India almost had the perfect ICC Cricket World Cup. Almost.
On a muggy Ahmedabad Sunday, Australia ensured India’s 12-year wait for a third ICC Cricket World Cup title will extend by at least four more. The overwhelming favorites succumbed to spirited Aussie bowling and world-class batting by opener Travis Head to lose by six wickets in front of 100,000 partizan fans in the world’s largest cricket stadium.
Although the team fell at the final hurdle, India has much to be proud of. Until the final match, the tournament had been an overwhelming success for the hosts. Ably led by Rohit Sharma, both the Indian batting and bowling departments were close to perfect for ten straight matches. India swept aside all-comers, including Australia, in the group stages before they dispatched New Zealand in the semi-final.
The final 2023 ICC World Cup statistics indicate India’s dominance in the tournament.
Top World Cup Run Scorers
India’s ex-captain Virat Kohli cemented his position as one of the world’s finest limited-overs batsmen with the most runs of the 2023 ICC World Cup. Kohli scored 765 runs in 11 innings, including three centuries and six fifties.
Besides Kohli, three other Indian batsmen also featured in the Top 10.
- Virat Kohli (India) – 765
- Rohit Sharma (India) – 597
- Quinton de Kock (South Africa) – 594
- Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand) – 578
- Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand) – 552
- David Warner (Australia) – 535
- Shreyas Iyer (India) – 530
- KL Rahul (India) – 452
- Rusty van der Dussen (South Africa) – 448
- Mitchell March (Australia) – 441
Top World Cup Batting Averages
Virat Kohli not only scored the most runs in the World Cup but also topped tournament batting averages with an average of 95.62 per innings. Again, he wasn’t the only Indian batsman in the Top 10, with two teammates joining him on this list.
- Virat Kohli (India) – 95.62
- Kane Williamson (New Zealand) – 85.33
- KL Rahul (India) – 75.33
- Fakhar Zaman (Pakistan) – 73.33
- Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan) – 70.60
- Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand) – 69.00
- Glenn Maxwell (Australia) – 66.67
- Shreyas Iyer (India) – 66.25
- Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan) – 65.83
- Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand) – 64.22
Top World Cup Wicket-Takers
India didn’t only excel with the bat in the 2023 ICC World Cup. The host’s pace and spin bowlers performed throughout the tournament, with opening bowler Mohammed Shami‘s wicket in the final earning him the honor of finishing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker. Two other Indian bowlers also made the World Cup’s Top 10.
- Mohammed Shami (India) – 24
- Adam Zampa (Australia) – 23
- Dilshan Madushanka (Sri Lanka) – 21
- Jasprit Bumrah (India) – 20
- Gerald Coetzee (South Africa) – 20
- Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan) – 18
- Marco Jansen (South Africa) – 17
- Ravindra Jadeja (India) – 16
- Josh Hazlewood (Australia) – 16
- Michell Sandtner (New Zealand) – 16
Top World Cup Bowling Averages
As Kohli did in the batting statistics, Mohammed Shami dominated the World Cup bowling statistics in 2023. Shami headed the bowling averages list for bowlers taking ten or more tournament wickets, with an incredible average of only 10.70 runs conceded between each one taken. Once again, another two Indian players made the Top 10 for the tournament.
- Mohammed Shami (India) – 10.70
- Jasprit Bumrah (India) – 18.65
- Gerald Coetzee (South Africa) – 19.80
- Mohammad Wasim (Pakistan) – 21.50
- Adam Zampa (Australia) – 22.39
- David Willey (England) – 23.54
- Keshav Maharaj (South Africa) – 24.66
- Ravindra Jadeja (India) – 24.87
- Dilshan Madushanka (Sri Lanka) – 25.00
- Marco Jansen (South Africa) – 26.47
Upcoming Events
The ICC Cricket World Cup may be over for another four years. India’s top cricketers will have no respite, however. Next, India hosts Australia in five T20 Internationals and will hope to exact a little revenge for their recent upset in the World Cup Final. The format is different, with the stakes not as high, but many of the protagonists will be the same.
The Australian series is likely to be action-packed and competitive, providing plenty of opportunity for sports bettors to try their luck wagering through sites offering top odds on some of the best teams and players in cricket.
Right now, the odds favor the Australians to rub more salt into Indian wounds during the upcoming T20 series, with odds of 1.98 offered on the tourists to win the five-match encounter. Betting sites quote India at 2.97 to take some instant revenge for the World Cup defeat.
The Indians then jet off to South Africa to take on the World Cup semi-finalists in three T20s, three ODIs, and two test matches through December and next January. Current odds favor India (1.88) for the T20 series against the Proteas (2.86), while bookies back South Africa (1.66) to put their unsuccessful World Cup behind them by winning the first ODI against India (2.62) at the Wanderers.
Watch your favorite betting platforms for updates on the rest of the South African tour matches to take advantage of the best odds on offer as they appear.
