Mahendra Singh Dhoni blamed the poor batting performance by the side following the 47-run defeat against New Zealand in the opening clash of the ICC World Twenty20 2016 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur on Tuesday (March 15).
Having restricted New Zealand to 126 for 7 in 20 overs, India were skittled out for 79 runs - their second lowest in T20 Internationals. While he felt that the bowlers did a good job in restricting the visitors, the batsmen erred in shot selection. On a track that offered turn, India lost nine wickets to New Zealand's spin trio of Nathan McCullum, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi.
"I think it was a low scoring wicket," Dhoni said at the post match presentation. "I thought we restricted them to a good total, but the batting let us down. The shot selection kept putting pressure on the batsmen coming in.
"They (New Zealand) bowled well, exploited the conditions, but we lacked adaptability, we could have applied ourselves a little more. The batting let us down."
Meanwhile Kane Williamson, New Zealand skipper, was pleased with his team's performance. Entering the contest, he came without his pace spearheads - Tim Southee and Trent boult, who have enjoyed success in sub continent.
However, he had asserted that New Zealand will play smart cricket and according to the conditions on offer. The move to play three spinners worked for them as they troubled the Indian batsmen. "I am very pleased. It was a tough surface." he said. "With the bat whatever score was going to be tough, we would have liked to have a few more. We wanted to be aggressive at the start, the format dictates that, we may reflect on that though and try and do it better.
"The message to the bowling attack was to be patient and apply pressure and we did that well."
It was only the second time in Twenty20 Internationals that nine wickets feel to spinners in a single innings.
From Yuvraj Singh's brilliance in the maiden edition of the World T20 in 2007 to Stephan Myburgh's unbelievable knock to help Netherlands pull off a heist in 2014, there have been some superb batting efforts in the World Cups for the 20-over format. Here, we look at some of those:
1. Yuvraj Singh (58 off 16) vs England, Kingsmead Durban, 2007
India, who had lost to New Zealand in their previous Super-8s game, needed a victory to keep their semi-final hopes alive. Opting to bat first against England at Kingsmead Durban, they were off to a solid start, but losing Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa in successive overs came as a blow to their endeavour to post a 200+ total. The MS Dhoni-led side were 159 for 3 at the end of the 17th over, when Flintoff was re-introduced into the attack, and was hit for two back-to-back fours by Yuvraj. The batsman was on 14 off 6 when Broad came on to bowl the penultimate over. Flintoff, before the start of the over, had some words to say to the Indian left-hander and that spurred Yuvraj to a record-breaking feat.
The fuse was triggered and Yuvraj vented it out against Broad as the first ball went deep into the stands over wide long on. Broad responded with a full delivery on leg, which was nonchalantly flicked over deep backward square leg; Flintoff smiled on wryly. Yuvraj then brought out the big golf swing to deposit the ball over long off, and followed it up by belting a high full-toss over the point boundary. A nervous Broad had a chat with skipper Paul Collingwood and decided to switch back to over-the-wicket. It made no difference to the left-hander, who cleared the square-leg fence and in the process, powered India past 200.
The anticipation for the final delivery was palpable and Yuvraj did not disappoint as he smashed the next one wide of the long-on fence, and history was made. The first to score six sixes in T20I and the fastest fifty (off 12 deliveries), Yuvraj was dismissed by Flintoff in the final over, but not before he had managed another six, as he finished with an astonishing 58 off 16, which helped India post a mammoth 218 for 4, a total which England fell short by 18.
2. Tillakaratne Dilshan (96* off 57) vs West Indies, The Oval London, 2009
Tillakaratne Dilshan was having a superb World T20, and had even mastered a stroke that would bear his trade-mark - Dilscoop. Sri Lanka though, were in a spot of bother in the semi-final against West Indies after being asked to bat. While the openers - Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya - got the team off to a superb start, quick wickets hurt Sri Lanka's progress with big guns like Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene falling in space of six deliveries. The top-heavy Sri Lankan team needed Dilshan, who was batting on 47 at that stage - with two sixes and five fours - to score big.
Score big he did, and cleverly too. Considering that his wicket would have put Sri Lanka in further trouble, the right-hander did not attempt any big hits, choosing instead to use the field to his advantage. He did not score any more sixes, but that did not affect his scoring rate as he dealt in fours regularly. He finished with 12 fours, and his knock of 96 came off only 57 deliveries as he helped Sri Lanka post a competitive 158, and the Sri Lanka bowlers ensured that his superb effort did not go in vain.
