OPINION
Follow UsBefore we talk about the current standings, here is how the ranking stood at around the halfway mark, after match 37.
A brief about the methodology. We have accounted for the following factors while assessing the impact of each batter:
1. Venues
There has not been a start difference between the venues unlike last season when Wankhede and Chepauk were poles apart. However, Brabourne still offered a run-fest in the first few games.
2. Innings
The second important parameter is batting in the first innings vs the second. A more impactful batter should be able to contribute either way. The impact of dew has varied across games. Sides preferred to bat first in the final stretch of games. Hence it is safe to have runs scored in the first innings measured separately than in the second.
3. Phase
Even in its short duration, T20 requires a different approach in different phases. The field restrictions warrant the openers to focus on boundary hitting in the first six overs. Whereas in the last five overs, the demand is to be fearless. It is often the middle overs (7-15) that are tricky and help us differentiate between the good and the great.
4. Pace vs spin
This goes without saying. For a batter to have more impact he should be adept to take on both pace and spin.
In our analysis, we have considered the average runs scored per ball, in each of these phases, across innings at each venue against a bowler type. The final objective is to assess how many runs above or below average a batter has scored at a venue in an innings in a phase versus a bowler type.
Now the actual analysis entails including each of the four parameters into one common factor. Four venues, three phases, two innings, and two bowler types give us 48 slabs of weightage which we will use for further calculations.
What these weights inform us is the number of runs players have scored per ball on an average at a particular venue, in that innings, that phase, and versus the bowler type. For e.g. an average batsman has scored 1.44 runs per ball at Brabourne against pace while batting in the first innings in the first six overs. The same number is 1.561 against spin with all other parameters constant.
Now to arrive at a score for each batsman, we have used this weightage to assess the total runs each batsman has scored above what an average batsman would have scored. The intent is to assess which batters maximize the number of balls faced the most. While the model seems skewed toward hitters, aggregating it over the course of the season will also reward players that are aggressive for a longer duration. A score of 70.5 for Jos Buttler implies that he has scored these many runs more than average batsmen who would have batted in his place.
Here is how the top-10 most impactful batters stand in IPL 2022:
Liam Livingstone has dominated T20 across countries. But will he be able to replicate it in IPL remained an exclamation mark. So much so that it turned into a taunt from his fans on social media whenever he went berserk with the bat. And it was often. Punjab Kings are used to a player flirting with the Orange Cap for a few seasons now. But in a year where they opted for the more attractive brand of cricket, their ace-allrounder rewarded them with a season to remember with the bat. He finished with 437 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 182.1.
Rahul Tripathi has scored the most runs by an uncapped player in IPL history. This is due to his brilliance and also a factor of him remaining an uncapped player for this long. As things stand, that is not going to change for some time now. Nine Indian players scored 400+ runs after the league stage. Eight of them did it at a strike rate of 135 or below. Tripathi scored 413 runs at a strike rate of 158.2. He is also only among the four Indian players with a 140+ SR against both pace and spin. Rishabh Pant, Jitesh Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin are the other three. It will be a surprise if he remains an uncapped player when the next edition begins.
Jos Buttler was once not only leading this impact race with ease but seemed set on his way to breaking Virat Kohli’s record of 973 runs in a season. As the pitches slowed down or maybe Buttler got bored, he fizzled away and wasn’t even close to his imperious best. In the last seven league games, he scored 138 runs at an average of 19.7 and an SR of 111.3. In the first seven, he scored 491 runs at 81.83 and an SR of 161.5. He raced so far ahead in the first half that he still managed to finish third on the impact score.
Quinton de Kock played the knock of the tournament. His high intent always kept him in the hunt for the top-10 spot but not spending enough time in the middle cost him all along. However, his knock of 140 off 70 balls against Kolkata earned him around 42 points on the rating score and rocketed him to the fourth spot.
No other player matched Andre Russell’s strike rate of 175.4 in overs between 7-15. And he did so while batting in 12 games in this phase for a side that often burdened him to win the game.
Dinesh Karthik’s strike rate of 191.3 in the league phase was the highest among all Indian players. While Tim David’s 216.3 ended up being the highest overall among players with 100+ runs in the season. Mumbai can come up with excuses but not playing him throughout will go down as the biggest regret for a team in tournament history.
Rounding up the top-10 are David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, and Prithvi Shaw. Despite two failures at the end, Warner was Delhi’s best batter hands down. Maxwell can come as a surprise here but his natural flairs he hardly wastes any balls to get him negative impact points. Shaw was in the top-3 while he was fit but an unfortunate injury hurt his and Delhi’s campaign.
Along expected lines, Kieron Pollard (-51.9) and Kane Williamson (-66.9) occupy the bottom two spots. They have been consistent there throughout. Although Pollard did not get a chance to work on it in the second half. Virat Kohli improved his score in the last game but still ended with -31.6. This left MS Dhoni, who will lead Chennai next year, at third from the bottom with a score of -45.4.
Players like Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, and Bhanuka Rajapaksa flirted with a spot in the top-10 but inconsistency resulted in them finishing out of the race.
