Despite the heartbreaking semi-final loss to New Zealand, the South African skipper still heads Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present the MVP rankings after the first semi-final game in Auckland!
One might argue that A B de Villiers made some big mistakes in the semi-final: Choosing to bat first in spite of the rain threat, batting too low at No 5, not hogging the strike after David Miller departed, fielding badly, asking Dale Steyn to bowl the last over, but he is still best placed to be adjudged the most valuable player of the 2015 World Cup.
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'.
So A B de Villiers's all-round show is equivalent to scoring 875 'runs' at an average of over 100.
Despite being in the semi-final -- and after winning every game -- Indian players are still invisible in the MVPI table behind stalwarts from New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka. Hopefully that will change if India continue their progress at Sydney.
Table: Most valuable players so far in 2015 World Cup (after first SF; as on March 24, 2015)
| Rank | Player | Team | Runs | 4s | 6s | Strike Rate | W | Eco | Ct St | Run Outs | M | MVPI |
| 1 | A B de Villiers | SA | 482 | 43 | 21 | 144.3 | 4 | 6.1 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 875 |
| 2 | Kumar Sangakkara | SL | 541 | 57 | 7 | 105.9 | 0 | 0.0 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 696 |
| 3 | Martin Guptill | NZ | 532 | 58 | 15 | 108.8 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 677 |
| 4 | Corey Anderson | NZ | 231 | 22 | 9 | 109.5 | 14 | 6.5 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 600 |
| 5 | Tillakaratne Dilshan | SL | 395 | 46 | 3 | 96.6 | 5 | 4.9 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 593 |
| 6 | Glenn Maxwell | AUS | 301 | 32 | 13 | 183.5 | 5 | 6.3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 582 |
| 7 | Chris Gayle | WI | 340 | 17 | 26 | 117.2 | 5 | 5.4 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 581 |
| 8 | Brendan Taylor | ZIM | 433 | 43 | 12 | 106.9 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 574 |
| 9 | Trent Boult | NZ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 21 | 4.4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 567 |
| 10 | Sean Williams | ZIM | 339 | 29 | 6 | 109.0 | 7 | 6.4 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 553 |
| 11 | Daniel Vettori | NZ | 41 | 5 | 1 | 164.0 | 15 | 4.0 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 538 |
| 12 | Mitchell Starc | AUS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 18 | 3.7 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 527 |
| 13 | Brendon McCullum | NZ | 328 | 44 | 17 | 191.8 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 524 |
| 14 | Wahab Riaz | PAK | 83 | 9 | 2 | 97.6 | 16 | 5.6 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 503 |
| 15 | Mohammed Shami | IND | 7 | 1 | 0 | 87.5 | 17 | 4.4 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 486 |
| 16 | Morne Morkel | SA | 8 | 1 | 0 | 61.5 | 17 | 4.4 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 482 |
| 17 | David Miller | SA | 324 | 21 | 14 | 139.1 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 0.5 | 8 | 481 |
| 18 | Imran Tahir | SA | 8 | 1 | 0 | 50.0 | 15 | 4.2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 446 |
| 19 | Shakib Al Hasan | BAN | 196 | 18 | 3 | 93.8 | 8 | 5.2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 443 |
| 20 | Umesh Yadav | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 14 | 4.5 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 443 |
| 21 | Mushfiqur Rahim | BAN | 298 | 26 | 5 | 105.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 8 | 1.5 | 6 | 439 |
| 22 | Jerome Taylor | WI | 37 | 5 | 0 | 77.1 | 17 | 5.7 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 424 |
| 23 | Shikhar Dhawan | IND | 367 | 42 | 8 | 90.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 424 |
| 24 | Hashim Amla | SA | 333 | 35 | 5 | 95.1 | 0 | 0.0 | 6 | 0.5 | 8 | 417 |
| 25 | Suresh Raina | IND | 277 | 24 | 8 | 112.1 | 1 | 4.3 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 414 |
| 26 | David Warner | AUS | 288 | 30 | 8 | 123.1 | 0 | 0.0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 406 |
