Highest run-getters in each World Cup - Who will it be in 2015?

Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara currently tops the 2015 World Cup run-scorers’ chart

The quarter-finals are over and the semi-finals are on. The top four ranked ODI teams are into the semi-Finals, what more could you ask for? The race for being the highest run getter in this tournament is also on, a table that sees fast and frequent changes.

After first two matches, Kumar Sangakkara was nowhere in the top run getters list. With four centuries in as many matches he has got to top of the table and was a strong contender for finishing as the highest run getter of the tournament. Similarly Brendan Taylor with more than 250 runs in his last two matches ended up as the second highest run getter at the end of the group stages. Sangakkara, Taylor and de Villiers were in the top three.

In the quarter-finals, Martin Guptill’s unbeaten 237 has changed the table considerably. He has taken his tally to 498 now with a semi-final in hand and if New Zealand wins it, he has a final to play as well. One big innings from AB de Villiers is enough for another similarly huge change in this table, however.

Let’s see how the table changed after every week in this World Cup.

Highest run-getters in WC 2015 (week by week)

Week	Highest	Second highest	Third highest
1 (till February 20)	157 - Brendon McCullum	138 - David Miller	135 - Aaron Finch
2 (till February 27)	255 - Chris Gayle	217 - AB de Villiers	210 - Shikhar Dhawan
3 (till March 6)	279 - Chris Gayle	270 - Shaiman Anwar	268 - Kumar Sangakkara
4 (till March 13)	496 - Kumar Sangakkara	417 - AB de Villiers	395 - Tillakaratne Dilshan
End of first round	496 - Kumar Sangakkara	433 - Brendan Taylor	417 - AB de Villiers
End of Quarter-Finals	541 - Kumar Sangakkara	498 - Martin Guptill	433 - Brendan Taylor

Brendon McCullum began the World Cup with a bang and was the highest run-getter in the initial stages. With his double century, Chris Gayle became the highest run-getter. Gayle failed to score big in the next matches, and with consecutive centuries to his name, Sangakkara topped the table. And he remains at the top even after the quarter-finals but his team hasn’t qualified for the semi-finals – thus his tally will remain the same.

Guptill (498), AB de Villiers (417), Shikhar Dhawan (367) are the ones with 350+ runs among the batsmen who will play the semi-finals. Who will end up as the highest run-getter?

Highest run-getters in past World Cups

World Cup	Batsman	Runs	Inns	Avg	100s/50s	Best	Team performance
1975	Glenn Turner	333	4	166.50	2/0	171*	Semi-Finals
1979	Gordon Greenidge	253	4	84.33	1/2	106*	Winners
1983	David Gower	384	7	76.80	1/1	130	Runner-Ups
1987	Graham Gooch	471	8	58.87	1/3	115	Runner-Ups
1992	Martin Crowe	456	9	114.00	1/4	100*	Semi-Finals
1996	Sachin Tendulkar	523	7	87.16	2/3	137	Semi-Finals
1999	Rahul Dravid	461	8	65.85	2/3	145	Super-Sixes
2003	Sachin Tendulkar	673	11	61.18	1/6	152	Runner-Ups
2007	Matthew Hayden	659	10	73.22	3/1	158	Winners
2011	Tillakaratne Dilshan	500	9	62.50	2/2	144	Runner-Ups
2015	?	?	?	?	?	?	?

What is interesting to note is the teams’ performance column in the above table. It can be seen that only twice was the highest run-getter was from the winning side! And only three times was he from the runners-up side!

In 1999, the highest run-getter was Rahul Dravid and the Indian team had reached only the stage of Super-Sixes.

Hence, how important it is for a team to have their batsman as the top scorer of the tournament and win the trophy? As per the above results, it doesn’t matter.

Highest run-getter of champion sides in World Cups

World Cup	Champions	Batsman	Runs	Inns	Avg	100s/50s	Best	Highest run getter #
1975	West Indies	Alvin Kallicharran	197	5	49.25	0/2	78	6
1979	West Indies	Gordon Greenidge	253	4	84.33	1/2	106*	1
1983	India	Kapil Dev	303	8	60.60	1/0	175*	5
1987	Australia	David Boon	447	8	55.87	0/5	93	2
1992	Pakistan	Javed Miandad	437	9	62.42	0/5	89	2
1996	Sri Lanka	Aravinda de Silva	448	6	89.60	2/2	145	3
1999	Australia	Steve Waugh	398	8	79.60	1/2	120*	2
2003	Australia	Ricky Ponting	415	10	51.87	2/1	140*	3
2007	Australia	Matthew Hayden	659	10	73.22	3/1	158	1
2011	India	Sachin Tendulkar	482	9	53.55	2/2	120	2
2015		?	?	?	?	?	?

Hence, will the team whose batsman has the highest number of runs in the tournament lift the trophy, or will this trend continue? To be learnt on 29th March.