CPL 2015: the carnival of Cricket tournament stats review

CPL 2015: the carnival of Cricket tournament stats review: Popularly called in the West Indies as the festival of T20 cricket, the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) came to a grand end on Sunday with the Red Hot Steels of Trinidad and Tobago getting over the defending champions Barbados Tridents to win their maiden CPL title. And with this the King of Bollywood Shahrukh Khan achieved the privilege of having 3 T20 titles in his owner’s cap. The knockouts might not have matched to the close encounters we’ve seen earlier, but the league as a whole was a huge success. We all must recognize the financial difficulties that the WICB (West Indies Cricket Board) is facing and the CPL in such circumstances could only be a god sent gift.

The Trinidad and Tobago side came into the final with fabulous bowling performances against the Guyana Warriors and the Jamaica Tallawahs and once they posted above 170 it was always going to be tough for the Tridents.

Also Read : CPL 2015 Final Barbados Trident v Trinidad & Tobago; T&T to win the crown- Twitter Reactions

Cricketers and administrators all over the world acknowledge the worth of the Caribbean flavour and the marvelous colours it brings on the field. Thus for world cricket to prosper West Indies cricket must flourish. And events such as the CPL enable local players to play alongside international stars and gain the much-needed experience to sharpen their skills. What the young stars can gain here is pretty different from what they would get playing among themselves in local cricket.

Though it might not be absolutely wise to directly look for Test match stars from such tournaments but considering the state of Caribbean cricket they would not mind any talent coming through which could in turn be nurtured for the next level. For much too long the West Indies have been renamed from the calypso kings to the “Collapso Kings”. Its time for them to show the cricketing world their worth and walk step to step with the rest of the teams. Now let us dwell into what the league offered and review it in statistical terms:

1. There were a total of 32 matches in the league played over a duration of one month.

2. A total of 619 fours and 383 sixes were hit while 392 wickets went down in total.

3. Kieron Pollard lit the tournament with his all round performances. He averaged 37.7 and bagged 11 wickets in his kitty.

4. The St. Kitts team got the highest team total of CPL (202-5).

5. There were 35 half centuries and 245 catches taken in the whole tournament.

6. The Barbados Tridents won more games than the Red Hot steels of Trinidad & Tobago but came second on the all important night of the final.

7. The best bowling performance in an innings was recorded by Dwayne Bravo with 5 for 23 in 4 overs against the Jamaica team.

8. The CPL was by every account a closely fought league with the top team in the points table, Tridents’ winning only two games more than the bottom spoon holders Patriots.

9. The league was played over eight cricket grounds in the Caribbean.

10. Christopher Henry Gayle of the Jamaica Tallawahs was the leading run scores with 430 runs to his name at an average of more than 60. Andre Fletcher of the St, Lucia Zouks was at second position with 369 runs in the league.

11. Reymon Reifer of the St. Kitts had the highest strike rate (180) in the tournament ahead of Chris Gayle (160.45).

12. Dwayne Bravo was the leading wicket taker in the tournament with 28 wickets in his kitty. Krishmar Santokie the next highest wicket taker was way behind with 16 wickets.

13. The best economy rate in the tournament was achieved by mystery spinner Sunil Narine (4.95). Sri Lankan all-rounder Jeeven Mendis of the Barbados Tridents’ was the next best with 5.17.

14. The highest individual score has no prices for guessing. Once again Chris Gayle, who made the lone century of CPL 2015 occupies the top two spots with 105 and 90* to his credit.

Also read : CPL 2015 Final Barbados Trident v Trinidad & Tobago; T&T to win the crown- Twitter Reactions