Chris Gayle sets benchmark

This analysis will be done at suitable points during the World Cup 2015 so that the readers can see the way the Performance tables evolve. As more matches get played the top performance mosaic changes and readers can identify with what happened in the past few days. The qualifying bar for inclusion moves higher as more matches get played.

Two teams which had fallen flat in their earlier matches came back to form with resounding victories. Each was powered by two left-handed openers coming out with contrasting centuries, one of these breaking about ten records. All in all, it was business as usual.

Top Batting performances in WC 2015: in 14 matches played so far

SNo	Rating Pts	Year	ODI#	Batsman	For	Vs	Runs	Balls
1	572	2015	3612	CH Gayle	West Indies	Zim	215	147
2	460	2015	3610	S Dhawan	India	Saf	137	146
3	397	2015	3601	DA Miller	South Africa	Zim	138*	92
4	386	2015	3600	JWA Taylor	England	Aus	98*	90
5	370	2015	3600	AJ Finch	Australia	Eng	135	128
6	363	2015	3607	BB McCullum	New Zealand	Eng	77	25
7	345	2015	3611	MM Ali	England	Sco	128	107
8	316	2015	3609	DPMD Jayawardene	Sri Lanka	Afg	100	120
9	314	2015	3601	JP Duminy	South Africa	Zim	115*	100
10	290	2015	3602	V Kohli	India	Pak	107	126

If Chris Gayle's blockbuster double-hundred did not move to the top of the tables, I would have had a lot of explaining to do. But Gayle's 215 secured 572 rating pts and moved emphatically to the top. Couple of days back I had mentioned that it would require something special to knock Shikhar Dhawan off the top. Well, let us see: The highest individual score in World Cups, the only non-Indian double hundred, share of the 16-sixes in an innings record, fastest 200 ever, leading partner of the highest ever partnership in ODIs and finally an effective answer to everyone, especially Mr. Dave Cameron.

Moeen Ali's less powerful but top quality match winning century got 345 rating pts and moved to seventh position in the batting performance table. Those fifties and lesser hundreds have slowly started moving off the bottom of the table.

Top Bowling performances in WC 2015: in 14 matches played so far

SNo	Rating Pts	Year	ODI#	Bowler	For	Vs	Analysis
1	606	2015	3607	TG Southee	New Zealand	Eng	9.0 - 0 - 33 - 7
2	452	2015	3600	MR Marsh	Australia	Eng	9.0 - 0 - 33 - 5
3	429	2015	3602	Sohail Khan	Pakistan	Ind	10.0 - 0 - 55 - 5
4	321	2015	3608	JE Taylor	West Indies	Pak	7.0 - 1 - 15 - 3
5	311	2015	3600	ST Finn	England	Aus	10.0 - 0 - 71 - 5
6	286	2015	3602	Mohammed Shami	India	Pak	9.0 - 1 - 35 - 4
7	242	2015	3611	JH Davey	Scotland	Eng	10.0 - 0 - 68 - 4
8	221	2015	3605	Mashrafe Mortaza	Bangladesh	Afg	9.0 - 2 - 20 - 3
9	212	2015	3603	GH Dockrell	Ireland	Win	10.0 - 0 - 50 - 3
10	210	2015	3612	JE Taylor	West Indies	Zim	10.0 - 0 - 38 - 3

The only stand-out bowling performance was Josh Davey's spell of 4 for 68 against England. He captured four-middle order wickets, secured 242 rating pts and moved to the seventh position. Jerome Taylor's very effective spell of 3 for 38 took him to the tenth position in the bowling table. Let us not forget that Taylor has two entries in the bowling table.

