Not leading from the front

Jason Holder finished with figures of 1 for 76 from his 8.5 overs during the second ODI against India. This was the fifth instance of the bowler going for 70-plus runs in an ODI innings, as captain. No other bowler has conceded 70-plus runs on more than two occasions as captain. The three bowlers to concede 70-plus runs, as captain, on two occasions each are Pakistan’s Waqar Younis, Ireland’s Trent Johnston and Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan. There are 11 other bowler-captains who have conceded 70-plus runs in an ODI innings once each.

Holder’s expensive spell helped India reach a score of 311 from its allotted 43 overs in the rain-curtailed second ODI in Port of Spain. This was the 96th time that India had scored 300-plus runs in an ODI innings, the most by any team. It went past Australia, which had made 95 scores of 300 or more in ODIs. However, India has only won 75 of the 96 matches when it had made 300-plus scores, which means it has a win percentage of 78.1, which is worse than each of the 10 major cricket nations, except West Indies (73%) and England (66.7). India has lost 19 matches when it has made 300-plus scores, which is the most for any team.

Most 300-plus scores in ODIs

In the 2017 Champions Trophy semifinal between India and Bangladesh, there was not a single extra conceded by Bangladesh in 40 overs. Has this happened before? Also, what is the most overs bowled in Tests without conceding a single extra?
— Ariz Bokdawalla, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
It is true that Bangladesh bowled 40.1 overs in the 2017 Champions Trophy semifinal loss against India without conceding a single extra. There has been only one previous instance of a team bowling 40-plus overs in an ODI without conceding an extra. UAE, also in a losing cause, bowled 47.4 overs against Scotland without conceding a single extra in an ICC World Cricket League Championship match in 2016. The most overs bowled without conceding an extra in a Test innings is 191.5, by England against Australia, way back in 1892, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
India was all out for 158 runs in the 2017 Champions Trophy final and lost the match by 180 runs. Is this the lowest score in the final of an ICC ODI event and also the biggest loss in such matches?
— Ajit Krishnan, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
India’s score of 158 all out in the 2017 Champions Trophy final is actually only the fourth lowest score in the final of an ICC ODI event. The two lowest scores in the final of an ICC event, both when batting first, both against Australia, are 132 (by Pakistan, Lord’s, 1999 World Cup) and 138 (by West Indies, Mumbai, 2006). The lowest such score in a chase was actually inflicted by India, when West Indies was bowled out for 140 runs in the 1982 World Cup final at Lord’s. India’s margin of loss of 180 runs is easily the biggest in the finals of the ICC ODI events, with the second spot also being taken by India — loss by 125 runs (versus Australia, Johannesburg, 2003 World Cup).
West Indies will be trying to make it to the top-eight in the ICC ODI rankings in order to ensure that it automatically qualifies for the 2019 World Cup. Can you tell me how West Indies can achieve this based on matches in the near future?
— Suvojit Halder, Kolkata, West Bengal
The host of the 2019 World Cup (i.e. England), and the top seven other teams in the ICC rankings, as of September 30, 2017, will earn automatic qualification. West Indies is currently in ninth place with 77 points, while Sri Lanka is in eighth place with 93 points, just trailing Bangladesh (94 points) and Pakistan (95 points). Sri Lanka will be playing a five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe in June-July 2017. In the unlikely event that it loses the series 5-0, Sri Lanka will drop to 85 points. Should West Indies win the remaining three ODIs in the series against India (it had lost the second ODI and the first was abandoned) and win its one-off ODI against Ireland in September, it (with 85 points) will replace Sri Lanka at eighth spot. West Indies also has a five-match ODI series against England, in September 2017, to stake its claim for automatic qualification to the 2019 World Cup prior to the cut-off date.
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