BATTING RANKINGS
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Fast bowlers operate mainly in two phases - the first six over aka the powerplay and the finishers. Here we judge how the top order and the finishers are stacked in each team to tackle the best pacers of the opponents.
Powerplay batting
There are no teams with a bad top order (number one to three) to bat in the powerplay. There are good teams or average teams, but none really bad. It tells about an important element of T20 cricket - there are more top order batters available worldwide in T20 cricket than players in any other category.
Gospel aside, Chennai Super Kings were the best performing team during the powerplay in the 2023 season, both in run rate (9.4) and batting average (a staggering 93.7). They have the same personnel this year, barring Devon Conway who won’t join the squad until May. But Chennai did enough shopping in the auction to cover up for his loss with Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell in their side. Moreover, they can simply move Ajinkya Rahane from number three to open with Ruturaj Gaikwad and exploit his stronger suit, ie, hitting pace bowling.
The argument is the same for Royal Challengers Bangalore who will have Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli open for the third time in a row. The duo have worked well in sync for the franchise, especially when the pacers are on in this phase. In addition, they have Rajat Patidar returning to the side after missing the last season.
Mumbai Indians’ opening pair - Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan - have blown hot and cold in the last couple of seasons but with Suryakumar Yadav at three and the openers’ high ceiling keep Mumbai floating in this aspect. Rajasthan Royals are another powerful pace hitting side with Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson in top three.
Gujarat Titans had a good run in the powerplay last year but will rely heavily on Shubman Gill. Jonny Bairstow’s return will bolster Punjab Kings' top order but they have a vacant spot at number three.
Lucknow Super Giants hold firepower in their top order but are likely to change their batting order with skipper KL Rahul expected to move down the order. They also have a new entrant in Devdutt Padikkal joining the squad with middling T20 numbers since 2023 (average 27.1, strike rate 126.3).
Delhi Capitals has a similar story but with plenty of questions against each of their top three batters. David Warner had a middling strike rate against pace in the powerplay last year (135.3) and Prithvi Shaw is the second lowest averaging IPL opener against pace with a minimum of 50 innings (26.3).
Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders are expected to have a new-look top order. Hyderabad will rely on Travis Head for quick starts. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer has a strike rate of only 110.9 against pace in the powerplay.
Finishing capability
Delhi are the only side on the wrong end here. They have never had a stable finisher and consequently, finished the 2023 season as the least productive batting team in the last five overs (average 14.3, run rate 8.3). They have added Tristan Stubbs but Axar Patel remains the only experienced option there.
Gujarat have pulled back plenty of games in their favour during the death overs but in the absence of Hardik Pandya, David Miller might bat at four. Rahul Tewatia has become a cult hero in the finisher’s role for Gujarat. He will have two newbies around him - Azmatullah Omarzai and Shahrukh Khan - if Miller doesn’t bat until the end.
Bangalore is the other team relying on one man for good finishers - Dinesh Karthik. The 38-year old had a fantastic 2022 season that elevated Bangalore to playoffs. Things didn’t click for him in 2023 and neither for the team. Cameron Green has joined the squad but Karthik is still the only designated finisher.
Onto the teams with more personnel here, Kolkata will continue with the duo of Rinku Singh and Andre Russell. The latter’s form and fitness will be vital for the two-time champions in multiple aspects. Punjab will bank on Sam Curran to punch above his weight with the likes of Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma around him.
Lucknow have all their star batters in top five. Either Marcus Stoinis or Nicholas Pooran batting deep with Aayush Badoni and Krunal Pandya to follow can improve their death batting numbers.
Rajasthan have added Rovman Powell who can slot in at number seven as the fourth overseas player to aid Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel. Hetmyer already has the most runs in this phase for a batter since IPL 2022.
Mumbai and Hyderabad are the strongest teams here owing to specialist players for the role and deep batting line up. Heinrich Klaasen is one of the most in-form number five batters heading into this edition (average 51.8, strike rate 171.3 in T20s since 2023) and will have Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Pat Cummins and one more batter to follow. Mumbai have Tim David at six with a bunch of explosive lower-order batters after him.
Spin-Hitting
Spin basher(s) & LHB-RHB combo
The middle overs are largely bowled by the spinners and thereby emerges the need for spin bashers. And here is a hack to break the opposition’s spin attack - an efficient LHB-RHB pair that can turn the strike over with respect to the match-up situation. As an additional benefit, such a pair can take advantage of the shorter boundary on one side of the ground.
This turned out to be a fairly simple metric to segregate teams. Bangalore is the worst spin-batting side by a distance. Glenn Maxwell is their only spin-basher in the true sense. On the contrary, du Plessis and Kohli can be curtailed by left-arm spin. Patidar has a strike rate of 160.8 facing spin in his brief IPL career but since 2023, he has only struck spinners at 126 in T20 cricket. Also, none of their first-choice batters is a left-hander, making it tough for them to counter quality spin attacks.
