IPL 2021: Rating All 8 Teams On The Basis Of Their Death Bowlers

Death bowling is one of the toughest jobs for the fast bowlers as the batsman has developed so many shots and the old-fashioned yorkers remain the perfect solution for them. Lasith Malinga is one of the best exponents of the yorkers in the last decade and had a tremendous impact on various teams around the world.

The IPL franchises have realized that death bowling will be a key factor to their success in the tournament and it was evident in the auction that the good death bowlers have bagged hefty money. Chris Morris was the latest recipient of it going for a whopping 16.25 crores to the Rajasthan Royals due to one of his abilities being bowling yorkers.

IPL 2021: Rating All 8 Teams On The Basis Of Their Death Bowlers:

8.Royal Challengers Bangalore: 6.5/10

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s bowling attack has been taken apart by the opponents over the years and most of their success has been denied due to their death bowling being very poor. Morris did a good job last year at the death overs and it reflected in the results immediately as RCB reached the playoffs after three years.

RCB’s new recruit Kyle Jamieson will have to fill the tough shoes as RCB with his high price tag while Saini or Siraj will have to keep it tight from the other end. Kohli will be looking to have one over of Chahal in the death as he is the trump card in the bowling lineup. Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, and Daniel Christian will be the other options for Kohli provided they make the playing XI.

7. Punjab Kings: 7/10

Punjab Kings will rely on Mohammad Shami from one side but needs another good option at the other end which is a big question mark with their relatively inexperienced Indian bowling unit. The expensive buys of Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, and Chris Jordan will be the options for Kl Rahul to look at in the death overs.

Rahul will also be hoping to get one over out of the leg spinners Murugan Ashwin or Ravi Bishnoi in the death overs which could be very handy with the ball turning away against the right-handers. It could be a tough outing for the Punjab team with their lack of depth in the bowling unit.

6. Chennai Super Kings: 7.5/10

Chennai Super Kings have one of the best death bowlers going around in the T20 format globally in the form of Dwayne Bravo who has been doing them the job for the last decade. However, with his age not getting anywhere younger, it will be a tough task for CSK to rely too much on him with his yorkers and slower ones.

The other options for CSK will be Shardul Thakur who has been expensive while Deepak Chahar can be good with his slower ones at times. Dhoni will be hoping to have one over of Imran Tahir for the death which will be very handful. Sam Curran and Lungi Ngidi could be in the reckonings to bowl the tough overs in the absence of Bravo.

5. Kolkata Knight Riders: 7.5/10

Kolkata Knight Riders have used a lot of spin in the death overs in their winning campaigns and Sunil Narine has done the job a lot of times in the past. They have bought the services of Pat Cummins who has an excellent track record for Australia in all formats but will have to up his game for the death overs still.

Lockie Ferguson is also an option for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the death and with Varun Chakravarthy having the same impact as Sunil Narine, it will be easier to have a minimum of one over for Narine in the death. The Indian quicks are inexperienced and are most likely to go for runs. Andre Russell can be a good option too with the heavy ball he bowls and he takes a lot of wickets too.

4. Rajasthan Royals: 8/10

Rajasthan Royals have added depth to their death bowling with the inclusion of Chris Morris in the team to partner Jofra Archer. Archer can be lethal at the death overs and is one of the best in the business. He can vary his pace and nail the yorkers which allows Rajasthan to have two excellent option for the death.

Ben Stokes, Andrew Tye and Jaydev Unadkat can make a difference in the death but Rajasthan will most probably stick with Morris and Archer at the death to stop the run flow. Unadkat will be hoping for a good performance this year after falling out of the radar in the Indian selection due to his poor performances especially in the death overs for the last couple of years.

3. Delhi Capitals: 8.5/10

The South African duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje who were outstanding last year will be the preferred candidates for the death overs in this IPL too. Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma are good with the new ball and have been really poor in the death overs in the past. Chris Woakes and Tom Curran will be the backup options to bowl in the death overs if they get a place in the playing XI for the IPL 2021.

Also, all-rounder Marcus Stoinis who has a lot of variations up his sleeve can be useful at the death. Rabada has been a prolific performer for Delhi in the past three years and has picked up a lot of wickets at the death. Also, Iyer will look to have one over of Ashwin or Axar at the death which could be useful.

2. Mumbai Indians: 9/10

Mumbai Indians have had the veteran Lasith Malinga bowling the tough overs and now the responsibility has been shifted over to Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah being the spearhead of the attack is certain to bowl two overs at the death and Trent boult did a good job with him at the other end in the last IPL

Nathan Coulter Nile and Adam Milne are the overseas options available to bowl at the death, and Hardik Pandya has also been effective at the death in the past. Over Dependence on Bumrah opens up his injury concerns which would be the only problem for Mumbai and the other areas have been sorted out. Piyush Chawla has also delivered well in the death overs for various teams in the past in the IPL.

1. Sunrisers Hyderabad: 9.5/10

Sunrisers Hyderabad have the best death bowling unit with the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan along with their trump card Rashid Khan. If Bhuvneshwar can stay fit throughout the tournament, it will be a great boost for the team as he can fire his yorkers in the death overs.

Natarajan has been the talk of the last year’s IPL and is mainly due to his ability to bowl yorkers consistently. He bowled the most number of yorkers in the previous edition and managed to pick up big names with his yorkers too. He fared out well in the international stages too and looks ready for the challenge this year. The other options for the death bowling are Sidharth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed and Sandeep Sharma.