25.59	0		-15.99
GR Marsh (Aust)		17	476	28.00	0		100	3881	42.18	9		-14.18
DS Lehmann (Aust)		19	421	28.06	0		98	2657	41.52	4		-13.46
Mudassar Nazar (Pak)		10	117	13.00	0		112	2536	26.42	0		-13.42
Abdul Razzaq (Pak)		26	344	19.11	0		191	3953	32.40	2		-13.29
Mohammad Yousuf (Pak)		23	594	29.70	1		200	6861	42.61	10		-12.91
Imran Khan (Pak)		19	346	23.06	0		156	3363	35.03	1		-11.97

Mohinder Amarnath's career bowling figures are pretty mediocre - an average of nearly 43, economy of 4.33, strike-rate of 59 and not even one four-wicket haul. In knockouts, however, Amarnath has mind-boggling stats. He bowled in eight of the 11 games he played, conceded only three runs an over, struck every 33 balls and took 10 wickets at 16.50 - an average bettered only by Joel Garner.

Biggest difference in bowling average between finals and non-finals in ODI (qualification: 300 balls bowled in both finals and non-finals)

Player		Finals	Wkts	Ave	4w		Not	Wkts	Ave	4w		Diff
M Amarnath (India)		11	10	16.50	0		74	36	50.17	0		33.667
GRJ Matthews (Aust)		8	14	20.07	0		51	43	40.07	0		20.000
S Madan Lal (India)		7	12	18.41	1		60	61	31.41	1		13.000
PS de Villiers (SAf)		10	18	17.27	0		73	77	30.19	2		12.925
Azhar Mahmood (Pak)		20	23	28.78	3		119	99	41.20	2		12.422
JC Adams (WI)		16	11	25.81	0		111	32	37.97	1		12.159
SR Tendulkar (India)		47	30	34.83	1		320	112	45.97	5		11.143
GF Lawson (Aust)		8	11	20.72	0		71	77	30.70	1		9.981
N Kapil Dev (India)		21	31	19.19	1		204	222	28.60	3		9.414
UDU Chandana (SL)		19	26	24.42	1		127	125	33.24	4		8.820

Chris Harris and Gavin Larsen, two bowlers who applied New Zealand's choke hold during the middle overs, have a forgettable record in finals. Harris managed just 6 wickets in 14 finals - a best of 2 for 32 - and had a strike-rate of 110.6.

Biggest difference in bowling average between finals and non-finals in ODI (qualification: 300 balls bowled in both finals and non-finals)

Player		Finals	Wkts	Ave	4w		Not	Wkts	Ave	4w		Diff
GR Larsen (NZ)		8	2	137.00	0		113	111	33.57	1		-103.432
CZ Harris (NZ)		14	6	89.33	0		236	197	35.92	3		-53.406
Yuvraj Singh (India)		20	3	85.00	0		137	38	34.29	1		-50.711
IVA Richards (WI)		24	8	74.50	0		163	110	33.02	3		-41.482
DS Lehmann (Aust)		19	5	62.80	0		98	47	24.06	1		-38.736
RM Hogg (Aust)		10	6	62.50	0		61	79	25.86	5		-36.639
PL Symcox (SAf)		15	8	70.62	0		65	64	34.33	1		-36.292
BL Cairns (NZ)		10	5	63.60	0		68	84	28.56	3		-35.040
Tauseef Ahmed (Pak)		6	3	73.66	0		64	52	38.96	1		-34.698
JE Emburey (Eng)		7	4	62.00	0		54	72	29.14	2		-32.861