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Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji on how A B de Villiers has blasted his way to the top of Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup. Check out the latest update of the MVP rankings!
South Africa's Captain A B de Villiers (MVPI: 481) has overtaken West Indian Chris Gayle (477) to lead the most valuable player standings at the ongoing ICC World Cup.
De Villiers will stretch the lead at the top after his attacking half-century (77 from 58 balls) against Pakistan on Saturday, March 7, despite South Africa going down by 29 runs in a rain-affected match at Eden Park.
The Most Valuable Player Index (MVPI) formula picks out batsmen who score a lot of runs at a high strike rate, bowlers who take a lot of wickets at a low economy rate, and fielders who take the most catches or participate in the most run out dismissals -- and collapses a player's batting + bowling + fielding performance into a single 'run equivalent'.
Strangely, despite four wins on the trot, none of India's players feature in the top 20 of the MVPI table.
The highest place Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (277) is placed 21st followed by Shikhar Dhawan (270, placed 25th), Mohammed Shami (267, placed 26th), and Virat Kohli (251, 31st).
So, without any of their players doing something spectacular, the Indians are moving along nicely in the World Cup, having performed as a unit so far.
The spectacular performers, apart from de Villiers and Gayle, have been Kumar Sangakkara (384; 3rd) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (347; 4th) from Sri Lanka, Tim Southee (333; 5th) and Brendon McCullum (327; 9th) from New Zealand, David Warner (317; 11th) and Glen Maxwell (301; 12th) from Australia, David Miller (329; 8th) and Hashim Amla (319; 10th) from South Africa.
It is especially heart-warming to find Shaiman Anwar of the United Arab Emirates (333; 6th) and Sean Williams of Zimbabwe (331; 7th) in the top 10 following their consistent performances in the tournament.
Players from England and Pakistan continue to remain scarce.
Table: Most valuable players so far in the 2015 World Cup (after 28 matches, as on midnight of March 6, 2015):
| Rank | Player | Team | Runs | 4s | 6s | Strike Rate | W | Eco | Ct St | Run Outs | M | MVPI |
| 1 | AB de Villiers | SA | 241 | 22 | 11 | 161.7 | 1 | 3.5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 481 |
| 2 | Chris Gayle | WI | 279 | 15 | 18 | 108.6 | 5 | 5.4 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 477 |
| 3 | Kumar Sangakkara | SL | 268 | 30 | 3 | 125.8 | 0 | 0.0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 384 |
| 4 | Tillakaratne Dilshan | SL | 229 | 28 | 2 | 94.2 | 3 | 4.9 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 347 |
| 5 | Tim Southee | NZ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 13 | 4.9 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 333 |
| 6 | Shaiman Anwar | UAE | 270 | 29 | 4 | 100.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0.5 | 4 | 333 |
| 7 | Sean Williams | ZIM | 193 | 19 | 1 | 112.9 | 4 | 5.9 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 331 |
| 8 | David Miller | SA | 226 | 13 | 11 | 146.8 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 329 |
| 9 | Brendon McCullum | NZ | 207 | 28 | 11 | 188.2 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 327 |
| 10 | Hashim Amla | SA | 257 | 20 | 5 | 95.2 | 0 | 0.0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 319 |
| 11 | David Warner | AUS | 234 | 24 | 6 | 121.2 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 317 |
| 12 | Glenn Maxwell | AUS | 155 | 17 | 7 | 189.0 | 2 | 6.8 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 301 |
| 13 | Daniel Vettori | NZ | 10 | 1 | 0 | 142.9 | 8 | 3.3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 293 |
| 14 | Jerome Taylor | WI | 26 | 3 | 0 | 72.2 | 11 | 5.3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 290 |
| 15 | Corey Anderson | NZ | 112 | 11 | 3 | 107.7 | 6 | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 290 |
| 16 | Wahab Riaz | PAK | 67 | 7 | 2 | 108.1 | 8 | 5.4 | 2 | 0.5 | 4 | 288 |
| 17 | Lahiru Thirimanne | SL | 256 | 24 | 2 | 90.8 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 287 |
| 18 | Mitchell Starc | AUS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 10 | 3.9 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 285 |
| 19 | Trent Boult | NZ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 10 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 284 |
| 20 | Kyle Coetzer | SCOT | 253 | 33 | 4 | 94.1 | 0 | 6.3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 283 |
| 21 | Ravichandran Ashwin | IND | 22 | 0 | 0 | 57.9 | 9 | 3.9 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 277 |
