The IPL 2022 has commenced and what we have seen, opposite to expectations, is that bowlers have been dominating so far, especially the fast bowlers with the new ball; the Orange Cap winners of the last two seasons, Ruturaj Gaikwad and KL Rahul, both secured ducks in their first knocks this season.
Spinners, too, have bossed the middle overs, and that has left the onus on the finishers to create a difference. We have already seen some good finishes from the batters who have been designed for that role.
Here are the top 5 finishers in the IPL 2022 to watch out for:
Andre Russell
Andre Rusell is one of the most destructive T20 batters in the world. Over his 400-match T20 career, Russell’s overall strike rate is 169, and that is already terrific; he smashes at a monstrous strike rate of 203 in death overs in T20 cricket, according to ESPNcricinfo. To put that more in perspective: of his 6599 T20 runs, 2732 have come in the death overs!
Kieron Pollard
Another West Indian, and one who has been a legend in the IPL, contributing massively to all of Mumbai Indians’ 5 IPL title victories.
Not only the West Indian captain is a powerful ball basher, but he knows how to pace and set up his innings for a late launchpad. While Pollard’s overall T20 strike rate is a daunting 151, he goes berserk in the death overs, wherein he hammers at a strike rate of 198!
Dinesh Karthik
KKR failed to utilize Dinesh Karthik’s finishing abilities well, his return to RCB has been successful in the first two games of the tournament: against PBKS, Karthik thumped 32* off just 14 balls to take RCB over 200; against KKR, he remained unbeaten on 14 off 7 balls, taking RCB over the line in a nervy run-chase.
Only until a few years ago, did Karthik had been playing the role of an anchor – that reflects in his overall T20 career strike rate of 133. Now, though, he’s a devastating finisher – one of the best in India – as his strike rate of 189 in the death overs since the start of 2018 suggests. With some match-winning performances with the bat, Karthik will eye a return to India’s T20I side.
Shimron Hetmyer
Although Shimron Hetmyer has been dropped from the West Indies team due to fitness issues, the left-hander was in huge demand in the IPL as the Rajasthan Royals bought him for 8.5 crore.
In just his first game of IPL 2022, Hetmyer showed why RR, and DC before them, trusted him at the backend of the innings, by smashing 32 runs off just 13 balls against SRH. Hetmyer’s career T20 strike rate is a modest 131; that catapults to a whopping 196 in the death overs!
Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant is arguably India’s best finisher at the moment. Pant had gone in a ballistic fashion in his first four IPL seasons – from 2016 to 2019 in the IPL, he scored runs at a strike rate of 162; irrespective of the middle or last phase of the innings – in which he smashed at 236 in those four seasons – Pant batted in the top gear only.
However, since the 2020 season, from when he’s been added in the leadership group of the Delhi Capitals, he has toned himself down, scoring at only 113; in the death overs, though, he’s adept to up the ante, scoring at 171 since 2020. Pant remains one of the most destructive Indian batters: overall, in the IPL, Pant has scored runs at a strike rate of 204 in the last four overs.
