Stats - Luck of the toss, spin to win, and the slowest men's T20 World Cup
All the numbers - at once interesting and intriguing - from the T20 World Cup 2021
Sampath Bandarupalli
15-Nov-2021
As always, at the end of the major tournament, it's important to look back at all the key numbers, the ones that help us understand what happened, and why.
Win toss and chase - the formula for success
The teams that won the toss had a win-loss ratio of 2.00, the highest in any edition of the men's T20 World Cup, as 30 of the 45 matches were won by the sides that won the toss. The previous highest was 1.75 in 2016 - 21 out of 33 completed games.
The teams that won the toss had a win-loss ratio of 2.00, the highest in any edition of the men's T20 World Cup, as 30 of the 45 matches were won by the sides that won the toss. The previous highest was 1.75 in 2016 - 21 out of 33 completed games.
The tournament also favoured the chasing teams - the win-loss ratio was 1.81, the highest in any edition. The previous highest was 1.50 during the 2014 edition hosted by Bangladesh - 21 out of 35.
Focus on the top three
The top-three batters did the majority of the scoring. Each of the top-four run-getters in the tournament were openers: Babar Azam, David Warner, Mohammad Rizwan and Jos Buttler. The top-three batters of New Zealand - Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson - all scored over 200 runs. A total of 54.38 % of the runs in the tournament were scored by the players batting in the top three, the highest ever in a men's T20 World Cup.
The top-three batters did the majority of the scoring. Each of the top-four run-getters in the tournament were openers: Babar Azam, David Warner, Mohammad Rizwan and Jos Buttler. The top-three batters of New Zealand - Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson - all scored over 200 runs. A total of 54.38 % of the runs in the tournament were scored by the players batting in the top three, the highest ever in a men's T20 World Cup.
Australia's luck at the toss
Aaron Finch won six tosses in the tournament and Australia won all those matches while chasing. The only time they lost the toss - against England - they lost by eight wickets. Afghanistan won five tosses in their five matches - the only team with a better success rate at the coin toss than Australia in this edition.
Aaron Finch won six tosses in the tournament and Australia won all those matches while chasing. The only time they lost the toss - against England - they lost by eight wickets. Afghanistan won five tosses in their five matches - the only team with a better success rate at the coin toss than Australia in this edition.
West Indies - six each in 2012 and 2016 - are the other instances of a team winning six or more coin tosses in an edition of the men's T20 World Cup. Australia joined West Indies in winning the men's T20 World Cup despite not defending a total even once. West Indies did not bat first at all during the triumph in 2016. However, in 2012, they won the title despite not winning a match while chasing, replicating what India had done in 2007.
Sampath Bandarupalli is a statistician at ESPNcricinfo