DRS, batting Powerplays, and starting with spin

An all-time high run-rate
The average runs scored per over so far is 5.07, which is the highest so far among the ten World Cups. The 2007 tournament is next with 4.95, which means this could be the first World Cup with a five-plus run-rate.

The weaker nations have obviously been involved in a lot of matches in this tournament due to its format, but while their batting has brought down the overall run-rate, their bowling has boosted it. In the 16 matches in which the nine Test-playing teams have played each other, the average run-rate has been 5.12, which is marginally higher than the overall tournament run-rate.

Also, there've been 20 centuries scored so far, which equals the 2007 tally, and is only one short of the record total of 21 hundreds which were scored in the 2003 edition.

In terms of 300-plus scores, this World Cup has already broken the earlier record: there have been 17 so far, while there were only 16 in 2007. The difference, though, is the lack of the really high scores: in 2007, there were eight scores of more than 340; this time, there have been only three.

Of the 17 scores of 300 or more, only six have come against the top teams, and Ireland's outstanding chase of England's 327 is the only instance of a lesser team scoring more than 300 against a top side.

Competitive or one-sided?
With so many games involving the weaker teams, it was inevitable that many games would be one-sided, and so it has been in the first phase of the World Cup. Of the 41 games that have produced results, 24 have been decided by a margin of more than 75 runs, or by five or more wickets with 30 or more deliveries to spare. Of those 24 games, 16 have involved the weaker teams.

A tale of three countries
The pitch in Chennai hasn't been batsman-friendly, but most of the other venues in India have seen good batting conditions, with the result that the overall run-rate in matches played in India is 5.22, which is well clear of the rates in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The rate in Bangladesh suffers also due to the two abject collapses by the home team, who were bowled out for 58 and 78 by West Indies and South Africa. Out of the 20 centuries scored in the World Cup, 14 have been scored in the 26 matches in India - an average of 1.86 matches per hundred. In Sri Lanka the average is 2.50 matches per hundred, while it's three in Bangladesh.

In terms of grounds, the top five run-rates all belong to Indian venues, with Pallekele and Hambantota occupying the next two spots.

The toss factor
Out of the 42 matches so far, 22 have been won by the team batting first and 18 by the side chasing (one match was washed out and one was tied). In 30 day-night games, 15 were won by the team batting first, and 13 by the team chasing. Also, of the 40 games which produced a decisive winner, exactly 20 were won by the team which won the toss. In the 16 matches involving the top nine teams, though, ten were won by the team which won the toss, while only four times did a team win the toss and lose the game. (One match was tied, and one washed out.)

The teams batting first also have a much higher run-rate, with 80% of the centuries being scored by them. The four batsmen to score centuries in run-chases so far in the tournament are AB de Villiers, Andrew Strauss, Paul Stirling, and Kevin O'Brien.

The dreaded batting Powerplay
It's the five-over period that's come in for the most discussion in this World Cup, so here are the batting Powerplay numbers. The overall run-rate in these Powerplays is 7.89, while the average runs per wicket is almost 22. That converts into a five-over score of almost 40 runs, for the loss of nearly two wickets.

New Zealand have the highest run-rate of all teams, and they also made the most runs in a single batting Powerplay, scoring 74 against Canada. The second-best effort was Pakistan's 70 against Kenya. England have lost the most wickets, followed by India.

Starting with spin
It's been done in one-day internationals from time to time, but never as often as in this World Cup. Dipak Patel and New Zealand made the headlines for using that tactic so successfully in 1992, but thereafter it was used sparingly: only once in 1999, three times in 2003, and never in 2007. In this World Cup, though, a spinner has opened the bowling - ie, bowled one of the first two overs - 26 times in 83 innings, which is almost once every three innings.

The team which has used this tactic most often is one from whom you'd have never expected it a couple of decades back. West Indies have opened the bowling with Sulieman Benn in each of their six matches, even against India on a bouncy track in Chennai which cried out for two fast bowlers to exploit it. Zimbabwe have started with Ray Price five times - they opened with two fast bowlers against Sri Lanka - but the team which has used this tactic most successfully is South Africa. Johan Botha got rid of Chris Gayle in their first match of the tournament, and Robin Peterson went one better, dismissing both Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen in his first over.

Out of 14 teams, nine have used a spinner to open the bowling at least once. The ones who haven't are Australia, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Canada, and Kenya.

The DRS results
In all, 162 decisions have been reviewed so far, of which 35 have been upheld (ie, the original decision has been changed), while 127 have been struck down. That means 21.60%, or about one in five appeals, have been successful. Of these, the success rate for batsmen has been 23.19% (16 out of 69), while for the fielding team it's 20.43% (19 out of 93).

South Africa have used the DRS better than any other side with a success rate of more than 38%. Zimbabwe and Canada, while not matching South Africa for results, have done almost as well in terms of reviews.

Ireland impressed everyone with their skills with bat, ball, and in the field, but they'll need to do some work on the DRS - they didn't get a single review correct in 11 attempts, making them the only team with a 0% record. Bangladesh, Netherlands and New Zealand weren't much better.

Among umpires, Aleem Dar, Ian Gould and Billy Bowden haven't had a single decision overturned through the DRS. At the other end of the scale are Asoka de Silva and Daryl Harper, with 50% or more of their decisions being overturned.

Kumar Dharmasena's decisions have been challenged more than that of any other umpire, but most of his calls - 14 out of 16 - have withstood the test of technology.