10 remarkable cricket statistics from the year 2015

2015 was a year which gave us some great cricketing action to savour. We saw some incredible performances from players in all aspects of the game across the 3 different formats. There were may records broken and many new ones created as well.It also proved to be a statistically significant year for world cricket and there were a few staggering stats that emerged during the course of the year. We have looked through the numbers recorded in 2015 and come up with a list which includes 10 of the most remarkable staistics that we witnessed.Let’s take a quick look at them.

#1 542 - Adam Voges\' average against West Indies

Voges enjoyed batting against West Indies

Australian batsman Adam Voges had an amazing Test debut year in 2015. He scored more than 1,000 runs at an average of close to 86 and a highest score of 269 not out. However, these are not the statistics because of which he has made it to the list.

The most incredible stat for Voges in 2015 was his unbelievable average of 542 against West Indies. His run tally against the men from the Caribbean was 542 and he remained unbeaten in 3 out of 4 innings, which turned out to be the reason for the inflated average.

#2 338.63 - Strike rate recorded by AB de Villiers during the fastest century

AB de Villiers was on fire with the bat in 2015

2015 was a year which belonged to AB de Villiers, particularly due to his exploits in the ODI format. de Villiers broke the record for the fastest 50, 100 and 150, all in the same year and that too in a span of 40 days. His innings of 149 off 44 deliveries against West Indies saw him eclipse Sanath Jayasuriya’s 17-ball fifty and Corey Anderson’s 36-ball century.

What was most staggering about this knock by AB de Villiers was the strike rate of 338.63, which is the best ever for an innings of over 50 runs.

#3 7 - Number of five-wicket hauls by Ravichandran Ashwin in Tests

Ashwin had a super successful year in 2015

Ravichandran Ashwin had nothing short of a magical year in 2015. 62 wickets in just 9 matches at an average of 17.20 are figures which may be the stuff of dreams for most bowlers. However, these are the stats Ashwin managed to achieve in the year gone by.

One particular statistic which set him apart from the rest in 2015 was the number of five-wicket hauls that he claimed – 7. The next best bowler in terms of five-wicket hauls was Pakistan’s Yasir Shah with 3 of them. Overall, there are very few bowlers who have picked more five-fors in a calendar year than Ashwin.

#4 96 - Percentage of runs scored in fours and sixes by Brendon McCullum in a match

McCullum hoicks one over the top in a World Cup game

Brendon McCullum may have announced his retirement from international cricket towards the end of 2015, but he did play some terrific cricket in the year. Among his best performances of the year was his 25-ball 77 against England in a World Cup encounter. In the process, McCullum also brought up the fastest ever World Cup half-century.

The hard-hitting New Zealand batsman scored 74 runs out of 77 in fours and sixes, which meant that a jaw-dropping 96 per cent of his runs came in boundaries.

#5 12.34 - Mustafizur Rahman\'s bowling average in ODIs

Young Rahman took the cricketing world by storm in 2015

If there was a poll for the best newcomer in 2015, Bangladesh’s new bowling sensation Mustafizur Rahman is sure to get a lot of votes. It was a wonderful year for Rahman as he played a pivotal role in his team’s monumental rise in ODI cricket this year. The medium pacer picked up 26 wickets from just 9 matches with as many as 3 five-wicket hauls.

The stand-out figure among all his incredible statistics for 2015 is his extremely low average of 12.34 which is miles ahead of any other bowler.

#6 161.44 - Andre Russell\'s ODI strike rate in 2015

The West Indies allrounder is a powerful striker of the ball

There are very few batsmen in world cricket who can hit the ball harder than West Indies allrounder Andre Russell. Everyone is aware of Russell’s prowess in the T20 game, however, he has been equally explosive with the bat in the ODI format as well.

In the year 2015, the big hitter scored his runs at a breathtaking strike rate of 161.44, putting him ahead of batsmen like Shahid Afridi, Brendon McCullum and AB de Villiers. The best knock Andre Russell played last year was his 13-ball 42 against Pakistan in a World Cup encounter.

#7 126 - Usman Khawaja\'s average in Tests last year

Usman Khawaja is making his opportunities count at the moment

Left-handed Australian batsman Usman Khawaja recently earned a call-up to the national Test side and is making his latest opportunity count. He played 3 Tests in 2015, 2 against New Zealand and 1 against West Indies, and scored 504 runs with a century in every match that he played.

Khawaja’s efforts ensured that he ended the year with an incredible average of 126, miles ahead of few of the best batsmen of the year such as Kane Williamson, Steve Smith and Joe Root.

#8 0.99 - South Africa\'s run rate in a Test innings against India

South African batsmen went into a shell in the Delhi Test against India

Even a snail could have beaten South Africa on the final day of their 4th Test against India in the Freedom Series. Intending to salvage some pride by saving the last Test, their batsmen kept on defending until the Indians breached their defensive wall in the post-tea session.

South Africa achieved a strange record that day as the run rate of 0.99 registered by them was the lowest ever in a completed Test innings of 100 runs or more.

#9 8 - Number of catches held by Ajinkya Rahane in a Test against Sri Lanka

Rahane was brilliant in the slips for India

Ajinkya Rahane achieved a unique record in a Test against Sri Lanka at Galle last year, that of taking the most catches by a fielder in a match when he took 8. Rahane picked up most of his catches while fielding in his much favoured slip position.

3 of his catches came in the Sri Lankan first innings whereas as many as 5 came during the second. Unfortunately for Rahane, though, his team still ended up on the losing side in the match.

#10 236 - Runs scored by West Indies during the highest successful T20I run chase

Gayle was the man yet again for the West Indies during their record run chase

South Africa put 231 runs on the board in a T20I against West Indies; however, thanks to a hurricane knock of 90 from the bat of Chris Gayle, West Indies chased down the total with 4 balls to spare. In the process, they recorded the highest ever successful run chase in T20I cricket beating India’s 211 against Sri Lanka back in 2009.

This was among the most impressive team stats from the year 2015.