3. Michael Hussey (60* off 24) vs Pakistan, Beausejour Stadium Gros Islet, 2010
It was the semi-final of the World T20, Australia were facing the defending champions and they had a mountain to climb. Asked to bat, Pakistan posted a mammoth 191 for 6 on the board and Australia, in reply, did not have the best of starts. Openers David Warner and Shane Watson fell early and Australia kept losing wickets at regular intervals as the game progressed. Cameron White, in partnership with Michael Hussey, led the recovery, but Australia were reeling at 144 for 7 in 17.1 overs when White and Steven Smith departed in quick succession.
What could Michael Hussey, known as an accumulator do, with Australia needing 48 off 17 deliveries? That Saeed Ajmal, fresh from a four-wicket haul against South Africa, would bowl 11 off the remaining 17 deliveries, made the equation seem even taller for Australia. But Mike Hussey did not think so. With a six off Ajmal in the 18th over and two fours off Mohammad Amir in the 19th, Hussey brought the equation down to 18 off the final over.
It was Mitchell Johnson on strike for the first delivery and he managed to edge the ball to short fine-leg to manage a single and get Hussey back on strike. What followed was something special that Australia would savour for years. Two back-to-back sixes to the leg-side helped Hussey bring up his half-century off only 22 deliveries, and the left-hander finished things off in style, scoring a boundary and hitting the winning run with a massive six to help Australia win with one delivery to spare and enter a World T20 final for the first time.
4. Marlon Samuels (78 off 56 balls) vs Sri Lanka, R Premadasa Stadium Colombo, 2012
Since 1979, West Indies did not have a single World title (Champions Trophy not considered). They had entered the final of a World event for the first time since 1983, but the odds were against them in the World T20, 2012 summit clash, considering that hosts Sri Lanka were their opponents. And a difficult pitch made their task even tougher. Opting to bat, West Indies seemed to be going no where - Johnson Charles got out for a duck while Chris Gayle (3 off 16) fell after a struggle.
During a half-century stand with Dwayne Bravo, Samuels took the attack to Lasith Malinga, scoring three sixes off Sri Lanka's premier quick in the 13th over to help West Indies get a move on. While Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell departed in quick succession, Samuels was unperturbed with the procession of wickets, continuing his onslaught. He scored two more sixes off Malinga, in the 17th over, before he finally got out. However, he made sure that West Indies, who were reeling at 48/2 after 12 overs, crossed the 100-run mark.
Darren Sammy made sure to utilize the platform provided by Samuels, helping West Indies finish with 137/6 - a total that proved to be sufficient in the end. However, had it not been for Samuels's efforts, West Indies may not have even come close to clinching their first World title in 33 years.
5. Stephan Myburgh (63 off 23) vs Ireland, Sylhet Stadium, 2014
A target of 190 in 20 overs in itself is a tough ask. To make the task an even taller one, Netherlands needed to get to the target set by Ireland in 14.2 overs or lesser if they had to get past the qualifying stage in the 2014 edition of World T20. From the outset, the Dutch had to be positive, and that they were, thanks to Peter Borren and Stephan Myburgh. The latter was particularly in a punishing mood, sending Ireland on a leather hunt as he hit the ball to all parts of the park. McBrine was hit for four sixes in the second over - three were scored by Myburgh - before the left-hander hit Cusack for three more maximums. He went on to register a 17-ball fifty - now the joint third-fastest in T20I cricket - as Netherlands managed 91 in the powerplay.
Although Borren and Myburgh fell after their superb opening stand, the left-handed opener had ensured that Netherlands stood a good chance of pulling off the improbable chase. Wesley Barresi and Tom Cooper ensured that Myburgh's efforts did not go in vain.
With the first stage of the ICC WT20 2016 concluded, the real battles will begin now. Before hosts India take on New Zealand in Nagpur in the Super Ten opener on Tuesday (March 15), we take a look back at some important numbers from the five previous editions of the tournament.
All five tournaments were hosted by different countries and had different winners. A young exuberant India lifted the trophy in the inaugural edition in 2007 while Sri Lanka finally shed their tags of being the perennial bridesmaids to win the coveted trophy in 2014. The first four editions had a league round which had 12 participants followed by a Super Eight. This was replaced by a qualifying round and Super Ten from 2014 which led to an increase in participating nations from 12 to 16.