| 27 | Faf du Plessis | SA | 380 | 28 | 4 | 84.6 | 0 | 7.5 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 406 |
| 28 | Angelo Mathews | SL | 195 | 11 | 7 | 89.9 | 6 | 5.8 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 386 |
| 29 | Mahmudullah | BAN | 365 | 30 | 6 | 81.8 | 1 | 5.6 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 378 |
| 30 | Ravichandran Ashwin | IND | 25 | 0 | 0 | 61.0 | 12 | 4.3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 378 |
| 31 | Jason Holder | WI | 155 | 12 | 9 | 112.3 | 9 | 6.1 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 374 |
| 32 | Andre Russell | WI | 104 | 7 | 9 | 185.7 | 11 | 6.4 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 373 |
| 33 | Virat Kohli | IND | 304 | 29 | 1 | 84.2 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 1.5 | 7 | 365 |
| 34 | Josh Davey | SCOT | 55 | 5 | 0 | 62.5 | 15 | 6.2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 361 |
| 35 | Tim Southee | NZ | 12 | 1 | 1 | 171.4 | 15 | 5.6 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 361 |
| 36 | Shaiman Anwar | UAE | 311 | 34 | 4 | 91.5 | 0 | 6.0 | 1 | 0.5 | 6 | 356 |
| 37 | Misbah-ul-Haq | PAK | 350 | 25 | 7 | 75.1 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 352 |
| 38 | Mohit Sharma | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 11 | 4.5 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 336 |
| 39 | Jean-Paul Duminy | SA | 164 | 13 | 3 | 102.5 | 6 | 5.8 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 333 |
| 40 | Rohit Sharma | IND | 296 | 32 | 7 | 94.9 | 0 | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 331 |
| 41 | Lahiru Thirimanne | SL | 302 | 29 | 2 | 84.8 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 327 |
| 42 | Moeen Ali | ENG | 192 | 24 | 5 | 105.5 | 4 | 5.3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 321 |
| 43 | Rilee Rossouw | SA | 210 | 23 | 5 | 116.7 | 0 | 6.5 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 312 |
| 44 | Grant Elliott | NZ | 227 | 22 | 6 | 107.1 | 2 | 8.5 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 309 |
| 45 | MS Dhoni | IND | 172 | 15 | 4 | 103.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 305 |
| 46 | Dale Steyn | SA | 17 | 3 | 0 | 70.8 | 11 | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 302 |
| 47 | Ed Joyce | IRL | 246 | 23 | 5 | 98.4 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 299 |
| 48 | Marlon Samuels | WI | 230 | 20 | 5 | 77.2 | 3 | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 296 |
| 49 | Amjad Javed | UAE | 170 | 21 | 4 | 87.2 | 7 | 6.5 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 295 |
| 50 | Richie Berrington | SCOT | 139 | 9 | 5 | 76.0 | 7 | 5.7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 284 |
| 51 | Lasith Malinga | SL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 33.3 | 12 | 5.6 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 277 |
| 52 | Aaron Finch | AUS | 199 | 19 | 5 | 108.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 276 |
| 53 | Ravindra Jadeja | IND | 41 | 6 | 0 | 97.6 | 9 | 5.3 | 1 | 0.5 | 7 | 272 |
| 54 | Andy Balbirnie | IRL | 236 | 20 | 4 | 90.8 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.5 | 6 | 268 |
| 55 | Steven Smith | AUS | 241 | 23 | 2 | 87.6 | 0 | 9.5 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 264 |
| 56 | Kyle Abbott | SA | 12 | 2 | 0 | 63.2 | 9 | 4.2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 263 |
| 57 | Kyle Coetzer | SCOT | 253 | 33 | 4 | 89.7 | 0 | 7.4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 257 |
| 58 | Shapoor Zadran | AFG | 17 | 2 | 0 | 81.0 | 10 | 5.2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 257 |
| 59 | Sohail Khan | PAK | 21 | 1 | 0 | 50.0 | 12 | 5.9 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 257 |
| 60 | Niall O'Brien | IRL | 199 | 23 | 3 | 109.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 256 |
| 61 | Joe Root | ENG | 202 | 19 | 2 | 84.2 | 1 | 6.2 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 253 |
| 62 | Umar Akmal | PAK | 164 | 17 | 2 | 80.4 | 0 | 0.0 | 11 | 1.5 | 7 | 251 |
| 63 | Shane Watson | AUS | 178 | 20 | 3 | 110.6 | 2 | 6.6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 248 |
| 64 | Soumya Sarkar | BAN | 173 | 23 | 3 | 89.6 | 0 | 4.6 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 248 |
