Debutants Bermuda were at the receiving end of the highest ever total amassed in the history of the World Cup when they faced India in a Group B match on March 19. Lambs in a slaughterhouse would be an apt representation.
What it also indicates is the fact that the 2007 World Cup so far has thrown up some of the biggest aggregate scores, and half way through in the tournament the numbers are rising steadily.
This is a signal that in World Cup 2007 the average scores will be highest from the previous nine World Cup’s played till now.
In this World Cup till now 37 matches have been played and 13 times more than 300 have been scored, with 14 matches still to be played.
Here’s the most interesting thing is that the big scores smashed by one team were not chased by the opposite team and further the team smashing biggest scores wont loose its all batsman in its innings hitting big scores.
In the match against Bermuda, India went on to score 413/6 in 50 overs surpassing Sri Lanka’s 398/5 in the 1996 Wills World Cup against Kenya.
India also recorded the highest margin of victory in terms of runs in the same match defeating Bermuda by 257 runs.
Also Australia have gone past the 300-run mark thrice in this World Cup till now.
With the batsmen finding the small Caribbean grounds to their liking, teams can also break the record of the highest total in an ODI, which stands in Sri Lanka’s name. The Lankans had scored 443 against the Netherlands at the VRA Ground, Amstelveen in March 2006.
May be this World Cup will see a score in excess of 500 runs in one innings and a batsman going on to hit double century too.
The 2007 World Cup can truly be called a batsman’s tournament seeing the big scores that have been put up on the board.
It is expected that in this World cup batting will show those superb performances with new records, which had never be seen earlier in any World cup. Along with this World cup 2007 will become the history World cup with new and big records by bat, one most important reason to support it is that new grounds in the West Indies are smaller and it will be a nice opportunity for the batsmen to show their big hitting skills.
While big hitters like Mathew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Sanath Jayasuriya, Brain Lara, Chris Gayle, Jacob Oram etc are still there but some big names like Sachin Tendulkar, Virendar Sehwag and Yousuf Yohana have missed a golden opportunity to show their batting skills as their teams were not able to qualify for Super Eights.
In the World cup 2007, there are associate teams like Bermuda, Scotland, Ireland and Canada so everybody wants the top teams to play first so that one can see big scores.
Definitely playing against associate teams is a nice opportunity for the top eight teams to make big scores beating old records.
With the change in the definition of ODI’s, organisers have also changed the pitches that are now overwhelmingly in favour of the batsmen with small boundaries also helping them.
But while the small grounds have been a boon for the batsmen, the connoisseurs of the game lament the lack of an even contest between the bat and the ball.
On the other hand, spectators have also lost interest in the so-called even contest as they want to watch the batsman smashing the ball out of the ground at regular intervals.
The 1999 World Cup saw 300+ score only thrice but the 2003 edition saw teams crossing the 300-run mark nine times and the 2007 World Cup has already seen 300+ scores 12 times.
The fourth World Cup that was hosted jointly by India and Pakistan in 1987-88 saw an average score of 232 and in 2002-03 World cup average scores were reduced to 200 in 50 over matches, the reason being is that match was held in Australia with big grounds and the well bouncing and swinging pitches.
In World cup 1991-92 average scores per innings were decreased to 199 because it was the first WC tournament, which was played with white ball and most of the players go wrong while playing with white ball instead playing with red ball.
But in World cup 2007 highest average scores are expected to be smashed this time. Surprising thing is that in the first 3 world cups, whether matches were of 60 overs still not in a single world cup average score was reached to 225.
How many new records World Cup 2007 will add in favour of batsmen will finally come in front after 28th April, the final match of the World Cup.
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