| 22 | Moeen Ali | ENG | 173 | 21 | 5 | 107.5 | 3 | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 275 |
| 23 | Josh Davey | SCOT | 25 | 1 | 0 | 54.3 | 11 | 5.7 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 272 |
| 24 | Shakib Al Hasan | BAN | 161 | 15 | 3 | 106.6 | 3 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 271 |
| 25 | Shikhar Dhawan | IND | 233 | 27 | 3 | 92.1 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 270 |
| 26 | Mohammed Shami | IND | 7 | 1 | 0 | 87.5 | 9 | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 267 |
| 27 | Faf du Plessis | SA | 250 | 18 | 2 | 88.7 | 0 | 7.5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 265 |
| 28 | Andre Russell | WI | 77 | 6 | 6 | 208.1 | 7 | 6.3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 261 |
| 29 | Imran Tahir | SA | 8 | 1 | 0 | 80.0 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 254 |
| 30 | Misbah-ul-Haq | PAK | 221 | 17 | 3 | 80.4 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 253 |
| 31 | Virat Kohli | IND | 219 | 21 | 0 | 83.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 0.5 | 4 | 251 |
| 32 | Mushfiqur Rahim | BAN | 167 | 14 | 4 | 121.9 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 250 |
| 33 | Shapoor Zadran | AFG | 15 | 2 | 0 | 88.2 | 9 | 5.3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 231 |
| 34 | Morne Morkel | SA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 40.0 | 9 | 5.1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 227 |
| 35 | Angelo Mathews | SL | 90 | 7 | 0 | 67.7 | 5 | 5.2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 220 |
| 36 | Joe Root | ENG | 173 | 17 | 2 | 89.6 | 1 | 6.3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 215 |
| 37 | Jason Holder | WI | 113 | 7 | 7 | 100.9 | 5 | 6.2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 215 |
| 38 | Mohit Sharma | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 6 | 3.9 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 213 |
| 39 | Marlon Samuels | WI | 194 | 16 | 4 | 73.2 | 2 | 5.9 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 210 |
| 40 | Umesh Yadav | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 6 | 4.3 | 4 | 0.5 | 4 | 204 |
| 41 | Amjad Javed | UAE | 109 | 13 | 3 | 118.5 | 4 | 6.6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 199 |
| 42 | Richie Berrington | SCOT | 109 | 7 | 3 | 70.3 | 5 | 5.9 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 198 |
| 43 | Brendan Taylor | ZIM | 174 | 17 | 3 | 85.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 198 |
| 44 | Lendl Simmons | WI | 161 | 13 | 7 | 104.5 | 0 | 12.0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 197 |
| 45 | Aaron Finch | AUS | 153 | 13 | 4 | 106.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 196 |
| 46 | Rilee Rossouw | SA | 122 | 12 | 4 | 176.8 | 0 | 6.5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 194 |
| 47 | Umar Akmal | PAK | 111 | 9 | 2 | 85.4 | 0 | 0.0 | 7 | 1.5 | 4 | 186 |
| 48 | Paul Stirling | IRL | 104 | 11 | 3 | 105.1 | 2 | 4.9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 183 |
| 49 | Ravindra Jadeja | IND | 18 | 2 | 0 | 56.3 | 6 | 4.5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 180 |
| 50 | Sohail Khan | PAK | 14 | 1 | 0 | 53.8 | 8 | 5.8 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 179 |
| 51 | Kyle Abbott | SA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 6 | 3.6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 177 |
| 52 | Tendai Chatara | ZIM | 22 | 2 | 0 | 71.0 | 7 | 5.6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 170 |
| 53 | Jean-Paul Duminy | SA | 121 | 9 | 3 | 105.2 | 1 | 5.6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 167 |
| 54 | Sohaib Maqsood | PAK | 116 | 10 | 3 | 100.0 | 1 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 166 |
| 55 | Kane Williamson | NZ | 149 | 17 | 2 | 85.6 | 0 | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 166 |
| 56 | Suresh Raina | IND | 102 | 8 | 3 | 118.6 | 0 | 4.5 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 163 |
| 57 | Darren Sammy | WI | 150 | 14 | 5 | 93.2 | 1 | 6.8 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 161 |
| 58 | James Taylor | ENG | 140 | 12 | 3 | 97.2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 160 |
| 59 | Haris Sohail | PAK | 133 | 10 | 1 | 73.5 | 2 | 6.6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 159 |
| 60 | Hamid Hassan | AFG | 22 | 1 | 0 | 34.9 | 7 | 5.3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 159 |
| 61 | Mitchell Marsh | AUS | 31 | 3 | 0 | 100.0 | 5 | 5.3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 157 |
| 62 | MS Dhoni | IND | 81 | 7 | 2 | 101.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 155 |
| 63 | Craig Ervine | ZIM | 121 | 10 | 4 | 98.4 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 155 |
