Rising Pune’s bowling attack was all over the place at the start of the season, but they have improved significantly in their last seven matches
S Rajesh05-May-2017Ten days into IPL 2017, not many would have given Rising Pune Supergiant much of a chance of making it anywhere near the top of the table. After four games, not only had they lost three, but they had lost by handy margins – six wickets, 97 runs, and seven wickets, against Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils and Gujarat Lions; those weren’t the strongest teams in the competition either. Fifteen matches into the tournament, Rising Pune were at the bottom of the points table with a net run rate of -1.537.From there, their transformation has been remarkable. Six wins in seven games has taken them to right up to No. 3, and they have displaced Sunrisers Hyderabad from that spot, which makes the clash between these two teams even more highly anticipated.The key to Rising Pune’s resurgence has been their bowling attack, which has improved dramatically after a terrible start. On the other hand, Sunrisers’ bowlers have lost their way somewhat after a fantastic first five games.After four games, Rising Pune had taken only 19 wickets, averaging 38.15 runs per wicket, and 9.41 runs per over; since then, they have taken 50 wickets in seven matches – the most by any team in this period – while the average has dropped to 21.26, and the economy rate to 7.70. No other team has conceded less than eight per over in this period (from April 16).
Till April 15April 16 onwardsWktsAveERWktsAveERRising Pune1938.159.415021.267.70Mumbai Indians2328.918.323825.718.14Royal Challengers2130.668.783626.138.31Kings XI1837.228.752828.358.56Gujarat Lions955.009.834328.348.74Knight Riders2527.528.614325.908.74Sunrisers2922.008.143926.668.75Daredevils2714.887.152438.168.80Breaking it down further, the biggest difference has been in the Powerplay and the last five overs of the innings. In the Powerplays, the economy rate has come down from 10 an over to 7.40, thanks to Jaydev Unadkat (12 overs, 84 runs, ER 7), Washington Sundar (10 overs, 69 runs, ER 6.9) and Ben Stokes (6 overs, 32 runs, ER 5.33).
Matches Wkts Ave ER BpBFirst 4 games 4 60.00 10.00 3.60Last 7 games 10 31.10 7.40 5.48In the death overs, the difference has been even more dramatic. In the first four games, Rising Pune leaked 13 runs per over, the worst among all teams. In just four overs at the death, Ashok Dinda leaked 68, while Imran Tahir went for 50 in four. Ben Stokes started the tournament poorly, going for 45 in four overs at the death, while Adam Zampa went for 29 in two.In their last seven overs, Rising Pune have taken 21 wickets in the last five overs, the best among all teams•ESPNcricinfo LtdFrom those terrible numbers, Rising Pune have suddenly found the men for the job, and the results have been stunning. In the last 20 days of the tournament (from April 16), they have transformed from being the worst bowling team in the death overs, to being the best, in terms of wickets, average, and economy rate.
Till April 15April 16 onwardsTeamWktsAveERWktsAveERRising Pune544.2013.002112.858.18Royal Challengers623.1610.041316.768.95Kings XI453.5012.96819.879.00Knight Riders922.3310.131517.409.43Mumbai Indians1313.929.121322.469.73Gujarat Lions318.009.811820.389.96Sunrisers1311.698.291420.8510.12Daredevils98.006.441124.1810.16Jaydev Unadkat has been key to their improved wicket-taking ability, taking nine in the death overs at an average of 10.22 and an economy rate of 8.49. In terms of restricting the runs, Daniel Christian and Stokes have been outstanding, conceding less than 7.2 runs per over.
First 4 gamesLast 7 gamesBowlerBallsWktsERBallsWktsERBen Stokes24111.253035.60Dan Christian–––4227.14Imran Tahir24012.503028.00Jaydev Unadkat–––6598.49Shardul Thakur605.0025212.00Ashok Dinda24017.00–––Adam Zampa12214.50–––In fact, Unadkat is the second-highest wicket-taker in the death overs, next only to Bhuvneshwar Kumar who has 14. Saturday’s clash will thus also be between the two leading slog-overs wicket-takers in this tournament. While Bhuvneshwar has always been among the best in the death overs, Unadkat’s season so far has been a revelation.
Bowler Balls Econ Wkts Ave BpBB Kumar 114 7.42 14 10.07 7.60JD Unadkat 65 8.49 9 10.22 5.00JJ Bumrah 120 8.80 8 22.00 7.06On the other hand, Sunrisers’ bowlers have just lost a bit of their bowling magic in the second half of the tournament. In the first five games, they took 39 wickets at an economy rate of 8.08, but in their next five games (excluding the washout versus Royal Challengers), they have managed only 29 at an economy rate of nearly 9 an over. The outstanding form of David Warner and the addition of Kane Williamson to their XI have obviously bolstered the batting and made their top five arguably the best in the tournament, but the bowling has fallen away just a bit.
Matches Wkts Ave ERFirst 5 games 39 20.30 8.08Last 5 games 29 30.55 8.93Teams have batted better against Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan in the last few matches, giving them far fewer wickets•ESPNcricinfo LtdBhuvneshwar and Rashid Khan remain huge threats, but opposition teams have chalked out better strategies against them. In the first five games, the two bowlers collectively took 24 wickets at an average of 10.54, but in the last five they have managed only nine wickets collectively. Rashid has taken three in his last five games after taking six in the first five, while Bhuvneshwar’s tally has dropped from 15 to six. Not giving away their wickets to them has allowed the opposition batsmen to attack other bowlers: Moises Henriques, for instance, has gone for 142 in 12.1 wicketless overs in Sunrisers’ last five matches.The batting has picked up the slack, though, ensuring that Sunrisers remain one of the hot favourites to make the playoffs this season.
