As the race for the playoffs intensifies, each IPL team has started zeroing in on their combinations so as to put in place a settled line-up to feature in the knockouts.
While the T20 format is generally known as the format of the batsmen, more often than not, it has been a team’s bowling that has proved out to be the difference maker in a match.
This IPL season has been no different, as on several occasions we’ve found that the bowlers have done the job for the team and have created a considerable impact on the game. Conversely, teams with weak bowling attacks have suffered in the league as well.
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The re-emergence of the yorker as a death-overs tool and the cunning usage of slower balls have made some of the bowlers almost unplayable at the fag end of the innings. Here, in this article, we take a close look at the bowling attacks of all 8 teams in the IPL and rate them on a scale of 10.
1.Sunrisers Hyderabad: 9/10
Perhaps the most underrated team in the tournament, the Sunrisers Hyderabad have surprised one and all with their impressive performances this season. Inspired by the energy and the enthusiasm of their captain, David Warner, the Sunrisers have won 6 of their 9 games and are well in contention to qualify for the playoffs, and if I dare say, win the league.
As heroic the captain has been for them at the top of the order, their bowling has been equally good, if not better. The pace quartet of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mustafizur Rahman, Ashish Nehra, and Barinder Sran has been extremely penetrating, both with the new ball, as well as at then death.
Bhuvneshwar has swung the ball both ways in then early overs whenever there has been some swing on offer and so has Ashish Nehra, who was the Man of the Match in Hyderabad’s thumping 85-run victory over Mumbai Indians in Visakhapatnam in their return game against the defending champions.
Bhuvneshwar has taken 13 wickets from 9 games at an economy rate of 7.97 while Nehra, despite missing a few games due to a groin injury, has taken 5 wickets from as many games at a superb economy rate of 6.92.
Similarly, Mustafizur Rahman and Barinder Sran have also been amongst the wickets. Mustafizur, in particular, has carved out a niche for himself in terms of impeccable death bowling and devastatingly deceiving cutters.
Rahman has taken 13 wickets from the 9 matches that he has played and has conceded runs at just 6.15 runs per over. Sran, the third left-arm seamer in the SRH’s attack has grabbed 8 wickets from 7 matches.
Arguably, the Sunrisers Hyderabad have the best bowling attack of all teams in the IPL.
2. Kolkata Knight Riders: 8.5/10
The two-time IPL champions have emerged out as the most consistent team in the league over the past 4 years. Having already won the tournament twice- in 2012 and 2014, KKR had done decently in the last season as well.
As for this season, they are currently placed third in the standings with 12 points from 10 games and their victorious campaign has been made possible through the efforts of a well-balanced team, with the right combination of batsmen, bowlers, and all-rounders.
The top order prowess of Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa has been perfectly complemented by the efforts of their bowlers who have been crucial to the team’s success.
The pace battery comprising of Umesh Yadav, Morne Morkel, and Andre Russell has been menacing at times for the opposition, with Russell proving out to be an exceptional customer at the death. He currently possesses the Purple Cap with 14 wickets from 10 matches.
Morkel has 7 wickets from 6 matches while Yadav has accounted for 10 scalps from 9 games.
KKR have been equally good with their spin bowling as well, with the spin quartet of Piyush Chawla, Sunil Narine, Brad Hogg, and Shakib-Al-Hasan doing the job assigned to them with great ease and responsibility.
Chawla has been the pick of the spinners with 9 wickets from 9 games while Narine has taken 6 wickets from as many games. Hogg has accounted for 4 wickets from 5 matches while Shakib has also chipped in with 3 wickets from 6 matches, although he hasn’t been used with the ball very frequently.
3. Mumbai Indians: 7.5/10
The defending champions have had a topsy-turvy run in the tournament so far, as they have struggled to find consistency and rhythm in their campaign. However, they’re still placed 5th on the points table with 10 points from 10 games and are in serious contention for a place in the playoffs.
For them as well, the bowlers have played a significant hand in their victories and have been as vital a cog as their big hitters in the top order. The Kiwi duo of Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan has been immensely impressive with the new ball, getting wickets early on in the innings more often than not.
Jasprit Bumrah, then Indian fast-bowling sensation, and the newest death-over specialist in the limited-overs formats has continued to impress in the IPL as well, after a successful season in international cricket.
Southee has picked up 7 wickets from 9 games while his partner McClenaghan has taken 14 wickets from 10 games. Bumrah has accounted for 11 wickets from 10 games.
Apart from the fast bowlers, MI have Harbhajan Singh as their lone specialist spinner and the veteran hasn’t disappointed, as he too has picked up 7 wickets from 10 games.
