World Cup 2015: Stats of the week - February 23 to March 1

Be it in any sport, records and big tournaments are like Siamese twins – they always go together. The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 currently underway Down Under is no exception to this fact. The much loved World Cup, which began on the V-day (February 14) has been through two full weeks now – the second half of which actually saw records being toppled and piled giving the viewers their money's worth.The just concluded week (February 23 to March 1) featured 10 group matches comprising a montage of thrillers, dead rubbers, upsets and stunners, imperatively reminding us that the tournament has gotten into serious business and, in the process, driving the statisticians crazy. Let us now look at a compilation of some of those eye-catching numbers from what was indeed a memorable week.

#1 West Indies v Zimbabwe - Feb 24

Chris Gayle lit up the stadium with his fireworks during his record-breaking knock of 215

Both the teams had come into this match upbeat after winning their earlier fixture. Despite West Indies’ victory against Pakistan, Zimbabwe had realistic hopes of beating the Caribbeans, courtesy their good form and Windies’ no-show against Ireland in their World Cup opener. But the big man from Jamaica had different ideas. (Result: West Indies won by 73 runs (D/L method)

Here’s the list that went into the record books:

372/2 is the highest total ever to have been recorded at the Manuka Oval. It is also Windies’ highest ever total in ODIs.

215 scored by Chris Gayle is the highest individual score by any batsman in World Cups. He got inducted into the elite 200-club, which includes the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma. This is also the third highest ODI score of all-time.

138 the number of balls in which Gayle reached the magical figure is the fastest by anyone who has emulated this feat. The previous record was 140 balls, by Virender Sehwag. Tendulkar took 147 balls, while Rohit got to his two double tons in 151 and 156 balls respectively.

372 the second-wicket partnership between Gayle and Samuels is the highest partnership for any wicket in ODI history. The duo surpassed the earlier record of 331 set by Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid against New Zealand in 1999.