A compilation of statistical highlights from the nine World Cup tournaments
Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan19-Feb-2011Glenn McGrath: most wickets and most maiden overs in World Cups•Getty Images121.17 – The best strike rate for a batsman in World Cup matches
Among batsmen who have played at least 10 matches and scored 300 runs, Lance Klusener’s strike rate is comfortably the highest, followed by Kapil Dev, who scored 669 runs at 115.14. Klusener also averages 124 by virtue of being dismissed only three times in 11 innings.4.95 – The highest run-rate in a single World Cup tournament
The 2007 World Cup had a run-rate of 4.95, the highest among all tournaments. It is followed by the 1987 World Cup in the subcontinent, which had a run-rate of 4.87. In contrast, the 1979 World Cup produced the lowest scoring rate, of just 3.54.21 – The most centuries scored by a team in World Cups
Australia have scored 21 centuries in 69 World Cup matches, the most for any team. They are followed by India who have 15 hundreds in 58 matches.105 – The most runs conceded by a bowler in an innings in World Cups
New Zealand fast bowler Martin Snedden conceded 105 runs off his 12 overs against England in the 1983 World Cup game at The Oval, the most conceded by any bowler in a World Cup match. Asantha de Mel is next, having conceded 97 runs against West Indies at Karachi in 1987.12 – The number of batsman with 1000 or more runs in World Cups
Twelve batsmen have scored over 1000 runs in World Cups. While Sachin Tendulkar has the most runs (1796), Viv Richards has the best average (63.31) and Adam Gilchrist, the best strike rate (98.01) among these 12.42 – The most maiden overs bowled in World Cups
Glenn McGrath has bowled 42 maiden overs in 39 World Cup matches, the most by any bowler. He is followed by Chaminda Vaas and Richard Hadlee, who have bowled 39 and 38 maiden overs respectively.25 – The most catches by a fielder in World Cups
Ricky Ponting has held 25 catches in 39 World Cup matches, the most by any fielder. Sanath Jayasuriya is next, with 18 in 38 matches.19 – The number of Player of the Match awards in World Cup defeats
There have been 19 occasions when a player from the losing team has gone on to win the Player of the Match award. John Davison of Canada and Dave Houghton of Zimbabwe have each won the award on two such occasions.4 -The number of one-wicket wins in World Cups
There have been four occasions in World Cups when a team has gone on to win by one wicket. West Indies have been involved in three of the matches, winning once and losing twice.0 – The number of wins for India against Australia while chasing in World Cups
India have lost on all six occasions when they have chased against Australia in World Cups. They have twice lost by a margin of one run. Their heaviest defeat was by a margin of 162 runs in 1983.29 – Longest undefeated streak in World Cups
Australia last lost a World Cup match in the 1999 tournament, when they went down by ten runs against Pakistan. Since then, they have won 28 matches and tied one game.5 – The most run-out dismissals in a single innings in World Cup matches
There have been two occasions when five batsmen have been run out in a single innings in a World Cup match. Australia have been the team involved in both matches; the first in the 1975 World Cup final against West Indies and then against India in Mumbai in 1996.32 – The most century partnerships for a team in World Cups
Australia have had 32 century partnerships in World Cups, the most by any team. This includes ten century stands for the opening wicket, also the highest in World Cups.30 – The most sixes hit by a player in World Cups
Ponting, with 30 sixes in 36 innings, holds the record for hitting the most sixes in World Cups. He also shares the record for hitting the most sixes in an innings (8), with Adam Gilchrist and Imran Nazir.110 -The most runs in boundaries in an innings
With 17 fours and seven sixes, Sourav Ganguly scored 110 of his 183 runs in boundaries against Sri Lanka in Taunton in 1999. Richards is next, having scored 106 of his innings of 181 in boundaries, also against Sri Lanka, in the 1987 World Cup.7 – The number of ten-wicket wins in World Cups
There have been seven ten-wicket wins in World Cups, including three in the 2003 World Cup. The highest total chased without the loss of a single wicket is 221 by West Indies against Pakistan at the MCG in 1992.61.27 – The lowest strike-rate for a 100-plus score in World Cups
Gordon Greenidge’s strike rate of 61.27 in his 106 against India in 1979 is the lowest. At the other end is Matthew Hayden, who had a strike rate of 148.52 in his innings of 101 against South Africa in 2007.47.1 – The highest number of extras per match in a single tournament
The 1999 World Cup in England produced 1982 extras in 42 matches, at an average over 47 per match, which is the highest among all World Cups. In contrast, the 1979 World Cup had an average of just 25.9 extras per match.32 and 29.77 – The overall average of top-order (1-7) left-hand and right-hand batsmen in World Cups
Top-order left-hand batsmen have, on an average, performed better than right handers across the nine World Cups. Right-hand batsmen outperformed the left-handers in only two editions – the 1987 World Cup in the subcontinent and the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.5 – The number of players to make a fifty-plus score and pick up four wickets in a World Cup match
Five players have achieved the feat of scoring over 50 and picking up four wickets in an innings in World Cup match. Of these, only Feiko Kloppenburg of Netherlands has scored a century and picked up four wickets in the same match.106.66 – The highest batting average in World Cup wins (min 10 innings batted)
Rahul Dravid’s average of 106.66 in 13 innings is the highest in World Cup wins. He is followed by Andrew Symonds, who averages 103.00 with one century and three fifties. Ganguly and Mark Waugh have the most centuries in World Cup wins (four each).15.65 – The lowest bowling average in World Cup wins (min 10 innings bowled)
Zaheer Khan has picked up 20 wickets at an average of 15.65 in World Cup wins, the best in the tournament’s history. McGrath is a close second with 68 wickets at an average of 15.73.17 – The number of semi-final and final matches won by the team batting first
Out of the 27 semi-final and final matches played in World Cups so far, 17 have been won by the team batting first. There have been nine wins for the team batting second and one tie.134 – The lowest successfully defended total in World Cups
Zimbabwe beat England by nine runs in their World Cup match in 1992 defending a score of 134, which is the lowest total successfully defended in World Cups. On the other hand, the highest target successfully chased is 313 by Sri Lanka against Zimbabwe in 1992.4 – The highest number of four-wicket hauls in World Cups
Shane Warne has picked up four wickets in an innings on four occasions, including in the semi-final and final of the 1999 World Cup. He is followed by Abdul Qadir, Muttiah Muralitharan and Wasim Akram who have three four-wicket hauls each.