Delhi have the LHB-RHB combination going their way but don’t have enough efficient batters against spin. Mitchell Marsh’s strike rate for Delhi drops to 103.3 against spin from 154.3 against pace. Rishabh Pant is their best bet but he will take the field after 15 months and a long recovery process. Delhi suffered the lowest run rate against spin last year (7.5).
Punjab are the next in line while going in the ascending order of quality. They were in the lower half of the table on all spin batting metrics last year. Prabhsimran Singh (average 62, strike rate 157) and Jitesh Sharma (average 34.3, strike rate 145.1) were their only hitters of spin bowling. Jonny Bairstow’s comeback to the top will bolster the cause. If Punjab can also play Sikandar Raza, they will have multiple spin hitters in the middle. However, Raza only seems to be a backup for Liam Livingstone at the moment. The latter has a strike rate of only 90.8 versus spin.
Mumbai and Lucknow have LHB-RHB combinations running through their lineup but contrasting home conditions produced different results for them last year. Mumbai played on flatter tracks and scored at 8.7 runs per over against spin last year. Lucknow, despite having more skillful batters of slow bowling, scored at only 8.1. Lucknow’s batting against spin will be crucial for their season fortunes.
Rajasthan have firepower against spin but have only two left-handers in top seven. Hyderabad have many big hitters of spin, none more intimidating than Klaasen. Among the top 50 run scorers against spin bowling since 2023, Klaasen has the highest strike rate (189.5). Abhishek Sharma has astronomical strike rates against some of the top spinners in IPL. Klaasen and Abhishek batting together, maintaining a LHB-RHB combo, will be one of the most explosive spin batting combos of the season.
Gujarat, Kolkata and Chennai are arguably the best sides on both fronts of batting versus spin. All these teams have plenty of left-handers. Like Klaasen-Abhishek, the combo of Daryl Mitchell and Shivam Dube will be the one to watch out for in the defending champions’ camp. The norms of match-up bowling doesn’t work against Nitish Rana who bashes both off-spin and left-arm orthodox spin.
Gujarat were one of the best sides against spin last year and with similar personnel in their top six, they will be a headache for the opposition spinners again. In fact, Azmatullah Omarzai replacing Pandya strengthens Gujarat on this front.
Batting depth
Strong sides
Chennai: Pioneers of batting depth in IPL. Potential lower order: Dhoni at 7, Shardul at 8, Deepak Chahar at 9
Mumbai: Most explosive lower order with Romario Shepherd at 8, Gerald Coetzee at 9, Piyush Chawla at 10. They can also play Mohammad Nabi in the same XI.
Hyderabad: Potential lower-order: Washington Sundar at 8, Pat Cummins at 9, Bhuvneshwar Kumar at 10. They can also include Wanindu Hasaranga in this XI.
Average teams
Lucknow: They can have the depth but without the firepower of the same ilk as some other teams. Potential lower-order if they play David Willey as overseas pacer ahead of Naveen-Ul-Haq: David Willey at 8, Krishnappa Gowtham at 9, Shivam Mavi at 10.
Punjab: Capable lower-order batters but without much IPL credentials. Potential lower-order: Harshal Patel at 8, Rahul Chahar at 9, Kagiso Rabada at 10
Kolkata: Mitchell Starc is too good a player to bat at nine but there is a cloud of uncertainty around their number seven and eight. Narine has averaged only 11.5 in T20s since 2023. Potential lower-order: Anukul Roy/Ramandeep Singh at 7, Sunil Narine at 8, Mitchell Starc ar 9
Gujarat: No batting post Rashid Khan at 8. Potential lower-order: Rashid at 8, Mohit Sharma at 9
Below par teams
Rajasthan: Powerful top seven but the batting falls after the cliff after Powell. Potential lower order: R Ashwin at 8, Trent Boult at 9, Yuzvendra Chahal at 10
Delhi: Batting falls after number seven. Potential lower-order: Kuldeep Yadav at 8, Anrich Nortje at 9, Khaleel Ahmed at 10
Bangalore: Batting dips after Dinesh Karthik at seven. Potential lower-order: Karn Sharma at 8, Alzarri Joseph at 9, Mohammed Siraj at 10
Conclusion
Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi are sides more inclined towards pace-hitting than spin-hitting. This nature suits Mumbai the most given their home conditions that take spinners out of the equation. You can say the same for Bangalore but they have been stung by opposition spinners before. Delhi are most susceptible to spin which doesn’t go in sync with the demands of their home venue. Lucknow, meanwhile, have functioned better against pace.
Chennai’s squad is more oriented on hitting spin, but they aren’t too bad against pace either, making them competitive on both fronts.
Rajasthan and Hyderabad are the other teams in the first quadrant, owing to their potential against both kinds of bowlers.
Gujarat are excellent versus spin. However, minor threats in top order and lower-middle order subvert their chances against pace to an extent.
In 2022, Kolkata had the worst numbers against pace. In 2023, they had the lowest batting average versus spin. This year, they have made amends in the squad to tackle both. Punjab look good against pace but their season against spin will determine their fortunes.
*all analysis done considering teams at full strength