| 64 | Brad Haddin | AUS | 94 | 11 | 3 | 146.9 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 155 |
| 65 | Shahid Afridi | PAK | 71 | 6 | 3 | 124.6 | 2 | 4.9 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 154 |
| 66 | Ed Joyce | IRL | 121 | 13 | 2 | 100.8 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 152 |
| 67 | Suranga Lakmal | SL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 41.2 | 7 | 6.1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 150 |
| 68 | Lasith Malinga | SL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 7 | 5.8 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 150 |
| 69 | Mohammad Irfan | PAK | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18.8 | 5 | 4.1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 149 |
| 70 | Chris Woakes | ENG | 48 | 3 | 0 | 88.9 | 5 | 6.1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 149 |
| 71 | Niall O'Brien | IRL | 110 | 14 | 0 | 118.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 148 |
| 72 | Mohammad Naveed | UAE | 42 | 3 | 3 | 120.0 | 5 | 6.1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 147 |
| 73 | Manjula Guruge | UAE | 10 | 1 | 0 | 62.5 | 5 | 4.6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 141 |
| 74 | Sabbir Rahman | BAN | 98 | 11 | 2 | 89.1 | 1 | 6.4 | 3 | 0.5 | 3 | 140 |
| 75 | Alasdair Evans | SCOT | 37 | 5 | 0 | 71.2 | 4 | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 138 |
| 76 | Steven Finn | ENG | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13.3 | 8 | 6.9 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 137 |
| 77 | Mitchell Johnson | AUS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 | 6 | 5.9 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 137 |
| 78 | Mashrafe Mortaza | BAN | 21 | 4 | 0 | 131.3 | 4 | 4.9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 136 |
| 79 | Jos Buttler | ENG | 76 | 11 | 1 | 146.2 | 0 | 0.0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 134 |
| 80 | Thisara Perera | SL | 47 | 6 | 1 | 180.8 | 3 | 5.8 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 133 |
| 81 | Dwayne Smith | WI | 78 | 12 | 1 | 72.9 | 1 | 4.4 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 130 |
| 82 | Sikandar Raza | ZIM | 85 | 12 | 1 | 92.4 | 1 | 4.7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 129 |
| 83 | Ian Bell | ENG | 147 | 14 | 0 | 73.1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 127 |
| 84 | Denesh Ramdin | WI | 74 | 9 | 0 | 76.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 127 |
| 85 | Ahmed Shehzad | PAK | 141 | 13 | 1 | 70.9 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 126 |
| 86 | Mahmudullah | BAN | 113 | 9 | 1 | 73.4 | 1 | 5.5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 124 |
| 87 | Hamilton Masakadza | ZIM | 115 | 12 | 2 | 78.8 | 1 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 122 |
| 88 | Mohammad Nabi | AFG | 68 | 7 | 1 | 81.9 | 2 | 6.1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 121 |
| 89 | Dawlat Zadran | AFG | 13 | 2 | 0 | 38.2 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 119 |
| 90 | Rangana Herath | SL | 13 | 2 | 0 | 68.4 | 3 | 4.5 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 118 |
| 91 | Kevin O'Brien | IRL | 98 | 11 | 3 | 107.7 | 4 | 9.9 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 118 |
| 92 | Khurram Khan | UAE | 138 | 12 | 1 | 72.6 | 0 | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 117 |
| 93 | Steven Smith | AUS | 104 | 9 | 1 | 88.1 | 0 | 9.5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 116 |
| 94 | Majid Haq | SCOT | 47 | 6 | 0 | 58.8 | 3 | 4.9 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 116 |
| 95 | Samiullah Shenwari | AFG | 193 | 16 | 5 | 59.8 | 0 | 5.6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 115 |
| 96 | George Dockrell | IRL | 32 | 2 | 1 | 51.6 | 4 | 5.3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 113 |
| 97 | Soumya Sarkar | BAN | 53 | 8 | 1 | 132.5 | 0 | 4.3 | 5 | 0.5 | 3 | 112 |
| 98 | Gary Wilson | IRL | 81 | 9 | 0 | 103.8 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 112 |
| 99 | Ajinkya Rahane | IND | 93 | 9 | 3 | 97.9 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 112 |
| 100 | Matt Machan | SCOT | 127 | 14 | 2 | 77.4 | 0 | 6.2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 111 |
Team ' Runs (scored) ' 4s ' 6s ' Strike rate ' W: Wickets taken ' Eco: Economy rate 'Ct St: Catches, stumpings ' Run outs ' M: Matches played ' MVPI: Most valuable player index = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points '*Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.
As the World Cup heads towards the all-important knockout stages with most of the teams fighting for a place in the quarter-finals, you can expect many more twists and turns in the days ahead.
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