T20 World Cup data dive: Afghanistan duo top the charts, Pooran the big hitter as India and Kohli set final record

By Sports Desk July 01, 2024

The T20 World Cup came to a thrilling conclusion over the weekend, with India clinching their second title by beating South Africa.

Rohit Sharma's side claimed a seven-run win over the Proteas in Barbados on Saturday.

Virat Kohli turned on the style at just the right time, while Jasprit Bumrah starred with the ball.

But what about the standout statistics when looking back at the tournament as a whole? 

Afghanistan duo top the charts

Afghanistan were the unlikely semi-finalists as they finished second in Group 1 of the Super 8s, ahead of Australia.

And their deep run owed much to the form of Rahmanullah Gurbaz with the bat and Fazalhaq Farooqi with the ball.

Gurbaz finished as the tournament's top scorer, with 281 runs across his eight innings - an average of 35.12. He had a strike rate of 124.33 and a high score of 80, hitting three half-centuries and plundering 16 sixes and 18 fours.

India captain Rohit was second on the list, 24 runs back (257), with Australia's Travis Head third with 253, though they both boasted a better strike rate than Gurbaz (156.7 and 158.38 respectively).

 Farooqi, meanwhile, took a tournament-leading 17 wickets, a tally he shared with India's Arshdeep Singh.

However, while Singh went for 215 runs from his 30 overs, Farooqi conceded just 160 runs from his 25.2 overs, for a bowling economy of 6.31.

Farooqi also finished with the best figures for a single match, taking 5-9 against Uganda on June 3.

India's hero Bumrah, meanwhile, finished with figures of 15-124, while South Africa paceman Anrich Nortje took 15-201.

Pooran the entertainer

West Indies could not get over the line in their home tournament, but that was not for the efforts of Nicholas Pooran, who proved to be the World Cup's great entertainer.

If Pooran was involved, you could bet there would be fun, as he smashed 17 sixes across his seven innings.

He also claimed the tournament's highest score, with his 98 from just 53 balls against Afghanistan on June 17, as the Windies set the highest score of the competition (218-5).

That knock included a remarkable eight maximums, so essentially half of Pooran's total.

Australia's Head struck the most fours (26), while South Africa skipper Aiden Markram was the one to avoid in the field when hitting big.

Markram took eight catches in nine matches, leading the tournament ahead of Harry Brook, Tristen Stubbs and Glenn Maxwell (all seven).

Records tumble in the final

Kohli smashed 76 runs from 59 balls in the final, helping India reach 176-7 - that is the highest score in a men's T20 World Cup final.

India's former captain had managed just 75 runs combined across his previous seven innings before the final, but came into form at the right time.

However, he bowed out of the shortest format having become just the third player to score more than 50 runs in multiple men's T20 World Cup finals, after Marlon Samuels and Kumar Sangakkara.

Yet South Africa looked all set to claim the trophy as they started the chase brilliantly, with Heinrich Klaasen reaching 50 from just 23 deliveries.

It is the fastest half-century in a men's T20 World Cup final, with Klaassen overtaking the previous record, set by Mitchell Marsh in 2021, by eight balls.

But from needing 30 runs from as many deliveries, South Africa collapsed, and India became the third team to win the T20 World Cup on multiple occasions, after West Indies and England.

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