The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the ultimate playground for cricket lovers worldwide! From nail-biting finishes to jaw-dropping catches, the IPL never fails to amaze. Every year, the tournament witnesses some of the most electrifying matches, with players showcasing their skills in all departments of the game. While the bowlers try to outwit the batsmen with their variations and tactics, the batters try to hit as many boundaries as possible to help their teams post mammoth totals or chase down steep targets. With all the teams still in the running for the playoffs, the competition has been hotter than the sun this season!
We know that in T20, every ball is an event! Just like the legendary MS Dhoni said, “You can’t think about what happened on the last ball. You just must focus on the next one and make sure you execute your plans properly.”
So, let’s dive right into the numbers to see which team has been the most effective with the bat and the ball. We’ll be analysing the data to see which teams have been explosive in the powerplay overs, sustained their momentum in the middle overs, and finished their innings with a bang!
Get ready to immerse yourself in the world of power-hitting and effective-bowling! We’ll be exploring which teams have been hitting those massive sixes that soar over the boundary ropes and those gorgeous fours that pierce the field. We’ll take a closer look at which teams have been able to effectively contain the boundaries during different phases of the game.
Join us on this exciting journey as we uncover the secrets to IPL success and find out which teams need to improve their power-hitting and effective-bowling if they want to make it to the playoffs this season.
Our Approach
To dive deeper into the statistics, we delved into the first 37 games of the tournament, which marks the exact halfway point of the season. From the boundaries scored, we evaluated the impact of power-hitting, and from the boundaries conceded, we evaluated the impact of effective-bowling.
To kick-off our analysis, we examined the number of boundaries (4s and 6s) each team scored and conceded against their opposition during four phases of the game, namely the Powerplay Overs (first 6 overs), Overs Number 6-10, Overs Number 10-16, and Death Overs (overs 16-20).
To identify the performance of teams in each phase of the game, we ranked them based on their number of boundaries scored and conceded. We divided the teams into percentiles – the top 25%, 50%, and 75% – to understand their performance better. We used the percentile rankings to assign each team a score, with 1.5 being awarded for performances in the top 25%, 1 for those in the top 50%, 0.5 for those in the top 75%, and 0 for those below the 25th percentile. For instance, during the Powerplay Overs, the number of boundaries scored by teams varied from 6 to 10 boundaries per game. We dissected each team’s performance to separate the powerhouses from the puny hitters.
Breaking it Down: Power-Hitting Teams
It’s time to uncover the best performing batting team in this season’s IPL…. drumroll, please… and no surprise – it’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s powerhouse team, Chennai Super Kings!
With power-packed players like Conway, Ruturaj, and Ajinkya in the top order and the unstoppable Shivam Dube dominating the middle overs, Chennai Super Kings has been crushing it this season. And who can forget the world-class finishers MSD and Sir Jadeja, who have been delivering some real jaw-dropping performances! They’re simply a class apart and we won’t be surprised if they lift the IPL trophy this year.
But hold on to your hats, folks, because the next two high-scoring teams might just shock you. It’s the inconsistent yet dangerous Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders! Yes, you heard it right. If these teams can get their act together and iron out their inconsistencies, they could make it to the playoffs and cause some serious havoc on the pitch. So, let’s keep our fingers crossed and see what unfolds in the remaining games of the season. Both the Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad seem to be struggling to find their groove and have not been performing up to par with the bat. They will need to revaluate their strategies and look to address some of these issues in the next auction to come back stronger in IPL 2024.
Breaking it Down: Effective-Bowling Teams
Now, let’s turn our attention to the best performing bowling team of this season’s IPL. And the winner is… Rajasthan Royals! They have proven to have the most effective bowling attack, ranking in the top 25% in all phases except for the dreaded death overs. But they’re not alone in their success. Coming in a close second is the formidable team of Lucknow Super Giants. Well folks, brace yourselves now for the worst bowling side of this IPL season. We hate to say it, but it’s none other than the five times champion Mumbai Indians. Except for the powerplay, they have found themselves in the bottom 25% in all phases. Serious injuries at start of the season to their star player, Jasprit Bumrah and new recruit Jhye Richardson, coupled with Jofra Archer’s inconsistent fitness has completely derailed their plans to dominate the league this year.
After analysing the impact of power-hitting and effective-bowling on each team’s performance during different phases of the game, we can confidently predict that Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals, and Punjab Kings are the top contenders to secure a place in the playoffs. The Gujarat Titans are ruling the roost now, sitting pretty at the top of the table. It’s safe to say that they’re practically punching their ticket to the playoffs with their impressive consistency, so it would take a brave man to predict that they wouldn’t qualify for the play-offs.
We will continue to monitor all the games closely to see if best performing teams have qualified for the play-offs or if some teams have been lucky enough to make it. We’ll share our final analysis after the completion of IPL, so please stay tuned…