Stats Analysis

Twenty quick numbers

Twenty quick numbers for the ICC World Twenty20

25-Sep-2007
Such a high-voltage tournament throws up more than its share of statistics. Mathew Varghese sifts through the scoresheets for the figures that count
0 - The number of teams that remained unbeaten in the tournament. India lost once, as did South Africa. It's also the score on which Kenya's Maurice Ouma was dismissed twice, leading to a round figure for his total aggregate as well.
1 - The number of hundreds scored in the tournament - and also in all 46 Twenty20 internationals thus far. A downer that no one else could achieve what Chris Gayle did taking first strike in the opening match. Also the number of hat-tricks in Twenty20 internationals, Brett Lee doing the needful against Bangladesh.
5 - The highest number of no-balls bowled in an innings, by Australia against Bangladesh.
7.99 - The average run-rate through the tournament. At that rate, 400 would be a par score in ODIs, and 650 the best if we take into account Sri Lanka's 13 per over against Kenya.
9 - Century partnerships in the ICC World Twenty20, with two involving Australia's Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist.
10 - The number of four-fors in the tournament, a fair indication that Twenty20 is not a batsman's game after all. Also the most sixes in an innings, hit by Gayle in his knock of 117, nearly equalling the record of 11 in ODIs.
12 - The number of balls taken by Yuvraj Singh to score his fifty against England, the fastest in international cricket. Yuvraj also became the second batsman to hit six sixes in an over in 2007, a feat that has happened only four times in top-level cricket.
13 - The number of matches won by the team batting second, with one tie with the side chasing (Pakistan) losing in the bowl-out and one No Result in the 27 matches played. And there was talk that putting the opposition in was the right way to go in Twenty20.
15 - Maidens bowled. The World Cup in the Caribbean had 274 maidens in 51 50-over matches, so batsmen have evidently realised the need to stop wasting deliveries in the 20-over format.
19.2 - The average number of balls taken by bowlers to take a wicket in the tournament. RP Singh, Stuart Clark and Lasith Malinga needed only 12.
36.52 - The percentage of dot balls among all deliveries bowled in the tournament.
64 - Most runs conceded by a bowler in one match. Poor Sanath Jayasuriya was the victim as the Pakistan batsmen carted him all over the park in Johannesburg, equalling the most expensive figures in a Twenty20 game.
91 - The number of runs scored off free hits (39).
124.03 - The average runs scored per hundred balls by the batsmen. In other words, the batting strike rate
197.82 Shahid Afridi's strike rate, the highest in the tournament for anyone facing a minimum of 25 deliveries
260 - The highest total in a Twenty20 international, made by Sri Lanka against a hapless Kenya, who could muster only 161 in their two outings in the tournament.
265 - The number of sixes hit in the ICC World Twenty20, with Craig McMillan topping the charts with 13. The corresponding figure for the World Cup in the West Indies was 373, in 51 matches and of course 50-over games.
269 - The runs scored off 207 wide balls bowled during the tournament, with West Indies squandering away 23 runs against South Africa in the opening match.
418 The most runs scored in a single match (and a record for Twenty20 internationals); this was from the England-India match in Durban.
659 - The number of fours hit during the tournament. Add to that the 265 sixes and 348 wickets, and you'd guess the dancers at the grounds had a pretty busy time!