IPL 2016: 5 best chasers in IPL history
The ongoing season of the Indian Premier League has presented before us an unprecedented trend. Most matches this season have been won by the side batting second, and following the trend, most captains these days are electing to field first after winning the toss. With the pitches remaining more or less the same throughout the match and the dew factor coming into play later in the match, teams are preferring to field first in order to shield their bowlers from the effects of dew as well as helping their batsmen make up their minds after knowing as to exactly how many runs they are required to chase.
Consequently, there have been several batsmen who have been instrumental in their teams’ victories while chasing targets. Big match situations have often required batsmen to keep a calm head and go about things in a phased manner. There have batsmen who have done so with a ridiculous amount of ease and have been hailed as some of the best chasers in IPL’s history. Here, we take a look at 5 such batsmen.
5. David Warner
The Sunrisers Hyderabad captain, who has been excellent for his side with the bat this season, has an impeccable record while chasing targets in the IPL. Having played for two franchises in his career, the Delhi Daredevils, and the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Warner has accumulated 3015 runs from 95 matches at an average of 36.32 and a strike-rate of 142.01 with two centuries.
Out of those runs, he has scored 894 runs in 19 matches while batting second in matches that his team has won, and he has scored those runs at a staggering average of 68.76. His strike-rate, while hunting down targets, has been a notch higher at 162.54. It is a pity that there have only been 19 occasions when a team featuring him has won the match while chasing.
In all appearances in the second innings, Warner has 1537 runs from 46 matches at 38.42 and a strike-rate of 146.10. Hence, the Australian southpaw qualifies as one of then most prolific run chasers in then history of the Indian Premier League.