Axar Patel, Liam Livingstone, Tim David and the Royal Challengers Bangalore batters are in the spotlight this week in our IPL analysis. Read on for our insights as we break down interesting numbers from the world’s biggest T20 competition.
It’s not just this season either – he’s actually distinctly tepid in the middle overs
Axar Patel is just fine where he is at Delhi Capitals
Seems obvious to promote a form stick in a struggling order, but the numbers suggest Axar Patel should stay put where he is at Delhi Capitals.
In fact, he’s a death overs specialist – one of the IPL’s best & a better pace hitter than you might think. Here’s why a promotion up the order might not be the best way to use Axar.
First up, Axar’s rate of scoring in the final four is more than 1.5x his strike rate in the middle ten.
It’s not just this season either – he’s actually distinctly tepid in the middle overs, with a mark in 2022 only marginally better than this year’s 112.
Axar is a fairly slow starter in general – his strike rate in his first 5 balls is 100 this year & was 95 in 2022. At first glance, it would seem that those slow starts would have a much bigger say in his overall SR in 2022 compared to this season.
He’s facing many more balls an inns on average this year than last – 6.5 more – and his (slow) first 5 balls are a much bigger chunk of an average of 12 an innings than 18.5 an innings.
But Axar’s strike rate – 142 – is actually down from 2022, when it was 151.
The shaky Delhi top order is at the heart of this – their fragility’s giving Axar much longer to bat on average.
But it’s also bringing him to the crease that much sooner – in fact, sooner than is good for him, earlier and earlier in his unfavoured middle overs phase.
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Axar elite at the death
So if anything, Axar needs the opposite of a promotion – and the bat signal (no pun intended) to be flashed only when heading into the death overs.
He warrants the Dinesh Karthik treatment because he’s is one of the IPL’s best hitters at the death.
Last season, of the most regular death overs sticks – with a minimum of 50 balls faced in overs 17-20 – Axar’s strike rate of 194 ranks an impressive 6th out of 17 in this group – ahead of Nicholas Pooran, David Miller & MS Dhoni.
Axar wasn’t in elite company, he was the elite company.
In 2022, Axar faced 54.16% of his deliveries in overs 7-16. So far in 2023, that mark is 58.10%.
The raw figures make the point more clearly – 65 balls faced in the middle overs in all of 2022, 86 already so far in 2023. He’s not batting enough in his best phase.
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Axar eats pace for breakfast
One reason why the fireworks come at the death is because Axar is a formidable pace hitter.
Last year, he went at 163 SR v right arm quicks & 200 v the left arm stuff, although the latter mark comes from only 15 balls compared to 77 for the former.
Overall, Axar struck at 169 v pace in IPL 2022.
Livingstone is an elite basher but his strike rotation was just as impressive.
Re slow bowling, he only faced leg spin in any significant quantity – 21 balls – and promptly returned a sub-100 SR.
Admittedly, Axar’s death overs SR in 2023 is down from last & his slow starts make holding him back until the very end not the best idea.
But bolstering the batting around Axar helps Delhi in a couple of ways.
It gives Delhi depth & enables best use of a player enjoying a golden run with the bat – Axar has reached double figures in seven out of eight innings so far this season, including a 50 and two 30s.
Stats correct as of 2 May 2023, before Gujarat v Delhi in Match 44 of IPL 2023
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Is Liam Livingstone the best pace hitter in the IPL?
Liam Livingstone has had a relatively quiet start to IPL 2023 but he’s been irrepressible over the last year in T20 cricket – especially up top & against quick bowling.
Here’s why a monster knock might be just around the corner.
Livingstone struck at 182 in last year’s IPL – behind only Dinesh Karthik (183) among sticks with minimum 200 runs.
Significantly, he took pace bowling for 300 runs striking at an absurd 212.76 – 210 v right arm quicks & an even more handsome 220 against the left arm stuff.
That 212 was the best figure v pace at Punjab by a long way – and Livingstone’s teammates were no slouches.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa (182.89), Jitesh Sharma (181.33) & Jonny Bairstow (165.21) all did well against quick bowling but Livingstone was in a league of his own.
Livingstone against spin
Seam was meat and drink but Livingstone did admirably against wrist spin too. From 41 balls against leg spin, he struck at a solid 143.9 and averaged 59.
Only Rashid Khan among leggies dismissed Livingstone last season – after he’d made 64 (27).
Livingstone is an elite basher but his strike rotation was just as impressive. A dot ball % of 24 from 111 balls v right arm pace is excellent, as is 26% v leg spin.
He doesn’t bash leggies as ferociously but keeps the scoreboard ticking against them.
In both the IPL & the T20 Blast last year, he was incendiary when batting in the powerplay.
Overall, Livingstone turned over the strike much better v right arm bowling in IPL 2022 – the difference in dot ball % is significant.
Only left arm finger spin put the brakes on his scoring in any meaningful way. But slowing his scoring is all the left arm orthos did; Axar Patel was the only such bowler who dismissed Livingstone last season.
Livingstone elite at the start & end
Last season, Livingstone’s rate of scoring was remarkably similar in the powerplay & at the death. He was a fast scorer regardless of when he came in or when he batted but was most lethal up top & at the end, striking in excess of 200 in both phases.
