Of fours, sixes and run outs

Anant Gaundalkar

When analysing a team's performance in a one day series, it is not enough, usually, to look at the wickets taken by the bowlers, or the runs scored by the batsmen. What is equally important is the number of extras conceeded - because what the wayward bowler is really doing is functioning as an extra batsman for the opposite team, gifting them runs; and the incidences of runouts, as those give the bowling side far too many needless dismissals.

By this criterion, India unfortunately comes out right on top, as far as the recent triangular ODI series featuring South Africa and Zimbabwe are concerned. In fact, in the matter of conceeding extras, India's bowlers ranked second only to those from the West Indies, while topping the table in the case of runouts.

Record