Players who have succeed
* Imran Tahir (South Africa): The journeyman bowler, 31, made his international debut at the World Cup. With 12 wickets in four matches Tahir has to be the standout performer of the tournament.
* Shahid Afridi (Pakistan): He is well known for being an explosive batsman but few would have bet on him being the leading wicket taker at the end of the group stages (17 wickets at an economy of 3.54). He was instrumental in Pakistan claiming top honours in Group A despite several chinks in the team.
* Tim Southee (New Zealand): With 14 wickets at an economy of 3.95, Southee was not expected to be one of the leading pacemen in the World Cup.
* Jonathan Trott (England): The relatively sedate right hand batsman’s selection for the World Cup was the subject of some debate, despite an impressive Ashes. With 336 runs/82.55 strike rate, he is second on the list of leading run getters despite not hitting a single six yet.
* Yuvraj Singh (India): With three man-of-the-match awards, 284 runs/94.66 average (one century, three fifties) and nine crucial wickets, Yuvraj is shaping up to have a key say in India’s campaign.
Players who have under performed
* Ricky Ponting (Australia): With 102 runs from five innings (strike rate of 61.4, highest score 36 against Kenya), this World Cup is proving to be much below Ponting’s standards.
* James Anderson (England): Leading wicket taker in the recently concluded Ashes (24 wickets), turned leading run leaker in the World Cup. Has been very profligate conceding 282 runs (6.55 runs per over).
* Kamran Akmal (Pakistan): With atleast four dropped chances and four missed stumpings so far, Akmal has had a poor performance behind the stumps. An average performance with the bat (141 runs) has not helped either.