WT20s A summary across all editions
Year
Teams
Host
Matches
Winner
Winning Captain
Runners Up
2007
12
South Africa
27
India
MS Dhoni
Pakistan
2009
12
England
27
Pakistan
Younis Khan
Sri Lanka
2010
12
West Indies
27
England
Paul Collingwood
Australia
2012
12
Sri Lanka
27
West Indies
Darren Sammy
Sri Lanka
2014
16
Bangladesh
35
Sri Lanka
Lasith Malinga
India
WT20s The big names
Year
Most Runs
Most Wickets
Player of the Final
Player of the Series
2007
Matthew Hayden (265)
Umar Gul (13)
Irfan Pathan
Shahid Afridi
2009
Tillakaratne Dilshan (317)
Umar Gul (13)
Shahid Afridi
Tillakaratne Dilshan
2010
Mahela Jayawardene (302)
Dirk Nannes (14)
Craig Kieswetter
Kevin Pietersen
2012
Shane Watson (249)
Ajantha Mendis (15)
Marlon Samuels
Shane Watson
2014
Virat Kohli (319)
Imran Tahir (12)
Kumar Sangakkara
Virat Kohli
# The wickets column only includes the Super Ten stages for 2014 edition.
Sri Lanka and Pakistan have been the two leading teams in WT20s across the five editions. Both have made it to the semis four times each Pakistan in the first four editions and Sri Lanka in the last four. Australia are yet to win the trophy whereas New Zealand and South Africa, much like their record in 50-over World Cup records till last year, are yet to make it to the finals even once. West Indies were knocked out by Sri Lanka twice in the semis but came back to win from an improbable position to lift the trophy in 2012.
England reached the last four only once in 2010 and went on to lift their first and only world title till date. India, the inaugural winners, didn't go past the Super Eight for the next three editions but ended as the runners up in 2014 with their only loss in that tournament coming in the grand finale. No host nation has ever won the World T20.
Team
Matches
Won
Lost
Tied
NR
W/L
HS
LS
Sri Lanka
31
21
9
1
0
2.333
260
87
Pakistan
30
18
11
1
0
1.636
191
82
India
28
17
9
1
1
1.888
218
135
England
26
11
14
0
1
0.785
200
80
South Africa
26
16
10
0
0
1.6
211
129
Australia
25
14
11
0
0
1.272
197
86
New Zealand
25
11
12
2
0
0.916
198
60
West Indies
25
12
11
1
1
1.09
205
101
Unsurprisingly, West Indies play out the largest percentage of dot balls (42.66) but make up for it by hitting lots of boundaries. Nearly 60% of their runs have come in boundaries. Australia is the other team following the same pattern as the West Indies with a dot ball percentage of nearly 39 and boundary to ball percentage of 16.62 (the highest) and boundary to runs percentage of 59.69 (only behind West Indies).
At the other end of the spectrum, there is South Africa, who maintain the lowest dot ball percentage (36.6) while farming the strike most often. Their singles percentage of 40.14 is the most with only India (39.7) offering any competition in the metric. Only 53% of their runs come from boundaries which is the lowest for any team. India also closely follow the South African pattern with the difference being that they considerably more fours (10.89% of balls), only behind England's 11.25%.
New Zealandalso consume a lot of dots (39.61) and have the fewest percentage of fours (9.75) but they compensate by hitting sixes (4.36% - only behind Australia and West Indies).
Note: Stats for Bangladesh have been accounted for in an earlier piece. Stats against Bangladesh have been taken into account here.
Batting:
Team
Dots
Singles
Twos
Threes
Fours
Fives
Sixes
Total Runs
Total Balls
Australia
1041
981
190
16
289
0
155
3495
2672
England
1140
1139
266
23
341
0
121
3830
3030
India
1177
1247
232
16
342
0
127
3889
3141
New Zealand
1044
995
211
13
257
1
115
3179
2636
Pakistan
1398
1284
311
15
368
1
131
4214
3508
South Africa
1086
1191
246
14
317
0
113
3671
2967
Sri Lanka
1386
1280
289
17
422
0
117
4299
3511
West Indies
1128
891
194
8
286
1
136
3268
2644
Grand Total
9400
9008
1939
122
2622
3
1015
29845
24109
Bowling:
Team
Dots
Singles
Twos
Threes
Fours
Fives
Sixes
Runs Conceded
Total Balls
Australia
1208
1044
220
5
311
0
125
3493
2913
England
1079
999
239
14
289
0
106
3311
2726
India
1327
1092
241
17
301
0
146
3705
3124
New Zealand
1101
1048
211
13
303
1
108
3374
2785
Pakistan
1438
1349
282
17
374
0
125
4210
3585
South Africa
1254
1073
216
11
311
0
111
3448
2976
Sri Lanka
1356
1198
259
19
306
1
109
3663
3249
West Indies
1112
1034
211
19
322
0
104
3425
2802
Grand Total
9875
8837
1879
115
2517
2
934
28629
24160
Along expected lines, the teams that have the biggest boundary hitters are also the ones leading the run rate charts. West Indies and Australia top this list largely due to their rapid scoring in the death overs. India have also done well in the last five overs but have been considerably sedate during the Powerplay overs reducing their overall rate. Pakistan is the only team to score below seven in the Powerplays and below nine in the last five. However their overall economy rate of 7.41 is only behind Sri Lanka's 7.17. Like their batting counterparts, Indian bowlers have been sedate in the Powerplays while leaking runs in the last five. Sri Lanka have been remarkably good with the ball at all stages of the match while New Zealand have been exceptional in the middle overs after conceding a lot in the first six.
