IPL 2019: Ranking the 8 teams by their death bowling

The Indian Premier League enters its 12th edition in 2019, and as always there will be some surprises in store for the fans this time, as it has always been over the last 11 years.

Over time, cricket has turned into a batsman's game. Nowadays, even 200 is not enough in a T20 game and death bowling has become a crucial element of T20 cricket.

On many occasions, the side with the best death bowling unit has gone on to lift the IPL trophy. Death bowling is an art which requires strong nerves, temperament, and the ability to bounce back even after getting hit for a maximum. Bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Andrew Tye are the new marquee players in this shortest format of the game.

The ranking is purely based on the death-bowling abilities, and not necessarily on the IPL numbers.

Here is a list of the 8 IPL teams ranked on the basis of their death-bowlers in the team.

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#8 Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB missed him last season.

Royal Challengers have historically suffered in the crunch games due to the fact that they don't have a perfect death bowler to finish the innings.

This time they have made some better choices with the inclusion of Nathan Coulter-Nile to support the likes of Tim Southee and Umesh Yadav who had a great season last time around but still, they are a side that hopes their batters will win them most of the matches

The shorter boundaries of the Chinnaswamy Stadium don't support the cause either as some of their defeats have come from the jaws of victory, but the case should be the other way around.

Ardent RCB fans will hope that the assigned death bowlers of the team will make a mark this time around and win close matches for them.

Candidates to bowl at death with their T20 economy rates:

1. Nathan Coulter-Nile - 7.79
2. Umesh Yadav - 8.20
3. Tim Southee - 8.29

#7 Kings XI Punjab

Can he deliver again for Punjab

The Punjab side will once again go into the IPL as one of the weakest team in terms of death bowling at their arsenal. Last year, the onus was completely on Andrew Tye to bowl at the fag end of the innings and had little support from the other end.

Tye is one of the best T20 bowlers going around at the moment. He performed brilliantly in the last IPL, and his variations proved to be too hard to read for even some of the top players.

But this time though they have purchased Mohammed Shami for a huge amount, one might feel it is not up to the level of other teams and will face a huge task just like last season to control the flow of runs at the death.

Candidates to bowl at death with their T20 economy rates:

1. Mohammad Shami - 8.29
2. Andrew Tye - 7.93
3. Sam Curran - 8.24

#6 Kolkata Knight Riders

Andre Russell

This might surprise many, but strong KKR side has a chink in their armory that is their death bowling. They are a team which relies on slow bowlers at almost every stage in their innings, Lockie Ferguson is the only genuine quickie that they have in the squad apart from Andre Russell. They do have Anrich Nortje in their ranks but he is quite inexperienced in the Indian conditions

The Indian contingent of fast bowlers is also quite new to the circuit and they will find it quite hard to bowl at the death. So, the onus will be on the Andre Russell to take up more responsibility and bowl at end overs more often than not.

The new signings Ferguson and Nortje will need to bowl more consistently towards the end of the innings for the KKR to end their title drought.

Candidates to bowl at death with their T20 economy rates:

1. Andre Russell-8.18
2. Anrich Nortje-6.47
3. Lockie Ferguson-7.37

#5 SunRisers Hyderabad

Is SRH over-reliant on Bhuvi?

SunRisers Hyderabad is a side that has all bases covered except a suitable bowler to support Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the death. While the likes of Siddharth Kaul and Khaleel Ahmed are impressive and have played for India, but they have largely been inconsistent.

They have proved to be expensive at the end of the innings playing at the International level and they need to step up to support Bhuvi to make the most out the strong squad that they have which makes them an early favorite for lifting the trophy after coming so close last season.

Billy Stanlake is the only overseas quick bowler in the squad comprising of the mostly Indian contingent in the fast bowling department and has a huge task cut out for them in case Bhuvi has to some of the matches to take adequate rest before the World cup.

Candidates to bowl at death with their T20 economy rates:

1. Bhuvneshwar Kumar - 7.13
2. Billy Stanlake - 7.88
3. Siddharth Kaul - 7.32

#4 Chennai Super Kings

DJ Bravo will once again spearhead CSK bowling attack

CSK may have won the title last year, but if there was one weakness in the MS Dhoni-led side was the lack of death bowlers and at the auctions, they made a sensible pick in buying Mohit Sharma.

Dwayne Bravo has not been the same bowler that he once was in the past, and he will surely a supporting hand at the other end at the death, and this is where a player like Mohit comes in. He is someone who has played for the CSK in the past with great success, and fans will hope that he delivers upon return to the side.

Lungi Ngidi and David Willey are the other players who can add value to the CSK side if they can be effective at the death like they used to do playing for other teams in domestic T20 cricket.

Candidates to bowl at death with their T20 economy rates:

1. Dwayne Bravo - 8.26
2. Mohit Sharma - 8.36
3. David Willey - 7.86
4. Lungi Ngidi - 7.01

#3 Delhi Capitals

Kagiso Rabada

Having been one of the disappointing sides in the IPL history, Delhi Capitals can actually spring a surprise at this years IPL as they have almost all the bases covered and have a nice blend of youth and experience at their disposal.

Like the last season, Chris Morris will be the one to bowl at the death but the presence of international level bowlers like Kagiso Rabada and Trent Boult will be a huge added advantage for the side which has a top-heavy Indian batting talent meaning that they could feature all the three experienced bowlers in the match.

The Delhi team also has the likes of young talent like Keemo Paul and Sherfane Rutherford who have impressed while playing in the Carribean Premier League and will be expected to play a part for them at some point of time in the tournament.

Candidates to bowl at death with their T20 economy rates:

1. Chris Morris - 7.68
2. Kagiso Rabada - 7.44
3. Trent Boult - 8.39.

#2 Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals are a team which has the side suited for the conditions of Jaipur which is like a fortress for the team. Last year they found a hero in Jofra Archer who delivered at almost all times for the team but couldn't inspire his team to title triumph on their return to the IPL after a gap of 2 years.

In the auctions, the RR has bought Jaydev Unadkat who was released just prior to the event and the young sensation Oshane Thomas who was impressive in the CPL and in the Indian tour. Given Unadkat's abilities to hit the deck hard, and bowl consistently at the desired length, he might just be the perfect option to bowl at the death again for the Ajinkya Rahane led side, and be a good support to Archer.

The other options include the old workhorse Dhawal Kulkarni and Ben Stokes who can be useful for the Royals.

Candidates to bowl at death with their T20 economy rates:

1. Jofra Archer - 8.01
2. Oshane Thomas - 8.84
3. Jaydev Unadkat - 7.79

#1 Mumbai Indians

One of the best in the business

Mumbai Indians have by far one of the best teams as far the death bowling is concerned. They have bought back Lasith Malinga who has to miss the last season as a player and had to just to contend to be a role of a mentor for the Mumbai Indians.

But after a stunning return to form and prove his fitness for Sri Lanka, he is back once again in the MI dressing room but this time as a player. They have a decent amount of experienced players when it comes to the pace departments and many options for the role of the death bowler in the side.

The likes of Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, Jason Behendroff and India's very own Jasprit Bumrah can be lethal on any day for any team. This makes Mumbai side a favorite to win the IPL for a record 4th time.

Candidates to bowl at death with their T20 economy rates:

1. Lasith Malinga - 6.92
2. Jasprit Bumrah - 7.16
3. Mitchell McClenaghan - 8.45