IPL 2017

STATS: Bowling resurgence key in RPS rise

by Deepu Narayanan • Last updated on

Daniel Christian has been the surprise package having taken seven wickets with an economy rate of just 6.89 and conceding a boundary only every 10.67 deliveries. © BCCI

The city of Pune seemed to be ill-fated for IPL teams based out of there. The first team based out of there, the Pune Warriors India, managed to win just 12 matches in their three years, before all ended for good. It needed a special finish from MS Dhoni where he scored 23 runs off the final over for Rising Pune Supergiant(s) to avoid the wooden spoon in the last season. In the four seasons combined, they finished second from last thrice and were the wooden spoon holders in the other remaining season.

After three defeats in the first four matches of 2017 edition by big margins (six wickets, 97 runs and seven wickets), things seemed to be heading the same direction for RPS. After losing three successive matches, they were up against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium and were 127 for 2 in the 16th over, all set for a big finish. Within a space of nine balls, they were reduced to 130 for 7. A cameo from Manoj Tiwary helped them to post a competitive 161. No visiting team had previously defended a total less than 165 at this venue before and in the nine previous attempts to defend a total, RPS failed every single time.

After early strikes from Ben Stokes and Shardul Thakur, RPS applied brakes on the RCB middle order batsmen and choked them conceding just a single boundary in the middle overs. When RCB tried to get out of the jail playing attacking shots, RPS struck back by taking wickets at regular intervals and restricting them to 134 for 9 and eventually had their first win while defending a total. A template was set and was to be followed throughout the tournament which became the backbone of their success.

RPS - Turnaround in defending totals

Played Won Lost Win% Bowl Avg ER Till 15 Apr 2017 9 0 9 0.00% 39.81 9.18 Since 6 5 1 83.33% 18.06 7.18

Before their match against RCB, RPS had the second worst bowling numbers in the tournament after Gujarat Lions. Their economy rate of 13 in the death overs was the poorest among all the teams and the economy rate in Powerplays (10.00) and overall (9.42) were only behind GL. They conceded a boundary every 3.60 balls in Powerplays and 3.19 balls at the death, both the worst among teams.

They conceded 82 off the last five against Delhi Daredevils and 64 against Mumbai Indians. RPS managed only five wickets in the death overs after the first four matches as their bowlers struggling not only in getting breakthroughs but also keeping things tight. Ben Stokes conceded 45 from four overs at 11.25, while there were similar numbers for Imran Tahir and Ashok Dinda was hit for 50 runs at 12.50 and 68 runs at 17.00.

Since the game against RCB, RPS has been the best bowling side in the tournament and by a fair distance. They are the only side to concede less than eight an over when the tournament average was 8.41. They conceded at 7.36 in the Powerplay, 7.12 in the middle and 8.01 at the death - all three the best among eight teams.

RPS bowling first four games vs last 11

Wkts Avg ER Balls/Boundary SR First 4 matches 17 42.18 9.31 4.76 27.18 Last 11 matches 77 20.14 7.25 6.97 16.66

PP MIDDLE DEATH Runs/Over Runs/Wkt Runs/Over Runs/Wkt 13.00 60.00 10.00 26.40 8.01 22.09 7.36 23.50

RPS - the master of middle overs

The key reason behind RPS' comeback has been their ability to dry up the runs in the middle overs. They have taken 40 wickets between overs seven and 15 at an average of 24.23 and an economy rate of 7.18 - each number being the best for a team this season. They have conceded only 92 boundaries in this period of the game and possesses the best balls per boundary ratio of 8.80 where the tournament average for the middle overs has been 7.07. At the time of writing, they are the only side to take over 100 wickets this season.

Teams in middle overs this IPL

Team Wkts Runs/Wkt Runs/Over Balls/Boundary SR RPS 40 24.23 7.18 8.80 9.87 KKR 38 25.89 7.59 7.07 10.66 KXIP 34 28.71 7.93 7.61 9.32 SRH 33 27.42 7.74 7.55 11.18 MI 32 33.28 7.97 7.04 12.78 RCB 31 28.45 8.29 7.09 9.35 DD 26 38.69 8.47 6.25 13.23 GL 23 48.96 8.95 5.81 14.39 Overall 257 30.79 8.00 7.07 11.13

Imran Tahir has taken 13 wickets in the middle overs which is the most by any bowler this IPL. He has taken a wicket every 15.38 balls but conceded runs at less than seven an over and a boundary was hit only off every 9.52 balls of him. Stokes has also been very useful in the middle phase with an economy rate of 6.56 and a dot-ball percentage of 37.61. But the surprise package has been Daniel Christian who has taken seven scalps with an economy rate of 6.89 and conceding a boundary only every 10.67 deliveries.

RPS bowlers in middle overs

Player Balls Wkts Avg ER SR BPB Dot% Imran Tahir 200 13 17.92 6.99 15.38 9.52 35.00% Daniel Christian 128 7 21.00 6.89 18.29 10.67 26.56% Shardul Thakur 99 4 31.25 7.58 24.75 7.07 35.35% Washington Sundar 54 3 18.00 6.00 18.00 13.50 33.33% Lockie Ferguson 30 2 7.00 2.80 15.00 30.00 63.33% Jaydev Unadkat 30 2 16.00 6.40 15.00 7.50 36.67% Ben Stokes 117 2 64.00 6.56 58.50 8.36 37.61% Adam Zampa 79 1 100.00 7.59 79.00 8.78 30.38%

Deadly at the death

Another turning point of the season for RPS has been bringing in Jaydev Unadkat to replace the tried and tested Dinda. With 22 scalps, Unadkat is the second in the list of leading wicket-takers this year behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar (26). Among those who have bowled at least ten overs at the death, he has the highest dot-ball percentage of - 43.00. The pressure created with the dots has led to breakthroughs - his 16 wickets at the death again second only to Bhuvneshwar's 18. His wickets in the death overs have come at a strike rate of 6.25 which is the best in the tournament.

Most wickets at the death overs in IPL 2017

Player Balls Wkts Avg ER SR BPB Dot% Bhuvneshwar Kumar 159 18 11.94 8.11 8.83 6.91 25.16% Jaydev Unadkat 100 16 8.69 8.34 6.25 5.56 43.00% Siddarth Kaul 83 11 10.82 8.60 7.55 5.53 28.92% Chris Morris 90 10 11.50 7.67 9.00 7.50 26.67%

In the three matches against their opponents in the final, Mumbai Indians, RPS have conceded 59 for 4, 69 for 3 and 61 for 4 in the middle overs and thereby effectively taking the wind out of Mumbai's sail. This has left them too much to do against the likes of Unadkat and Co. towards the end which has led to their downfall. Come this Sunday, the Pune fans will be hoping the team is able to repeat the same against the strong Mumbai middle order if they are to lift the silverware.

** All stats updated till end of Eliminator.

© Cricbuzz

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