A total of 35 centuries have been scored in the run-filled group stage of the World Cup.
South Africa lead the way with eight, followed by Australia with seven, India and New Zealand five each, Pakistan and Sri Lanka three apiece, England two and Bangladesh and Afghanistan one each.
Here are five best knocks from 45 matches of the league phase:
Glenn Maxwell 201* v Afghanistan, Mumbai, November 7
The Big Show not only conquered the world-class Afghan bowling attack but also severe cramps en route to playing arguably the greatest ever knock in One Day Internationals. Few would have given the Aussies any chance of chasing down the 292-run target when they were struggling at 91/7, but Maxi had other ideas. Basically batting on just one leg in the latter stage of his epic innings, Maxwell hammered 21 fours and 10 sixes off 128 balls to guide his side to an improbable win, and subsequently the semi-finals.
Mohammad Rizwan 131* v Sri Lanka, Hyderabad, October 10
Rizwan played a fine 121-ball 131 as Pakistan registered one of the best chases of this World Cup. Babar Azam’s side reached their target of 345 with six wickets and 10 deliveries to spare mainly owing to Rizwan’s industrious knock. 62% of Rizwan’s runs were non-boundaries, mostly ones and twos, as the wicketkeeper-batter showed one does not always have to rely on big shots to craft an innings.
Rachin Ravindra 116 v Australia, Dharamshala, October 28
The World Cup is the stage where Ravindra has announced his grand arrival, capturing the imagination of the cricketing world. Born in Wellington to Indian parents, the elegant left-hander has scored three centuries, with one of those coming against five-time world champions Australia. His 89-ball 116, featuring nine fours and five sixes, may have come in a losing cause but thanks to his entertaining knock, the Aussies were made to sweat defending 388.
Heinrich Klaasen 109 v England, Mumbai, October 21
The Wankhede Stadium was witness to yet another heroic effort, from Klaasen who clubbed 109 off just 67 deliveries, studded with a dozen boundaries and four sixes. He later compared the innings to like batting in a sauna as opposition captain Jos Buttler’s decision to field first backfired horribly in hot and humid conditions. His knock was all the more impressive as he was battling cramps in the latter phase and stopped to take a breather on his knees after almost every other delivery.
Virat Kohli 85 v Australia, Chennai, October 8
The only non-hundred innings of the list, King Kohli’s 116-ball 85 was worth its weight in gold. India were a precarious 2/3 after skipper Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer all departed without troubling the scorers in pursuit of 200. Kohli then set about doing the recovery work in what is perhaps one of his most important World Cup knocks, and by the time he was dismissed, the Indians were on the verge of victory.
