The final overs of a T-20 innings are always extraordinary for the high-octane drama that it promises, may it be through a bowler’s arm or through a batsman’s wild swing of his blade. Given the fact that T-20 is batman’s game, the strike rate of a batsman in the death overs is highly crucial to define the fate of the match.
IPL has always been exciting for its drama and the brand of attacking cricket it offers, thereby rattling any form of monotony and imbuing the audience with life. We will look at five cricketers whose strike rates in IPL are the highest while playing in the death overs, a comparison which is based on the fact that these figures are being chronicled between the 17-20th overs and the batsmen has at least faced 100 balls in his career.
- Rishabh Pant
Touted as one of the most potent successors of MS Dhoni, Pant has been an absolute destructor with his blade. Especially when he plays in the IPL, his strike rate burgeons by leaps and bounds as he hammers the ball at a rate of 236.17. Garnering 333 runs from 141 deliveries, Pant’s boundary per ball (BPB) rate comes at around 2.52 which mean almost after every 2 balls, he strikes a four or a six.
- AB De Villiers
One of the most expressive stroke-makers, ABD is renowned across the face of this globe for his fancy cricketing shots that render even the best of deliveries as redundant. A massive hitter of the cherry, ABD slams it with a strike rate of 234.65 in the death overs that have witnessed him amassing 1063 runs from 453 deliveries at a BPB rate of 2.75. This once again implies the fact that almost after every alternative 2 or 3 deliveries the Proteas hard-hitter can consign the bowlers to the boundary.
3. Andre Russell
The monstrous athlete who almost single-handedly toted KKR on his burly shoulders in the preceding edition of the tournament established himself as one of the biggest hitters of the tournament. His hard-hitting finesse manifolds itself in the final overs of the innings as gigantic West India doesn’t hold back in smashing the cherry into the stands repeatedly. From 302 deliveries, Russell has managed to amass 660 runs at a staggering strike rate of 218.54. His boundary per ball rate is 2.85 that seems him hammering a boundary twice in an over.
4. Chris Gayle
Though being one of the most prolific openers of T-20 cricket, he hardly makes it to the end. However, in the limited occasions that the West Indian hard-hitter has managed to reach those death overs, he has spanked 328 runs from 152 deliveries that features a strike rate of 215.75 and a boundary rate of 2.98. He also holds the record of the highest number of sixes in India’s premier franchise competition.
5. Sanju Samson
A highly underrated cricketer, Sanju Samson managed to claw up his way through a scrimmage of big names in this list as the wicketkeeper-batsman can strike at a blazing strike rate of 206.04. He managed to amass 307 runs from 149 balls in the death overs that witnesses a BPB of 3.39.
