The game changers of T20 WC 2021

With the match between India and Namibia on Monday, the Super 12s stage of the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup came to a close. The tournament hasn't been a very high-scoring one with the average run rate being 7.32. 200 has been scored only once. But the tussle between bat and ball has been even so far, making the tournament an intriguing affair. 

Let us look at some of the most significant numbers of the Super 12s of the tournament which will give an idea about the best performers. 

Most prolific batters and bowlers

Pakistan were the only team to win all the matches in the Super 12s and a lot of credit goes to their terrific opening pair- Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Azam, the Pakistan skipper, was the highest run-getter in the Super 12s. In five innings, he scored 264 runs at an average of 66. England's Jos Buttler is second in the list with 240 runs. 

Trent Boult and Adam Zampa were the joint-highest wicket-takers of the Super 12s stage with 11 wickets. Sri Lanka all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga picked up 10 wickets. All of them were pretty economical as well.

Quickest scorers

England won four out of their five matches in the main round of the World Cup. They've been the quickest scorers in white-ball cricket over the last few years and they lived up to the expectations in the ongoing tournament as well. England's run rate in the tournament-proper was 8.76, the highest in the tournament. Pakistani batters were the second quickest, scoring at 8.51 runs per over.

Asif Ali's strike rate of 247.82 is the highest among the batters who played at least 20 deliveries in the tournament. Asif faced 23 deliveries and scored 57 runs in the tournament. 46 of them came from boundaries- one four and seven sixes.

Best powerplay maximisers

Although they failed to qualify for the semifinals, India had a great powerplay (over 1-6) record in the Super 12s of the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup and much of the credit goes to their openers- Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul- who batted with class and intent especially in their last three matches. India had a run rate of 8.66 in the powerplay, better than any team in the tournament.  England, the champions of Group 1, aren't far behind with 8.33. Among batters who scored at least 100 runs in the powerplay in the tournament, KL Rahul (152.94) and Rohit Sharma (152.63) had the best strike rates. 

England bowlers also had a great time in the powerplay, restricting the opponents and picking up wickets. They picked 14 wickets between the first and sixth overs in the tournament. No team took more wickets in the Super 12s during this period. They were the most economical bowling side in the powerplay too, giving away only 5.30 runs per over. New Zealand's Tim Southee (4.63) and England's Chris Woakes (5.16) had the best economy rates in this phase. Josh Hazlewood and Mujeeb ur Rahman were the highest wicket-takers (6) in the powerplay.

Best death over operators

The Pakistani trio of Mohammad Rizwan, Shoaib Malik and Asif Ali were the quickest scorers in the slog overs (16-20) in the Super 12s of the tournament. Rizwan tops the list with a staggering strike rate of 305.88 (52 off 17 balls). Malik hit a quickfire fifty against Scotland and his strike rate during this period was 258.62. Asif Ali finished two tight games with his incredible power-hitting. His strike rate in the slog overs was 247.61. Unsurprisingly, Pakistan's run rate during this period in the tournament was 14.58, by far the best. 

New Zealand was one team that restricted the opposition at the death. They conceded only 8.78 runs per over between the 16th and 20th over in the tournament. New Zealand's Trent Boult had an economy rate of 6.65 at the death, the lowest among bowlers bowling at least five overs during this phase. 

Six machines

Afghanistan and Pakistan were the two teams to hit the most number of sixes (32) in the Super 12s stage of the competition. England weren't far behind with 30. 13 of them were hit by Jos Buttler. No batter could hit more sixes than him in the main round. Sri Lanka's Charith Asalanka and South Africa's Aiden Markram hit nine sixes each.