Five cricket stats that could surprise you
Sport is a form of art which makes everyone go through the cycle of success and failure. In the journey, few records will be created. Cricket is a multi-faceted game, and the opportunities for players to create records is higher as compared with other sports.
Many great players have graced the game and have produced many brilliant performances.
Ireland's record of most successful 300+ run-chases in World Cup history is a classic example of how unpredictable cricket is and how records can be created and destroyed by anyone in this ever evolving sport. Not only teams have created such records, but also individual players have shown some brilliance which surprises everyone in the cricketing fraternity.
On that note, let's look into five such stats which will surprise you.
#1 Only player to defend six or less twice in the last over in ODIs - Sachin Tendulkar
The advent of T20 cricket has made batsmen confident of scoring at a run-rate of about 10 in the death overs. The 2019 World Cup final is proof of that. Bowlers find it difficult to contain the batsmen with shorter boundaries.
Batting teams are favoured to scramble through to victory with a boundary or two with even 10 or 12 runs to score and defending six or less in the final over is a rarity in ODIs.
But, it wasn't the case about two decades ago.
Even so, the fact that Sachin Tendulkar is the only bowler to defend six runs or less more than once in the final over is incredibly surprising.
The first time was the now-famous Hero Cup semi-final against South Africa in 1993 when he grabbed the ball from his captain, Mohammad Azharuddin, to win it for India. Bowling his first over of the match, Sachin bowled a half-volley. A set Brain McMillan drove it towards the point region and his partner Fanie de Villiers was run-out when they attempted for a second run. New to the crease, Allan Donald faced two dot balls, before taking a single off the fourth delivery. A boundary was required off the last ball, as the fifth ball was a dot. But the batsman could score only a single, and India won by two runs.
He repeated it in 1996 against Australia in the Titan Cup. They needed six runs to win with one wicket in hand. Brad Hogg was run-out in the first ball of the over to concede the match to India.
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