Top Player performances in WC 2015: in 14 matches played so far

SNo	Rating Pts	Year	ODI#	Player	For	Vs	Runs	Balls	Analysis
1	700	2015	3612	CH Gayle	West Indies	Zim	215	147	6.0-0-35-2
2	504	2015	3600	MR Marsh	Australia	Eng	23	20	9.0-0-33-5
3	434	2015	3611	MM Ali	England	Sco	128	107	10.0-0-47-2
4	353	2015	3608	AD Russell	West Indies	Pak	42*	13	8.0-2-33-3
5	297	2015	3606	SC Williams	Zimbabwe	Uae	76*	65	8.0-0-43-2
6	281	2015	3599	CJ Anderson	New Zealand	Slk	75	46	3.1-0-18-2
7	249	2015	3609	AD Mathews	Sri Lanka	Afg	44	81	7.0-0-41-3
8	248	2015	3605	Shakib Al Hasan	Bangladesh	Afg	63	51	8.5-0-43-2

It would have required an immense all-round performance to unseat Mitchell Marsh from the top of the player performance table. And Gayle did exactly that. He followed up his explosive 215 with two wickets and a catch. His total of 700 rating points was nearly 200 rating points ahead of Mitchell Marsh and is likely to be in the top-three at the end of the World Cup. Moeen Ali also did the all-round act very well. He captured two wickets, accumulated 434 rating pts and moved into the fourth position, ahead of Andre Russell.

Top Team performances in WC 2015: in 14 matches played so far

SNo	Rating Pts	Year	ODI#	Team	Own score	Vs	Other score
1	713	2015	3607	New Zealand	125 for 2 in 12.2	Eng	123 for 10 in 33.2
2	691	2015	3610	India	307 for 7 in 50.0	Saf	177 for 10 in 40.2
3	664	2015	3608	West Indies	310 for 6 in 50.0	Pak	160 for 10 in 39.0
4	640	2015	3605	Bangladesh	267 for 10 in 50.0	Afg	162 for 10 in 42.5
5	626	2015	3611	England	303 for 8 in 50.0	Sco	184 for 10 in 42.2
6	598	2015	3612	West Indies	372 for 2 in 50.0	Zim	289 for 10 in 44.3
7	596	2015	3599	New Zealand	331 for 6 in 50.0	Slk	233 for 10 in 46.1
8	596	2015	3600	Australia	342 for 9 in 50.0	Eng	231 for 10 in 41.5
9	592	2015	3602	India	300 for 7 in 50.0	Pak	224 for 10 in 47.0
10	591	2015	3603	Ireland	307 for 6 in 45.5	Win	304 for 7 in 50.0

There are no major changes to the team table. England entered in the fifth position with their comprehensive win over Scotland, securing 625 rating pts. West Indies could only join them in the sixth position since they won only by 73 runs, only around 20% of the final target.

A brief introduction into the methodology of Performance Analysis.

The Batting Performance Ratings analysis takes into account the Runs scored, Balls faced, Next highest score (if this is the highest score), % of Team score, Innings status at entry, Bowling quality, Pitch information, Team strengths, Target score in front, Match location, Result and Match importance. These parameters are given appropriate weights. The calculations are done in such a way that Rating points of 1000 would be allotted to a mind-blowing and match-winning score of 200 in 150 balls in a WC final.

The Bowling Performance Ratings analysis takes into account the Wickets captured, Quality of batsmen dismissed, Scores at which batsmen were dismissed, Bowling accuracy, Batting quality, Pitch information, Team strengths, Target being defended, Match location, Result and Match importance. The calculations are done in such a way that Rating points of 1000 would be allotted to a magnificent and match-winning analysis of 10-2-15-6 in a WC final.

The Player Performance Ratings analysis takes into account the Batting Rating points, Bowling Rating points and the Fielding Rating points, which is a combination of catches and stumpings. There are minimum criteria for batting and bowling stints to ensure that these are genuinely all-round performances.

The Team Performance Ratings analysis takes into account the Result, Margin of win, Resources utilized, Team strengths, Match location and Match importance. The calculations are done in such a way that Rating points of 1000 would be allotted to an overwhelming win by 150 runs or 8 wickets in a WC final.