Success stories written between Powerplay and death overs in IPL
MUMBAI: As the T20 format evolves, teams are trying different things to get an edge. Besides the match-ups, one of the things they have stressed a lot on this IPL is to keep going for shots or wickets in the middle overs— whether it works or not—rather than wait for things to happen.
On Monday, on a batting pitch at the Brabourne stadium, Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) went ballistic. RR scored 114 from overs 7 to 17 thanks to Jos Buttler’s and Sanju Samson’s big hitting. It helped them post 217/5— this season’s highest total.
KKR scored 121 in the 10 overs thanks to skipper Shreyas Iyer, Aaron Finch and Nitish Rana. It left them needing 40 runs from the last four overs. Only a brilliant 17th over by leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, in which he took four wickets including a hat-trick, restricted KKR to 210, just seven short of victory.
KKR’s 121 was the secondhighest score in the middleovers. They also hold the record for most runs in that period—127 against Mumbai Indians when Pat Cummins smashed a 15-ball 56 not out. According to espncricinfo.com, KKR have scored 9.51 runs per over in the middle overs followed by Royal Challengers Bangalore (9.13), RR (8.73), Sunrisers Hyderabad (8.66), Lucknow Super Giants (8.66) and Delhi Capitals (8.36). KKR, RCB, LSG and DC are teams with deep batting line-ups, giving them the leeway for big-hitting.
It was only the second time this edition that both teams scored 100-plus runs in that period. The first time was during the CSK-RCB match. CSK scored 110 riding on a stand between Robin Uthappa and Shivam Dube. RCB scored 104 but lost five wickets which undid their chase and led to a 23-run loss. Thirteen 100-plus scores have been achieved in the middle overs this edition (until Monday); 17 times, teams have scored
More often than not, teams which have handled overs from 7 to 17 well have been more successful
KKR
DC
RCB
MI
LSG
KKR
RCB
DC
RR
SRH
CSK
PBKS
PBKS
MI
GT
RR
between 85 and 99.
LSG, SRH and RCB have been the most successful bowling units in the middle overs. While table-toppers GT haven’t excelled here, they have eked out wins. LSG haven’t conceded more than 89 runs in six matches, from overs 7 to 17. They have thrice restricted teams to less than 70, twice in their last three games. Their economy rate of 7.51 is the best in the middle overs. SRH conceded 105 in their first match but have kept it to below 90 in the middle phase in their last-five games, below 84 in
2021 their last four wins.
RCB have been the most successful in taking wickets in the middle overs. They took five or more wickets in three of their six matches. It includes reeling in DC in their last match after David Warner had given them a flying start. DC made just 77/4 in overs 7-17. Earlier, RCB had restricted MI to 50/6 and KKR to 60/6 in that phase. Harshal Patel (six wickets) and Wanindu Hasaranga (nine wickets) have been their go-to bowlers in that phase.
In their first four matches, KKR restricted opponents to less
2022
RR
CSK
KKR
PBKS
KKR
RCB
RR
SRH
SRH RCB DC MI
MI
CSK
PBKS
GT
than 65 and 46 twice each thanks to spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy.
MI though have struggled, conceding 100-plus runs twice and between 90 to 99 thrice. They could restrict a rival to below 80 only once—PBKS (74). That was after Jasprit Bumrah’s yorker to dismiss the aggressive Liam Livingstone cheaply.
CSK and PBKS sail on the same boat—both have conceded 100-plus twice. Barring Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo, none of the CSK bowlers have managed to keep it tight. For PBKS, barring leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, no bowler has restricted the opponents. Wrist spinners have dominated the wickets column in the mid-overs (7-16), led by Chahal, who has 12 scalps, followed by Kuldeep Yadav (11 wickets), Hasaranga (9) and Chahar (7). Though MI are struggling, their newcomer Tilak Varma is the top run-scorer in the middle overs with 161 runs, as per espncricinfo.com. He is followed by Dube (154), Livingstone (151), Samson (150) and Tripathi (143)—all asked to tee off from the start.