In IPL cricket, match-winning cameos are valued just as highly as innings developed over time and repetition. In this style, having players in the lower order who can strike the opposition in the death overs is crucial.
A finisher’s role is just as important as someone batting in the top order and trying to adjust to the pace and bounce of the wicket. When it comes to players who can bat well in the death overs, the ability to handle pressure is frequently a factor. Batting in the death overs is also difficult due to the bowlers’ constant search for cheaper overs to end the game.
In contrast, one of the highlights of the IPL has been the batsmen’s ability to clear boundaries in the final overs. It takes a lot of effort to finish an inning, especially when most bowlers bring their A-game to the death overs. Almost every bowler in the IPL is afraid of a few finishers, who have the ability to turn the game in their favor.
Here are the IPL’s top five finishers:
1. MS Dhoni.
If there is one player who can be relied on to finish a game, it has to be MS Dhoni. The former Indian captain is widely regarded as the best finisher in white-ball cricket to date. MS Dhoni, who has batted at no.5 or lower for the majority of his career, has found himself batting in the death overs on numerous occasions in high-pressure situations.
His ability to react well to situations, on the other hand, has helped him succeed most of the time without fail. The former Indian captain has done the same for his IPL franchise, Chennai Super Kings. There have been times when the team required a big finish from him, and he has delivered.
Dhoni’s excellent batting performance in the middle order is one of the reasons Chennai has done so well in the Indian Premier League. Apart from CSK, Dhoni also spent two seasons with the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant, where he played the same role effectively. In 211 IPL games, he has 4669 runs at 40.25 and a strike rate of 136.64.
2. AB de Villiers.
Since the first season of the Indian Premier League, AB de Villiers has been a regular. He began his career with the Delhi Daredevils (later renamed the Delhi Capitals) and stayed for three seasons. In 2011, he joined Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he quickly established himself as the team’s batting anchor, filling multiple roles in the lineup with his bat.
However, with a strong top-order in place, ABD frequently found himself in difficult situations near the end of innings. He has been there in those situations for the past ten seasons of the IPL and has successfully bailed them out on numerous occasions. Even in his final season in the UAE, he demonstrated his versatility.
The batting of AB de Villiers has been critical in forming a center in the RCB lineup. He has 5056 runs at an average of 40.77 in 176 matches. During these matches, he has a strike rate of 152.38 percent. His ability to play on both sides of the wickets makes him a true 360-degree player capable of playing counter-attacking innings in the death overs.
3. Andre Russell.
Andre Russell has made a name for himself in the Indian Premier League by hitting some incredible runs for the Kolkata Knight Riders. If he gets some time in the middle, the hard-hitting Jamaican batsman has the ability to turn any match on its head. In the T20 format, he is especially useful in the lower-middle order because he can start tonk balls to the stands from the start of his innings.
He first appeared in the IPL in 2012, when he was signed by the Delhi Daredevils, but he was released due to poor performance. KKR took advantage of the opportunity and signed him ahead of the 2014 IPL season. He’s been a part of their core since then, and he’s played a variety of important roles in their team.
If we look at his stats, we will see a strike rate that will surprise many people, but it is simply a representation of the destruction that he can cause as a player. He has appeared in 81 league matches and scored 1680 runs at a strike rate of 179.3. He tried his hardest to deliver with his bat in the 2021 IPL
4. Hardik Pandya.
Hardik Pandya was discovered by the Mumbai Indians, who signed him early and supported him during his early career. During the 2015 IPL, he drew attention to himself with a match-winning knock against Chennai Super Kings, where MI had to chase down a total.
He followed that up with his first fifty against Kolkata a few days later, when he overshadowed Kieron Pollard in the dying overs. That was Hardik’s first appearance as a destructive batsman. However, over the next few seasons, his power-hitting game matured, as did his immaturity as a batter, allowing him to elevate his game.
He has scored 1401 runs with an average of 27.47 in 87 IPL matches so far. During these games, he had a strike rate of 157.24 percent. The strike rate in the 2020 IPL season was 179, up from 191 the previous season. Mumbai’s success can be attributed to his batting in the death overs and his development as a batsman.
5. Kieron Pollard.
When it comes to the IPL, Kieron Pollard and the Mumbai Indians are inseparable. After his exploits in the Champions League T20 in 2009, the West Indian all-rounder joined the Mumbai Indians lineup. And it didn’t take him long to find his favorite spot down the order in the Mumbai Indians batting order.
He became an invaluable member of the MI’s squad’s core. One of the reasons Mumbai has stuck with the destructive batsman through good and bad times is his ability to change games at will. He is a player who can cause havoc with his bat while also destroying an opponent’s bowling unit.
In 171 IPL matches, he has scored 3191 runs at an average of 30.68. His strike rate is 150.87, which gives an idea of the destruction he has caused for the Mumbai Indians. His addition to the lower order has allowed Mumbai’s top order to bat freely during the early stage of an innings.
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