The battles within the war
Afridi against just any bowler is likely to be a thrill-a-minute occasion, and he’ll fancy his chances against this Australian attack, who he picks off at the rate of 163 runs per 100 balls. And for a batsman who takes so many chances, an average touching 32 is perfectly acceptable too.
Afridi v Aus bowlers Bowler Runs/ Balls/ Wickets Average Strike rate
Brett Lee 41/ 29/ 1 41.00 141.38
Glenn McGrath 37/ 24/ 2 18.50 154.17
Andrew Symonds 29/ 12/ 1 29.00 241.67
Shane Watson 20/ 13/ 0 - 153.85
Here are a few other interesting spots: the most effective spin option against Ponting and Martyn isn’t Muralitharan, or Vettori - it’s Afridi, who has nailed both these batsmen four times, and very cheaply too. Compelling stats that suggest Afridi should be a shoo-in for all three games.
Afridi versus … Batsman Runs/ Balls/ Wickets Average Economy rate
Ricky Ponting 36/ 75/ 4 9.00 48.00
Damien Martyn 64/ 101/ 4 16.00 63.37
If Afridi has Ponting’s number, then Clarke, it seems, knows exactly how to get Dravid’s wicket: in 41 balls, Dravid has fallen to him three times. Which is still a lot better, though, than the show Sehwag has put forward against Bracken. And of course, there’s that Ashes rivalry waiting to resume - Flintoff had Gilchrist’s number right through the summer. Can Gilchrist reverse that stranglehold on home soil?
More head-to-heads Batsman Bowler Runs/ Balls/ Wickets Average Scoring rate
Rahul Dravid Michael Clarke 41/ 41/ 3 13.67 100.00
Virender Sehwag Nathan Bracken 4/ 12/ 3 1.33 33.33
Adam Gilchrist Andrew Flintoff 29/ 63/ 3 9.67 46.03
Ricky Ponting Muttiah Muralitharan 87/ 111/ 1 87.00 78.38
Adam Gilchrist Shaun Pollock 81/ 122/ 4 20.25 66.39
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