4. Gujarat Lions: 7/10
Perhaps the most outrageously surprising entrant in all of IPL’s history, the Gujarat Lions have become tournament favourites from being relatively unknowns at one stage. The way their captain, Suresh Raina has led the side, it has become abundantly clear that the Lions mean business and might win the league on debut.
A significant part of their winning campaign has been their bowling attack that has effectively backed up their star-studded batting line-up. The likes of Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, and Dwayne Bravo have been instrumental to the team’s success.
Praveen as been exceptionally good, both with the new ball as well as at the death as he has managed to swing the ball in the powerplay overs, as well as nailed in those yorkers at the fag end of the innings. He may have taken only 5 wickets, but he has been pivotal with the ball for Gujarat.
Similarly, Kulkarni, with 10 wickets from 9 games, and Bravo with 12 wickets from 10 games have helped Gujarat’s cause in a big manner.
In the spin-bowling department as well, the Lions have done well. Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Tambe, and Shivil Kaushik have carried the mantle decently. Jadeja has taken 6 wickets from 10 matches, Kaushik has accounted for 4 from 5 matches while Tambe has picked up 5 wickets from 6 matches.
5. Delhi Daredevils: 6.5/10
Delhi’s young brigade may have surprised one and all with their impressive batting performances, but their bowling department has been handled mainly by experienced international cricketers.
Zaheer Khan, Amit Mishra, Imran Tahir, and Chris Morris have been the men who have done the bulk of the work with the ball, with Shahbaz Nadeem adding a cherry to the cake.
The captain himself has picked up 8 wickets from 8 matches, while Mishra, the only spinner to feature in the top 10 wicket-takers in the tournament, as of now, has taken 10 wickets from 9 games.
Tahir has played just 3 games and has picked up 5 wickets from them, while Morris, who has been their death-overs specialist, has accounted for 8 wickets from as many games. Apart from these 4, Carlos Brathwaite and Mohammad Shami have each picked by 4 wickets from 6 games.
6. Kings XI Punjab: 6/10
Punjab’s campaign this season has been quite similar to the one they had last season, wherein they had finished last on the points table.
They’re the sixth-placed side at the moment, and although two of their star performers, in David Miller and Glenn Maxwell, haven't fired much this season, their bowlers have done a more than decent job.
Sandeep Sharma and Mohit Sharma, the new ball partners have hunted in pairs, and both of them have picked up 10 wickets from as many matches. Marcus Stoinis, the batting all-rounder has also been decent with the ball, despite being inconsistent, as he too has picked up 4 wickets from 5 matches.
Coming to the spin bowling department, Axar Patel, who picked up the first hat-trick of IPL 2016, has been good for Punjab with his 9 wickets from 10 matches, while the mystery man, KC Cariappa, has 3 wickets from as many games.
7. Rising Pune Supergiants: 5/10
Nothing has gone right for the Rising Pune Supergiants in their debut season. As if losing Kevin Pietersen, Steve Smith, Faf du Plessis, and Mitchell Marsh to injuries wasn’t enough, they find themselves at the 7th spot in the points table having lost 7 of their 10 games.
The bowlers haven’t been able to fill up the gaps created by the departure of marquee batsmen either, as the bowling line-up has crumbled time and again under pressure.
The spin bowling duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Murugan Ashwin hasn’t been able to live up to the expectations as they have managed just 3 wickets and 7 wickets from 10 and 9 matches respectively.
The fast bowling has also been equally ordinary with Ishant Sharma failing to live up to the role of a senior bowler in the side. Thisara Perera has bowled too many length balls and short balls at the death and has been taken for runs, which liquidates his 8 wickets from as many games.
Rajat Bhatia and Ashoke Dinda have been Pune’s shining lights in an otherwise gloomy campaign as they have picked up 6 and 7 wickets from 9 and 5 matches respectively, as they have bowled with accuracy and have been economical.
8. Royal Challengers Bangalore: 4/10
Perhaps the worst-hit team due to the lack of quality bowlers has been Royal Challengers Bangalore. In the absence of Mitchell Starc, their bowling attack has crumbled and submitted under pressure and has been responsible for many of the team’s losses.
Right from their first game, RCB have tried several bowlers and haven’t settled on a bowling combination yet. Harshal Patel, Stuart Binny, Kane Richardson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Iqbal Abdulla, Tabraiz Shamsi, and lately Chris Jordan, have all tried their luck, but to no avail.
The only positive face has been that of Shane Watson, who has picked up 14 wickets from 9 games and has been a consistent performer with the ball , and has picked up wickets at crucial junctures.
Otherwise, the RCB bowling has been pretty ordinary.
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