This is the final instalment of our MVP IPL series.
If you are just tuning in, you can find parts I and II here.
But let us get to the death overs of the IPL.
2018
Among the batters, 21-year-old Rishabh Pant had an exceptional year. He had the 4th best true strike rate among the batters with over 300 runs that season. That he did it as a middle-order batter in the format makes his record even more impressive. His numbers were almost identical to de Villiers’, which is possibly the highest standard you can hold a T20 bat to.
KL Rahul peaked in the same year too, performing very well on both our metrics. Buttler is also part of the same cluster as him. Russell and Narine overperform heavily on true strike rate - one as a pinch-hitting opener and the other as a middle-order batter.
But have a look at MS Dhoni here. He has an insanely high true average but he scores only about 3 more runs per 100 balls in the overs he batted. It may sound strange for someone in the finishing role. But it adds up in his case, considering he went at a run-a-ball in the middle overs, scored at over 200 in the death overs and basically had a lot of not-outs.
Bumrah and Rashid were yet again the most difficult bowlers to take down. They also backed it up with above-average numbers on the true wickets metric. Mujeeb too had a brilliant all-round season with the ball like his Afghanistan teammate. Umesh Yadav was the best bowler on true wickets that year. His impactful spells in the Powerplay got the early breakthroughs for the Challengers.
Andrew Tye has to be the most impactful bowler overall. He was the second-best wicket-taking bowler and the second-least-expensive bowler based on our true average/economy metrics. He absolutely nailed his yorkers and slower balls that season. That was really the unveiling of his knuckleball to the ball, Others had tried it, but he perfected the delivery at that point, and is a big reason now everyone is trying to do the same.
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