| 65 | Mohammad Naveed | UAE | 73 | 6 | 5 | 123.7 | 8 | 6.1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 247 |
| 66 | Ian Bell | ENG | 262 | 27 | 0 | 77.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 242 |
| 67 | Mitchell Johnson | AUS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 36.4 | 10 | 5.5 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 240 |
| 68 | Sabbir Rahman | BAN | 182 | 18 | 5 | 98.4 | 1 | 6.5 | 3 | 0.5 | 6 | 238 |
| 69 | Jos Buttler | ENG | 141 | 17 | 2 | 135.6 | 0 | 0.0 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 235 |
| 70 | Kane Williamson | NZ | 222 | 27 | 2 | 83.1 | 0 | 6.0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 235 |
| 71 | William Porterfield | IRL | 275 | 22 | 3 | 67.2 | 0 | 0.0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 234 |
| 72 | Brad Haddin | AUS | 119 | 15 | 4 | 163.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 232 |
| 73 | Michael Clarke | AUS | 135 | 14 | 2 | 93.8 | 1 | 2.8 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 231 |
| 74 | Shahid Afridi | PAK | 116 | 10 | 6 | 133.3 | 2 | 4.9 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 228 |
| 75 | Tendai Chatara | ZIM | 23 | 2 | 0 | 65.7 | 10 | 5.7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 223 |
| 76 | Paul Stirling | IRL | 159 | 17 | 5 | 100.0 | 2 | 5.7 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 221 |
| 77 | Sikandar Raza | ZIM | 125 | 15 | 4 | 99.2 | 2 | 4.9 | 2 | 0.5 | 6 | 221 |
| 78 | Alex Cusack | IRL | 19 | 1 | 0 | 82.6 | 7 | 4.6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 219 |
| 79 | Quinton de Kock | SA | 145 | 21 | 0 | 82.9 | 0 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 219 |
| 80 | Haris Sohail | PAK | 177 | 14 | 1 | 72.2 | 3 | 6.3 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 217 |
| 81 | Thisara Perera | SL | 62 | 8 | 1 | 144.2 | 6 | 6.7 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 216 |
| 82 | Chris Woakes | ENG | 90 | 6 | 0 | 95.7 | 5 | 6.2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 211 |
| 83 | Mohammad Irfan | PAK | 4 | 0 | 0 | 21.1 | 8 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 211 |
| 84 | Lendl Simmons | WI | 173 | 14 | 8 | 101.2 | 0 | 12.0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 207 |
| 85 | Darren Sammy | WI | 177 | 17 | 6 | 100.0 | 1 | 6.1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 205 |
| 86 | Sarfraz Ahmed | PAK | 160 | 12 | 3 | 84.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 6 | 0.5 | 3 | 205 |
| 87 | Ahmed Shehzad | PAK | 227 | 24 | 1 | 72.5 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 203 |
| 88 | Hamid Hassan | AFG | 38 | 5 | 0 | 44.2 | 8 | 5.1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 203 |
| 89 | Mashrafe Mortaza | BAN | 28 | 5 | 0 | 121.7 | 7 | 5.3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 202 |
| 90 | Rahat Ali | PAK | 7 | 0 | 0 | 25.9 | 7 | 4.4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 200 |
| 91 | Sohaib Maqsood | PAK | 153 | 12 | 3 | 86.9 | 1 | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 200 |
| 92 | Mohammad Nabi | AFG | 90 | 8 | 2 | 78.3 | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 192 |
| 93 | Ajinkya Rahane | IND | 164 | 19 | 3 | 89.1 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 190 |
| 94 | Gary Wilson | IRL | 141 | 15 | 1 | 103.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 189 |
| 95 | Craig Ervine | ZIM | 159 | 12 | 5 | 88.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 188 |
| 96 | Manjula Guruge | UAE | 14 | 1 | 0 | 53.8 | 7 | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 188 |
| 97 | Matt Machan | SCOT | 186 | 21 | 2 | 80.9 | 1 | 7.8 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 173 |
| 98 | Josh Hazlewood | AUS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 6 | 4.2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 169 |
| 99 | Denesh Ramdin | WI | 107 | 11 | 0 | 70.9 | 0 | 0.0 | 13 | 0.5 | 7 | 166 |
| 100 | Alasdair Evans | SCOT | 38 | 5 | 0 | 66.7 | 6 | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 164 |
| 101 | Nasir Hossain | BAN | 46 | 6 | 1 | 112.2 | 4 | 5.2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 164 |
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.
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