200, in fact, is the magic number – it’s the line that separates the IPL’s most elite finishers.
Last season, there were 12 who reached this mark having played at least 30 balls, Livingstone among them.
However, in last year’s T20 Blast – beginning five days after his last IPL 2022 game – Livingstone posted a similarly impressive scoring rate in the first six.
There’s an argument to push him up the order to hit with the field up.
Livingstone’s quick scoring in the middle phase seemingly makes him too valuable to shift out of the #4 spot – middle overs monsters are in short supply.
But in both the IPL & the T20 Blast last year, he was incendiary when batting in the powerplay.
As good as he is through the middle, Livingstone has just a little bit extra with a free run of the powerplay.
So far in IPL 2023 he’s started sluggishly against spin & a promotion likely gives him, a peerless hitter of quick bowling, a shot against the seamers.
Stats correct as of 28 April 2023, before Lucknow v Punjab in Match 38 of IPL 2023
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Glenn Maxwell is absolutely flying at RCB
Straight out of the workshop, some snapshots of interesting batting numbers at Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2023.
Glenn Maxwell is by far the best at RCB for both fast starts and overall rate of scoring.
There are contrasting fortunes for Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik. In 2023, Kohli’s numbers (Overall strike rate 142, first 5 balls 140) are massively up from 2022 (115/109).
It’s a different story for ‘DK’ (131/116 in 2023), who’s way down from last season (183/136).
Looking at the best strike rotators and boundary hitters at Bangalore, Maxwell stands out once again. This season, he’s getting a staggering 3/4 of his runs in fours and sixes.
Maxwell is, to put it simply, relentless everywhere.
All-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed has the lowest dot ball % in this group from 39 balls faced. However, he’s also got the lowest boundary % having found the fence only four times total.
RCB are definitely feeling the absence of Rajat Patidar – a key component of the side last season, ruled out of this season by injury.
The equivalent graph from last season reveals Patidar as one of RCB’s best strike rotators, with a dot ball % of 30 from 218 balls.
Interestingly, Maxwell is on an almost identical dot ball % figure from last year – 31.16% in 2023 v 31.46% in 2022.
Break down that scoring rate and there’s plenty to make your jaw drop.
The big three
RCB’s batting is largely dependent on the three musketeers – Maxwell, Kohli, and Faf du Plessis. A glance at their scoring rates with field up against when it’s spread throws up some interesting numbers.
Maxwell is, to put it simply, relentless everywhere. Kohli is scoring much faster up top than in the middle overs this season – something that wasn’t the case in 2022.
But the real standout is du Plessis. Over the past year, his approach to T20 cricket has changed radically. The difference is revealed most starkly when juxtaposing his powerplay numbers from this season with those of last season.
He’s as quick in the middle phase this year as last. But in the last year, du Plessis’ powerplay strike rate has done a complete 180.
He’s a different player now, more inclined to setting a brisk pace at the top. Kohli’s shift from last season is equally remarkable – his strike rate fluttered around 115/116 regardless of phase in 2022.
But this season, there’s a much bigger difference in his rate of scoring with the field up compared to the middle phase. He, too, is taking a more proactive approach at the start of the innings.
Stats correct as of 1 May 2023, before Lucknow v Bangalore in Match 43 of IPL 2023
Tim David is a monster against left arm pace
Mumbai’s Tim David lived up to his fearsome reputation in an 8-game stint last season – and he’s kept the fireworks coming so far in 2023.
After 9 games in 2023 – one more than in the entirety of the 2022 season – David’s striking at a healthy 171. It’s definitely not as spectacular as his mark of 216 last year.
But break down that scoring rate and there’s plenty to make your jaw drop.
Since the start of last season, pace accounts for exactly 75% of all balls faced by David in the IPL. He faces quick bowling three quarters of the time – and it usually disappears.
In this time, David strikes at well over 200 against pace of any kind. But the eye-popping strike rate against left arm seam really stands out in an dominant record.
David’s been crushing the quick bowling – and shows no signs of stopping.
That mark of 234.14 against left arm quicks comes from 41 balls. It’s the second most common type of bowling faced by David in this time.
It’s a very impressive figure, but arguably his strike rate against right arm pace is even more impressive.
David maintained a 200+ strike rate against right arm seam over 100 balls. That’s almost 17 overs worth of deliveries compared to just under 7 for left arm seam.
Mumbai use David as pure finisher. Since the start of last season, he’s only faced an average of 11.05 balls per innings. This role suits him – he faces the quicks most of the time and they face his full wrath.
David against spin
By contrast, David ambles at a sedate 123 against spin. It only accounts for a quarter of his deliveries faced, however.
Within that diminished proportion, each type of spin accounts for an ultimately miniscule fraction of total balls faced by David. Neither a healthy scoring rate against leg spin (18 balls) nor a tepid one against left arm finger spin (11) yet reliably suggest wholesale conclusions about his fortunes against that type of bowling in this league.
But David’s been crushing the quick bowling – and shows no signs of stopping.
Stats correct as of 4 May 2023, after Punjab v Mumbai in Match 46 of IPL 2023
Want more IPL analysis? Check out some interesting numbers we pulled on Sanju Samson, Rohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar & Sunil Narine!
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