Sandeep Sharma becomes most successful Powerplay bowler in IPL

Sunrisers Hyderabad secured a thumping 10-wicket win against Mumbai Indians to confirm their place in the top four. Here are the major statistical highlights from the game:

Sandeep Sharma overtakes Zaheer Khan

In the previous match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sandeep Sharma registered his 50th wicket in the Powerplay in the Indian Premier League. At the start of this match against Mumbai Indians, he was behind Zaheer Khan by only one wicket as far as becoming the most successful bowler in the first six overs in IPL history was concerned.

First, Sandeep bagged Rohit Sharma in the third over to equal Zaheer’s tally of 52 wickets. Then, in the third over of his spell – fifth of the innings – Sandeep became the most successful bowler in the Powerplay with the wicket of Quinton de Kock. Thus, with 53 wickets between overs 1-6, Sandeep is at the summit.

Sandeep Sharma’s bunnies

How often is it that a bowler has his bunnies as Virat Kohli, Rohit and Chris Gayle? The greatest of great bowlers struggle to pick up these batsmen. However, for Sandeep, it hasn’t been such a difficult task.

In the IPL, Sandeep has dismissed Kohli seven times, Rohit four times and Gayle on four occasions. Kohli’s seven dismissals against Sandeep is the most he has been dismissed by a bowler in the IPL. Among the three batsmen, only Gayle has managed to keep an average of 16.5. The other two batsmen have an average of 10 or lesser - Kohli has an average of 10 while Rohit has averaged 9.3.

Suryakumar Yadav continues his purple patch

Suryakumar Yadav continues to make merry as he notched up 400 runs for the third consecutive IPL season. Since his move to MI, Suryakumar has batted up the order and has proven his mettle. In the 2018 edition of the IPL, Suryakumar posted 512 runs and was the highest run-scorer for MI that season.

In 2019, he continued his good form and registered 424 runs, which was the second-most by a MI player. This season, Suryakumar has 412 runs to his name till now. No other uncapped player in the IPL has achieved this feat three seasons in a row before.

Most runs conceded by Rashid Khan in this IPL

There are a few things that happen once in a blue moon and Rashid Khan going for runs is one of those. Throughout the season, Rashid has been the most economical bowler. In this IPL, Rashid has conceded runs at an economy rate of 5.3, which is the best among bowlers who have bowled more than 20 overs.

However, on a rare off-day, Rashid went for 32 runs in his four overs. To be blunt, an economy of 8 is not at all a bad one, especially in a ground like Sharjah. But that is the standard Rashid has set for himself. The 32 runs conceded by him in this match against MI is his costliest spell in this season of the IPL so far.

Lowest middle-overs score for Mumbai Indians

After a decent enough start, MI’s batsmen bogged down a bit in the middle-overs. A splendid bowling effort by SRH saw them restrict the defending champions to only 50 runs in the middle phase of nine overs.

Shahbaz Nadeem was the main man who cut off the run flow during that phase. In the three overs he bowled between overs 7-15, Nadeem gave away just 10 runs and bagged two wickets at an economy of 3.3. The 50 runs scored by MI in the middle nine overs is the lowest they have scored during that period in an innings this season.

500 fours for David Warner  

As an opener, batting in the Powerplay gives a lot of advantage as only two fielders are allowed outside the circle. Boundary scoring opportunities are high, but there’s risk involved too.

David Warner is one of those batsmen who takes risks and succeeds on most occasions. Although his footwork is not textbook like, his hands are very quick. This is one of the reasons he has scored 507 boundaries in the IPL. He became the third batsman in the IPL to reach this milestone. Shikhar Dhawan with 582 fours leads the chart.

Most 50+ opening partnerships this season

SRH and Kings XI Punjab have been two of the teams this season whose openers have exceptional numbers. Both teams’ opening partnerships have been neck-and-neck this year. However, SRH have been better on this count in terms of 50+ partnerships.

In 14 innings, KXIP have managed 756 runs and second are SRH with 746 for the opening partnership. SRH have six 50+ opening stands, out of which, three have been half-century partnerships and three century stands. The six 50+ opening stands is the most by a team in this season of the IPL.

Eighth time scoring 50+ runs in the Powerplay

A team’s results are heavily dependent on how they start and SRH are in the playoffs because of the exceptional starts that they have got. In this season of the IPL, SRH batsmen have posted a 50+ score in the Powerplay on eight occasions, which is the most among all teams.

In the last six matches, SRH have won four and certainly their starts on the batting front have been one of the reasons. In all six of those matches, SRH batsmen had managed to take the team total to over 50 at the end of the Powerplay. Although they have lost seven matches, most of them have been because of their middle-order collapses.

Most consecutive 500+ seasons

Kohli may be the top run-scorer in IPL history, but Warner has certainly been Mr. Consistent. Since his move to SRH in 2014, Warner has never failed to put on 500+ runs in a season of the IPL. Overall, Warner is the third highest run-scorer in the tournament’s history with 5235 runs at an average of 43.3.

Among batsmen who have scored 2500+ runs in the IPL, only five have an average of over 40. KL Rahul is at the top with 44.9 and Warner is second with 43.3. Having an average of 40+ and scoring close to 5500 runs is certainly a big achievement.

No other batsman has scored 500+ runs even in five non-consecutive seasons, but Warner has done it in six successive seasons that he has played in. This is enough evidence to say that he is the Mr. Consistent of the IPL.

(Image Courtesy - BCCI)