Comparing Archer and Bumrah's numbers at the death in the IPL
Death bowlers are an important part of any T20 side. Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer are considered as two of the best death bowlers in limited-overs cricket in the world. They deliver most of the time when given the responsibility of bowling these tough overs for their respective sides.
In this article we will compare their performance in the death overs(overs 16-20) based on the stats of the previous two seasons of the IPL.
Bumrah has played 30 matches and has taken 36 wickets in the previous two seasons of the IPL, while Archer has picked up 26 wickets in 21 matches. 26 of these wickets have come in the death overs for Bumrah, while Archer has picked up 14 in the same period of the innings. Both of them have excellent numbers of 0.87 and 0.67 wickets at the death per match.
Their importance to their respective sides is also illustrated by the fact that Bumrah's economy in the death overs is 7.8 while other Mumbai Indians bowlers concede runs at 10.58. Similarly, Archer's economy at the death is 8.78 while other Rajasthan Royals bowlers concede at 11.12.
Bumrah's economy at the death when bowling first is 9.17 which is higher than Archer's 7.81. But while defending Bumrah concedes at just 6.88 whereas Archer concedes at 10.57.
Dot balls are a very important part of bowling in the death overs. They are no less than gold for any captain. Dots help put pressure back on the batsman. The following graph shows the balls per dot ratio for over 16 to 20 for Bumrah and Archer.
Both Bumrah and Archer have similar balls per dot ratio for overs 16 to 19, but Bumrah's balls-per-dot ratio of 3.88 in the 20th over of the innings is significantly better than Archer's 6.0. This show's Bumrah's ability to restrict the batsmen from scoring in even the last over of the innings. This helps his team to restrict the total while bowling first and winning close games while defending.
The following graph shows the balls-per-dot ratio for Bumrah and Archer while bowling first and while defending a total.
Archer has slightly lower balls per dot ratio of 3.13 compared to Bumrah's 4.0 while bowling first, but Bumrah's balls per dot ratio of 2.61 while defending is quite extraordinary compared to Archer's 4.65. This has helped Mumbai Indians many times to close out tight games while defending.
Both Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer have excellent numbers bowling under pressure at the death in the IPL and are an asset for their respective sides, but statistically, Bumrah holds a slight edge above Archer currently considering his extraordinary numbers while defending.