Scoring Rates:
Team
Overs 1-6
Overs 7-15
Overs 16-20
Overall
Australia
7.38
8.12
9.71
8.27
England
7.56
7.62
9.31
8.03
India
7.02
7.49
9.79
7.91
New Zealand
7.09
7.38
9.16
7.72
Pakistan
6.87
7.58
8.51
7.74
South Africa
7.27
7.29
9.7
7.88
Sri Lanka
7.68
7.21
9.34
7.91
West Indies
7.2
7.62
10.03
8.06
Economy Rates:
Team
Overs 1-6
Overs 7-15
Overs 16-20
Overall
Australia
6.94
7.75
8.73
7.79
England
7.08
7.37
9.63
7.83
India
6.59
7.17
9.41
7.53
New Zealand
8.12
6.64
8.61
7.63
Pakistan
7.2
7.14
8.51
7.41
South Africa
7.03
7.32
8.26
7.48
Sri Lanka
6.25
7.12
8.52
7.17
West Indies
7.21
7.58
9.08
7.86
Sri Lanka recorded the highest total in all T20Is against Kenya at Johannesburg in 2007. Overall there have been six totals in excess of 200 in WT20 matches with chasing sides scoring 200+ taking place twice. However, the only win chasing a 200+ target came in the inaugural match between hosts South Africa and West Indies as a Chris Gayle century went in vain.
Highest Totals:
Team
Score
Result
Opposition
Ground
Date
Sri Lanka
260/6
Won
Kenya
Johannesburg
14-09-2007
India
218/4
Won
England
Durban
19-09-2007
South Africa
211/5
Won
Scotland
The Oval, London
07-06-2009
South Africa
208/2
Won
West Indies
Johannesburg
11-09-2007
West Indies
205/6
Lost
South Africa
Johannesburg
11-09-2007
West Indies
205/4
Won
Australia
Colombo (RPS)
05-10-2012
England
200/6
Lost
India
Durban
19-09-2007
Netherlands' 39 against Sri Lanka at Chittagong remains the lowest total ever in a T20I by any team. A week later, New Zealand were at the receiving end when they got bundled out for 60 lowest by a Test playing nation in all T20Is. That match saw Kane Williamson scoring exactly 70% of team's total runs a record in T20Is.
Lowest Totals:
Team
Score
Result
Opposition
Ground
Date
Netherlands
39
Lost
Sri Lanka
Chittagong
24-03-2014
New Zealand
60
Lost
Sri Lanka
Chittagong
31-03-2014
Ireland
68
Lost
West Indies
Providence, Guyana
30-04-2010
Hong Kong
69
Lost
Nepal
Chittagong
16-03-2014
Afghanistan
72
Lost
Bangladesh
Mirpur
16-03-2014
Kenya
73
Lost
New Zealand
Durban
12-09-2007
Sri Lanka won the Johannesburg match against Kenya by 172 runs after scoring 260 themselves a record not just in WT20 but in all T20 games. Overall there have been nine instances of a team winning with margin of 100 or more runs with the top three coming in WT20s. Sri Lanka again tops the largest win with balls remaining (90 balls) another T20I record. However they have been at the receiving end once. They remain the only test playing nation other than Zimbabwe to lose a WT20 match by 10 wickets.
Largest victories - By 100 or more runs
Team
Margin
Opponent
Ground
Date
Sri Lanka
172 runs
Kenya
Johannesburg
14-09-2007
South Africa
130 runs
Scotland
The Oval
07-06-2009
England
116 runs
Afghanistan
Colombo (RPS)
21-09-2012
# The largest margin of victory by an associate against a full member team is 45 runs by Netherlands against England at Chittagong on 31 Mar 2014.
Largest Victories - By 10 wickets
Team
Margin
Opponent
Ground
Date
Australia
10 wkts
Sri Lanka
Cape Town
20-09-2007
South Africa
10 wkts
Zimbabwe
Hambantota
20-09-2012
Largest victories with 50 or more balls remaining
Team
Margin
Opponent
Ground
Date
Sri Lanka
90 balls
Netherlands
Chittagong
24-03-2014
New Zealand
74 balls
Kenya
Durban
12-09-2007
Australia
58 balls
Sri Lanka
Cape Town
20-09-2007
WT20 has also witnessed quite a few humdingers over the years including the first ever WT20 final between arch rivals India and Pakistan where the eventual difference between the sides were just 5 runs! South Africa is one team which been at the right end of quite a few close encounters.
