Who was the best? Cricket’s T20 World Cup reviewed in numbers

A breakdown of who scored the most runs, took the most wickets and had the highest winning percentage.

The Twenty20 World Cup came to an end on Sunday, with England beating Pakistan by five wickets to win the trophy for the second time.

England became the first team to hold two ICC World Cup trophies at the same time, as they won the 50-over version in 2019.

What was being touted as a face-off between the best bowling attack (Pakistan) and the best batting unit (England) of the tournament lived up to its billing as the latter were made to fight by the Pakistani bowlers in chase of a modest target.

In the end, England’s hero of the 2019 World Cup triumph, Ben Stokes, took them home with six balls to spare.

Here is how the tournament shaped up in numbers:

Most runs

Despite his side’s failure to progress to the final, India’s Virat Kohli ended the tournament as the top scorer.

His 296 runs came in six innings, with four half-centuries. Sandwiched between him and compatriot Suryakumar Yadav is a less familiar name: Max O’Dowd of the Netherlands who scored 242 runs, including in the first round of the tournament that served as qualifiers for the Super 12 main event.

Virat Kohli (India) – 296 runs, six innings
Max O’Dowd (Netherlands) – 242 runs, eight innings
Suryakumar Yadav (India) – 239 runs, six innings
Jos Buttler (England) – 225 runs, six innings
Kusal Mendis (Sri Lanka) – 223 runs, six innings

Most wickets

The wicket-takers chart is led by Sri Lanka’s legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who ended the tournament with 15 wickets from eight matches. The rest of the lineup includes fast bowlers. Player of the tournament Sam Curran of England finished second with 13 wickets from six matches, including a five-wicket haul.

Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva (Sri Lanka) – 15 wickets, eight matches
Sam Curran (England) – 13 wickets, six matches
Bas De Leede (Netherlands) – 13 wickets, seven matches
Blessing Muzarabani (Zimbabwe) – 12 wickets, seven matches
Anrich Nortje (South Africa) – 11 wickets, five matches

Highest individual scores

The tournament saw two T20 centuries, not surprisingly from two of the highest-scoring matches. Rilee Russow thrashed Bangladeshi bowling for 109 runs off just 54 balls, while Glenn Phillips lit up the tournament with 104 from 64 balls against Sri Lanka.

Rilee Russow (South Africa) – 109 off 56
Glenn Phillips (New Zealand) – 104 off 64
Devon Conway (New Zealand) – 92* off 58
Alex Hales (England) – 86* off 47
Michael Jones (Scotland) – 86 off 55

Best bowling figures

England’s left-arm pace bowler Curran finished with the best bowling figures of the tournament, and the only five-wicket haul.

Sam Curran (England) – 5-10 in 3.4 overs vs Afghanistan
Anrich Nortje (South Africa) – 4-10 in 3.3 overs vs Bangladesh
Trent Boult (New Zealand) – 4-13 in 4 overs vs Sri Lanka
Alzarri Joseph (West Indies) – 4-16 in 4 overs vs Zimbabwe
Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan) – 4-22 in 4 overs vs Bangladesh

Best economy rates (minimum 10 overs)

T20 cricket is all about scoring quickly, making those bowlers who are able to keep the opposition’s scoring rate in check a rarity. Jason Holder of the West Indies leads this pack despite his team’s exit before the Super 12 stage.

Jason Holder (West Indies) – 4.74 in 10.2 overs
Zahoor Khan (UAE) – 4.75 in 12 overs
Bernard Scholtz (Namibia) – 5.08 in 12 overs
Anrich Nortje (South Africa) – 5.37 in 17.3 overs
Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh) – 5.6 in 20 overs

Highest team totals

New Zealand opened the Super 12 stage in grand style by posting a 200-plus total against defending champions and hosts Australia. It seemed like the tournament would see more of those but only South Africa managed to cross the 200-run mark again – a 205-5 against Bangladesh.

South Africa – 205-5 vs Bangladesh
New Zealand – 200-3 vs Australia
India – 186-5 vs Zimbabwe
Pakistan – 185-9 vs South Africa
New Zealand – 185-6 vs Ireland

Lowest totals

While the Super 12s saw the 200-run mark being crossed, the group stages had some low-scoring games. UAE’s capitulation against Sri Lanka for 73 was the lowest score, while Sri Lanka posted two of the five lowest scores during the tournament.

UAE – 73 vs Sri Lanka
Netherlands – 91-9 vs Pakistan
Bangladesh – 101 vs South Africa
Sri Lanka – 102 vs New Zealand
Sri Lanka – 108 vs Namibia

Highest winning percentages (teams)

England had a mixed start to the tournament but picked up crucial wins towards the end of the tournament, capping it with the most important victory of all on Sunday. Pakistan, despite making it to the final, ended up with the fifth-best win percentage.

England – 83.33 percent
Australia – 75 percent
India – 66.67 percent
New Zealand – 60 percent
Pakistan – 57.14 percent

Highest strike rates (minimum four innings)

India’s young batsman Yadav climbed to the top of the T20 rankings during the tournament. His audacious stroke play and ability to hit boundaries in the most difficult places make him a threat. He ended the tournament with the highest strike rate of 189.7.

Suryakumar Yadav (India) 189.7 – 239 runs, 126 balls
Fin Allen (New Zealand) 186.3 – 95 runs, 51 balls
Rilee Russow (South Africa) 169.8 – 141 runs, 83 balls
Shadab Khan (Pakistan) 169 – 98 runs, 58 balls
Paul van Meekeren (Netherlands) 166.7 – 45 runs, 27 balls

Most sixes

While it may seem like T20 cricket is all about hitting sixes and fours, it has not been the case in this tournament with big Australian grounds and some good displays of bowling. Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza managed to cross the rope 11 times in his eight innings.

Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe) – 11 sixes, eight innings
Alex Hales (England) – 10 sixes, six innings
Kusal Mendis (Sri Lanka) – 10 sixes, eight innings
Rilee Russow (South Africa) – nine sixes, four innings
Marcus Stoinis (Australia) – nine sixes, four innings

Biggest partnerships

The fate of most T20 matches depends on how well the team’s opening pair of batters perform and build a foundation for the players to follow. In England’s case, their openers have helped them in most instances, most importantly in the semi-final win over India where they scored 170 runs without breaking a sweat or losing a wicket.