Who Are Bowling The Tough Overs For Their Teams In IPL 2022?

Economy rates of bowlers bowling the 6th and 11th over of the inning in IPL 2022.

T20 is a very interesting format where a plan for each and every over is set on most occasions. Over the years, there have been patterns regarding how batters have approached the innings, how they try to up the scoring rate, and how the bowling teams counter it. 

Everyone knows about the slog overs and slog overs specialist bowlers bowling in the backend of the innings. But in between as well, there are overs when batters up and down the scoring rate.

6th over is a tough one to bowl since batters try to make the most of the final over of the powerplay. In this over, teams try to deploy that bowler who they think can bowl defensively. Another such over during the inning is the 11th or 12th when batting teams try to up the scoring rate. 

These are bait overs where teams either deploy that bowler which the batters will definitely try to hit and might make mistake or that bowler who can bowl defensively; it all depends on the context of the game. 

In IPL 2022, Mustafizur Rahman, Maheesh Theekshana, Arshdeep Singh, and R Ashwin have bowled six times in the sixth over of the inning while Lockie Ferguson has bowled five times. 

Rahman has been the best among these five bowlers, bowling at an econ of 5.5. The next best is Arshdeep Singh with econ of seven and then R Ashwin with a 7.16 econ. Lockie Ferguson (9.2) and Maheesh Theekshana (10.16) have given more than the tournament average (8.50).

Note that Ashwin and Theekshana are spinners in this set. The next time you see them bowl, watch how flat their trajectory is than the rest of the spinners, especially when they bowl in the powerplay and these tough overs. 

Coming to the bait over i.e the 11th over, Ravindra Jadeja has bowled this over the most times - 7, followed by Rahul Chahar (6), Yuzvendra Chahal (5), Ravi Bishnoi (5) while R Ashwin, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Alzarri Joseph have bowled four times. 

Notice that apart from Alzarri, the rest are spinners. Yuzvendra Chahal has been the best in terms of economy - 5 in six overs. Rahul Chahar (7.81), Ravi Bishnoi (7.8), Wanindu Hasaranga (7.5), and R Ashwin (8) have also bowled better than the tournament average of 8.34 rpo. Ravindra Jadeja gave away 8.42 rpo in seven overs he bowled while Alzarri Joseph conceded at 11.5 rpo in four overs. 

Chahal and Ashwin are the perfect examples of understanding the context of 11th over. When Rajasthan Royals wish to attack and bait the opposition batters, they bowl Chahal and when they want to restrict runs, they bowl Ashwin. 

These are some tactical overs that can change the tempo of the innings or what some people call 'the game-changing overs'.