How do you summarize an IPL season where a score of 200 had become a norm, a powerplay of 75 felt like a usual day’s work, and a score of 277, which was the first of the eight 250-plus team totals, now seems like a decade-long story of yesteryears when it happened just less than two months ago? Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have defined T20 batting in this season of the IPL, then went on to score a 287, a 266, chase down 167 in less than 10 overs, and chase down 215 with ease despite not a single batter playing more than 30 balls.
Yes, the impact player rule swelled the 180 totals to 210 and 210s to 230-240s, but the surfaces, especially at the start of the tournament, were near-highways and small boundaries and fast outfields didn’t help one bit. The bowlers felt like they were being made to do child labor, with no option but to endure as the batting line-ups just didn’t seem to refuse to end.
There were as many as 41 200-plus totals in the ongoing season of the IPL, the most in any season of the tournament, and the second highest in a single T20 competition for a season, just behind T20 Blast’s 42 last year. Eight of these totals went past 250, and seven of them were in excess of 260. It felt like the rules for T20 were being rewritten. The anchors should and will cease to exist, and the ‘intent’ which was used umpteen times in the season—and will undoubtedly be used in the playoffs followed by the T20 World Cup—will not just be an overused term but a key to success in the near future, if it isn’t already.
The record for the most sixes in a season has already been broken from last year’s tally of 1124 sixes. Most centuries (14) in a season have also been hit this year. The most expensive bowling figures have been recorded by a bowler in this season (73 runs in 4 overs by Mohit Sharma). The highest powerplay score has been broken twice by the same team, which also broke the record for the highest total three times (125 vs DC, 107 vs LSG).
So let’s do some number-crunching. Out of the 70 matches this season, three were washed out leaving 67 matches played. Out of these, 34 were won by the teams batting first and 33 by those chasing, showing not much of a difference. However, discrepancies start getting bigger when the results are reviewed in the context of the toss. Out of 67 matches, 17 times a captain opted to bat first, while the remaining 50 tosses were won by captains choosing to chase.
Of the 17 occasions when the captain opted to bat first, the batting-first teams won only seven games, while the chasing teams won 10. Conversely, out of 50 occasions when the captains decided to bowl first, the teams chasing won 23 games, whereas the batting-first teams won 27 matches. This data proves yet again that the toss didn’t really matter except in a few places where it became decisive, like in Chennai, especially in the first half of the tournament when the ball became soaking wet during the second innings.
Thus, teams winning the toss won just 30 games out of 67, reinforcing the notion that the toss hasn’t been as huge a factor as many believe it to be.
. As far as home and away records are concerned, the results shed light on why certain teams are in the top four and others aren’t.
The likes of Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Kolkata Knight Riders made full use of their home advantage, each with five wins at their respective fortresses. The Capitals will be ruing those two big losses against the Knight Riders, as the fourth place was there for the taking. Apart from a loss against the destructive SRH, they won four out of their five games in Delhi and one out of two in Vizag.
These potent batting line-ups of KKR and SRH thus also have two of the better away records, which are quite similar. Both KKR and SRH won in Bengaluru and Delhi but lost in Chennai, where the pitches didn’t suit their batting line-ups and approach. Punjab Kings failed to understand their home conditions, winning just one out of seven games. Consequently, they struggled irrespective of their performance on the road. KKR and Rajasthan Royals had the best away records with four wins each, joined by the Kings. The Kings won one at home while Mumbai Indians only secured one away win, explaining their low standing in the tournament.
The Royals will feel a mix of disappointment and relief that their string of early wins was enough to reach the playoffs, unlike last year’s missed opportunity. The Royals are yet to play a game in Ahmedabad this year, where the first two playoff matches are set to take place. RCB is the only team out of the four to have won a game in Ahmedabad while all four teams lost their respective games in Chennai against CSK.
Regarding surfaces, teams have generally preferred to chase and have gotten results. In Ahmedabad, of seven games, four were won by chasing teams while two were won by those batting first. One game was washed out. In Chennai, excessive dew greatly influenced the outcomes, with five games won by the team batting second. Knockouts are high-pressure matches, but the traditional thought process of defending first has been abandoned, as evidenced since the World Cup. The myth has been broken for good, shifting the focus to making decisions based on one’s team’s strengths, weaknesses, and the prevailing conditions. Ideally, both captains would want to win the toss and bowl first, but only one team will get their way. And with that, let the playoffs begin!
