IPL 2020: One best death bowler from each team
T20 cricket was expected to be a bowler's graveyard when it first came to fore. However, with time the bowlers have successfully evolved. While bowling at any stage of the game is a difficult task in T20 cricket, bowling at the death is an art that not many have been able to master.
The batsmen throw their bats at everything in the death overs in a bid to score quick runs. And thus it becomes difficult for the bowlers to contain the batsmen at this stage of the game. This has made teams focus on this particular area and get in specialist 'death bowlers' to do the job. These bowlers have been able to add more variations like knuckle ball and wide yorkers to their repertoire which has made the contest between the bowler and batsman more even.
Today we will look at the best death bowler from each team in IPL 2020.
#8 Rajasthan Royals - Jofra Archer
The dismal show put up by the bowlers was a major reason for Rajasthan Royals' poor season last year. Their death bowling in particular was a huge concern. However, one bowler who did well in that department was Jofra Archer. Archer has the pace to trouble the batsman in the death overs and he has used it to his advantage. Yorkers and short balls are his main weapons and because of his extra pace the batsmen haven't been able to score quick runs off his bowling.
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#7 Kings XI Punjab - Mohammad Shami
For a very long time Mohammad Shami wasn't regarded highly in T20 cricket. It was mostly because of his wayward bowling and high economy rates. However, in the last couple of years Shami has been able to transform his T20 game. He was Kings XI Punjab's most successful bowler in IPL 2019 with 19 wickets in 14 games. Shami has also made a successful comeback to the national T20 side and has been quite effective in the death overs. While he can go for some runs at times, he is a wicket-taking option and is likely to be KXIP's designated death bowler in IPL 2020.