The IPL’s Powerplay batting maestros

Kohli both scoring at 8.7rpo.

Given the fielding restrictions, it’s no surprise that the quickest scorers in the Powerplay are the batsmen who hit the most boundaries. Narine and Buttler again top the table, hitting a boundary from 32% and 27% of their deliveries respectively, while Yadav and Gayle nestle in just behind.

The bigger picture

destructive while he’s there, and at the other end you have Williamson, borderline impossible to dismiss early but unlikely to hurt you with his strike rate.

At CricViz, we have a measure which tries to take in the whole picture, and judge a player in their entirety. Batting Impact looks at the effect a batsman has on their team’s total, above or below what we’d expect the average batsman to do while batting in the same matches. Positive is good; negative is bad.

According to Batting Impact, the best Powerplay batsman of the last three IPL seasons is David Warner, who has recorded an Average Batting Impact of +4.8. In second is Jos Buttler with +4.2 but in third place, perhaps less predictably, is Manish Pandey with +3.7. Looking at Batting Impact just against pace, Pandey actually comes out top ahead of Buttler, while looking only against spin, KL Rahul tops the rankings, with Warner just behind him in second.

So, if you’re looking for a player to simply be the most effective batsman in the Powerplay, Warner is still your man. Pair him with Jonny Bairstow as Sunriser Hyderabad’s opening duo, and you have a team that promises great fireworks in the Powerplay.

The other team to look out for is Rajasthan Royals, where Buttler may be paired to open with captain Sanju Samson, compatriot Ben Stokes or the teenage rookie with great promise, Yashasvi Jaiswal.