Top 5 death bowlers in the Indian Premier League

Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore - IPL T20

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 win the Indian Premier League. Death bowling is an art which requires strong nerves, temperament, and the ability to bounce back even after getting hit for a maximum.

It's not necessary that only fast bowlers are good death bowlers. Spinners like Sunil Narine have also made a mark in the slog overs. Before the T20 era, death bowling was all about yorkers, but in modern times, yorkers alone will not do the job. Big bats, small fields, and unconventional shots have ensured that, for a bowler to be successful, variation of pace and a few slower bouncers are also important.

Here are the best death bowlers in the IPL:

#5 Mustafizur Rahman

The 22-year-old canny left-arm fast bowler from Bangladesh has already made an impact not only in the IPL, but, for his national side as well, where he is a front-line bowler. The "fizz" as he is known, contributed to a large extent in the Sunrisers Hyderabad success in their IPL winning year of 2016. His yorker to dismiss Andre Russell was one of the best deliveries ever bowled in IPL history.

This year we'll watch him in the blue of the three-time IPL champions - Mumbai Indians.

Apart from yorkers and wide yorkers, he is also a great exponent of slower cutters, which are the most difficult to hit. He can be a handy bowler, particularly in dry wickets, where the ball holds on to the wicket. The best part about him is that he can execute a slower ball without much change in arm speed.

He won the Emerging Player award in his first IPL season and proved to be unplayable towards the death of the innings. He has got an economy rate of 7.15, which is very nominal, considering that he bowls during the power play and towards the death.

Due to his left shoulder injury, he lost a bit of zip and failed to make any impact in IPL 2017, and played just a handful of games.

He is looking far more confident this year after having a good tri-series at home against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. A fully recovered Fizz can come in handy with the ball in IPL 2018.