IPL: Best batsmen in the middle overs since 2018
An essential yet underrated aspect of T20 cricket is maintaining a steady run rate in the middle overs and not looking at it as just a passing phase between powerplays and death overs. All successful Indian Premier League (IPL) sides understand this. Some teams also use the strategy of trying not to lose many wickets in the powerplays so that the set batsmen can take advantage of the middle overs.
The middle phase more often than not drives the game in the IPL and is often considered a phase where you make or break a game.
We look at some of the best batsmen in the middle overs across the last two seasons [minimum 50 balls faced in overs from 7 to 15] of the IPL.
Boundary Hitting:
There have been 15 batsmen in the last two seasons who hit a boundary once in every six balls they face in the middle overs.
Nicholas Pooran, who made his IPL debut for KXIP in 2019, has been the most prolific boundary hitter the tournament in the middle overs, with a boundary every 3.44 balls. Shane Watson and Sunil Narine are the other two batsmen taking less than 4 balls per boundary.
While most of the batsmen in the list are middle order batsmen, the presence of the likes of Watson, Dhawan, Bairstow, Gayle and Buttler proves how dangerous they can be once they get set. The frequency of boundaries by these batsmen makes it easier for the new batsmen to settle in.
Dot Percentage:
The ability to minimize the dot ball percentage is one of the major factors that determine how well someone is doing in the middle overs.
SRH skipper David Warner has been the busiest batsman in the middle overs, with the lowest dot ball percentage (18.05%), followed by Prithvi Shaw (20.18%), Aaron Finch (22.06%), Shane Watson (22.07%) and Mayank Agarwal (23.00%). The fact that most batsmen in the list are openers, indicates the importance of being set and not losing the wicket in powerplays in the IPL.
The ones coming in to bat in the middle overs have higher dot ball percentage as they take a bit of time to settle in. The exceptions include AB de Villiers and Rishabh Pant, who also happen to have a good frequency of boundaries in the middle overs.
Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, and Sunil Narine maintain a superb strike rate despite having a high dot ball percentage, because of their boundary hitting ability.
The openers like Shane Watson, David Warner, and Prithvi Shaw have a high strike rate and low dot ball percentage, and hence they do not create undue pressure on batsmen at the other end.
The likes of Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo, and Colin de Grandhomme neither have a good strike rate nor have a low dot ball percentage, implying they do not hit boundaries too often.
The Consistent Ones:
Most batsmen having 50-plus average in the middle overs are designated finishers except Bairstow, Warner, and Williamson being the exceptions. All three of them are known for playing long innings and these stats justify their value.
A total of 13 players have an average above 40 and strike rate above 130 in the middle overs since 2018 in the IPL. Shane Watson has been the best batsman in the middle overs, averaging close to 50 and striking at a rate of 180-plus. In addition to that, he has the fourth-lowest dot ball percentage and the second-highest boundary frequency.
The likes of MS Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo, and Riyan Parag have a very good average but have to improve in terms of strike rate in the upcoming season of the IPL.