A Manhattan chart is cricket's "when did the runs happen?" graphic.

It's a bar chart showing runs scored per over. The name comes from the skyline look: tall bars, short bars, and everything in between. One view tells you how an innings unfolded, the quiet overs, the bursts, and the late surge.

How to Read One

The x-axis shows overs. The y-axis shows runs per over. Each bar represents a single over: a tall bar means a big over, a short bar means tight bowling, and no bar (or near-zero) means dot-ball pressure or a maiden.

Many charts colour-code boundaries so you can tell whether an over was built on one big hit or steady running.

What the Shape Tells You

The chart captures the rhythm of the innings:

• Tempo: steady accumulation vs a stop-start, high-risk innings
• Acceleration points: the exact over where the batter or team shifted gears
• Pressure periods: strings of low bars where bowlers controlled the game
• Death-over hitting: the classic late spike in T20s
• Boundary dependence: scoring in chunks (fours and sixes) vs ticking over in singles and twos

How The Knock Uses It

The wagon wheel shows where the runs went. The Manhattan shows when they came. Together, they give you the shape of the knock, not just the total.

A few patterns worth looking for:

• Slow start, strong finish: the classic anchor build
• Fast start, fade: powerplay attack followed by pressure or dismissal risk
• Spiky all the way: a boundary-first hitter living on momentum
• Long quiet stretch: a squeeze from bowlers, a tricky phase, or a rebuilding job

Those patterns help narrow down the batter and the match situation, even before you touch the hints.

Why "Manhattan"?

Because it looks like a skyline. Overs become buildings. Big hitting creates skyscrapers. Tight spells flatten the view. Over a long innings, especially in Tests, the chart stretches into a full cityscape.