By now you would be quite familiar with the finalists’ national anthems-so you can hear them once more from well-known artistes:
Australia:
New Zealand:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhCgcZ0efAA
As mentioned earlier, even if you look back for ODIs in the past 5 years you will find one win apiece-Australia in the 2011 WC and New Zealand more recently. And they have not met in Australia in this period.
In my earlier post on March 26, I had summed up the overall performances for players from the four semi-final teams. Today we take a look at the best individual performances.
Batting-scores of 90 and above:
The most fours is by Guptill (24). He also has the most sixes (11).
We now take a closer look at the strike rate:
Bowling-strike rate of 110 and above, for scores 50 and above:
McCullum tops this list, while de Villiers has the best strike rate for scores above 100.
Now for the best innings bowling:
Bowling-4 or more wickets in an innings:
Southee and Starc have the best individual hauls of 7 and 6 respectively.
The best economy rates are by Vettori (1.80) followed by Ashwin (2.50). Also note that Yadav is at the bottom with 8.00.
Looking at strike rates:
Strike rates for 4 or more wickets in an innings:
The best strike rates are by Starc (in first and third position) and Southee. Ashwin (but not Yadav) is one of those at the bottom.
Best innings fielding:
3 or more dismissals (keepers and non-keepers):
Dhoni has the most with 4, while several keepers and non-keepers have 3.
All-round performances in a match:
At least 30 runs and 3 wickets:
Only one instance-and Anderson may well be considered as the secret weapon of New Zealand.
And finally the best partnerships:
Partnerships above 100:
Nothing beyond the 5th wicket. The best opening partnership is by India’s Dhawan and Sharma.
May the best team win!
abn397 