World Twenty20 by the numbers: Facts and figures that have shaped the tournament through the years

The World Twenty20 kicks into high gear with Tuesday's first second-round match, New Zealand taking on host club India.

We take a look at some prominent numbers that have shaped the tournament over the years.

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7.66

• The average runs per over across the previous five World Twenty20s, which equates to an average innings score of 153.2. For all the implied batting pyrotechnics of the format, that is not, perhaps, as high as many might think. Even more surprising is that the highest overall tournament run-rate — 7.99 — was recorded in the very first edition in 2007. Twenty20 batting has evolved greatly since that tournament but run-rates, at least at international level, have actually dipped: the average since hovers at around 7.6 runs per over. There were five 200-plus totals in that first event in South Africa; there have been two since. Conditions, no doubt, have played a role though you would think run-rates would have been higher in one of Sri Lanka or Bangladesh.

26.46

• The average number of balls it takes for a six to be hit in a World Twenty20. By one metric there has been growth: there were 300 sixes hit at the last tournament, in 2014, the most ever. There were, however, more matches (35) than ever also. Judging by sixes per match, the best tournament was 2010, in the Caribbean, which saw 278 sixes in 28 matches — just over 10 a match. Strangely, however, that tournament also had the least number of boundaries hit (504). The most number of boundaries was in the last tournament: 853, nearly two hundred more than the previous best.

38.03

• The percentage of wickets taken by spinners in all World Twenty20s. That is pretty much proportionate to the percentage of overs they have bowled — 38.76.

Spinners, it was widely feared, were supposed to be the first casualty of the format. But long ago it had become clear that was not the case. The number of wickets spin has taken per tournament has risen with each successive one and the 169 taken in Bangladesh in 2014 was, by some distance, the most. Given the country, it is likely to rise further this year. On average, spinners concede 7.08 runs per over in World Twenty20s, compared to 7.78 by pace bowlers.

46.15

• The percentage of matches won by the chasing side. Out of 143 World Twenty20 matches, 66 have been won by the side batting second, 71 by the side batting first (six no-results or ties). Until the 2014 event in Bangladesh, wins for sides chasing never constituted even half of the entire results of a tournament. The best was the first edition in 2007, in which 13 games out of 27 were won by sides batting second. That dropped over the next three tournaments (11, 11, 10). But in 2014 sides batting second won 21 of the 35 games — or 60%. Of the five finals, the side batting second has won three.

1016

• The number of runs scored by Mahela Jayawardene, who is the leading overall run-scorer at the World Twenty20. He sits more than 200 runs ahead of Chris Gayle, the next best and is the only player with over a 1000 overall runs in the tournament. The highest average for anyone who has played at least seven matches is Virat Kohli's, who averages an astonishing 72 in the two tournaments that he has played so far. The kind of form he is in, that average looks unlikely to drop this year.

38

• Lasith Malinga completes a Sri Lankan double as the leading overall wicket-taker at World Twenty20s. Given his slow recovery from a knee injury, he may not get much of a chance to stretch that lead.

Of the nearest challengers, Shahid Afridi with 35 wickets, is best-placed to take over, but such has been his form that it is not a given. Otherwise, you have to go as low as seventh on the list to find a challenger: Dale Steyn, on 29.

49

• The number of sixes hit by Chris Gayle in World Twenty20s. That is the most by any batsman and Gayle hits, on average, more than two every innings he plays at the tournament. Unless somebody goes ballistic in India, nobody will be overtaking him anytime soon either: Yuvraj Singh, a fading force, is in second place with 31 and Shane Watson third, with 27. More often than not when Gayle hits a boundary, it tends to be a maximum — he has 67 fours otherwise, and the ratio between sixes and fours is the lowest among established batsmen. Mahela Jayawardene, for instance, has hit the most fours (111) but only 25 sixes.

175.42

• Darren Sammy's strike rate, the highest among batsmen who have batted at least 10 innings in all World Twenty20s. The next two in the list are two Pakistanis, Imran Nazir and Shahid Afridi. But for a combination of high strike rate and high average, look no further than Kevin Pietersen and Sammy's team-mate Chris Gayle. The pair have strike rates over 140 (Pietersen is close to 150) and average over 40 each time they step out to bat.