Average first innings score: 167 Average first innings winning score: 175 Average powerplay score: 46 All-time win % batting 1st vs batting 2nd: 47% / 52%
Team form CSK vs KKR
KKR – n/a RCB – n/a Recent meetings: IPL 2021, CSK won by 27 runs, CSK won by 2 wickets, CSK won by 18 runs
The first 6 overs of any T20 match are crucial so recruiting the best powerplay batsmen for the 2022 season was a priority for the IPL teams at the recently completed auction.
In this blog we’ll consider how each franchise’s top 3 is likely to line-up and what approach we might expect from them in the powerplay itself.
With the later stages of the T20 World Cup taking place across just 3 venues in the UAE we look at which batsmen and bowlers have the best and indeed worst records in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah respectively.
Given that all 3 venues have been used to host at least some of the last 2 IPL seasons not to mentioned that Abu Dhabi was used as the sole stadium to finish the recent PSL it means that many of the leading T20 players in the world have played a fair amount of cricket in the UAE as we enter an intense month of cricket to played in the Emirates.
The stats in this blog post only consider players in the current T20 World Cup squads and are derived from games up to and including the IPL final on 15th October 2021.
You can view all player T20 stats by stadium on the page below
At the top of the order the likes Sky Yadav, Kane Williamson and Babar Azam have all got excellent records batting in Abu Dhabi although at least in the group stages of the tournament each man will only get single opportunity to improve on those stats.
However, Afghanistan opener Hazratullah Zazai will get at least chances in Abu Dhabi. The big left-hander was in imperious form towards the back end of last season’s PSL and strikes at just shy of 200 at this venue. He’ll certainly be one of the players to watch in this World Cup as he seeks to expand on his growing reputation as a man who can cause damage in the powerplay.
Further down the order and South Africa will be keen for David Miller to recapture some of the form he showed at this venue in 2014. The proteas seem a little light on big hitters in the middle order and so if Miller can rediscover some of that power from years gone by it would significantly increase their chances of qualifying for the semis.
Similarly, India will be very keen to see Hardik Pandya recapture some of the run scoring that he has demonstrated in Abu Dhabi in the past. The right-hander had an underwhelming IPL but in T20 cricket a batsman is only a good innings away from returning to form.
Finally, West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard who was also not at his absolute best for Mumbai Indians this year will be hoping to lead from the front in the games that his side play at Abu Dhabi
Batsman
Runs
Average
S/R
Group matches at this venue
SA Yadav
500
41.7
165.6
1
Babar Azam
412
41.2
118.1
1
Hazratullah
275
45.8
196.4
3
KS Williamson
229
45.8
128.0
1
HH Pandya
240
48.0
171.4
1
KA Pollard
216
43.2
144.0
2
DA Miller
210
42.0
137.3
2
On the flip side several big name top order players have had their struggles in Abu Dhabi. Aaron Finch and Martin Guptill have generally been deemed surplus to requirement in franchise leagues such as the IPL on the perception that they aren’t as effective on slower and drier surfaces and certainly their stats at Abu Dhabi seem to back this up.
Meanwhile, the decision for Pakistan to go back to Fakhar Zaman, a man who has never really managed to recapture his 50 over form in the shortest format seems a strange one based on this struggles here. In fact, despite this being in many ways a home tournament for Pakistan many of their middle to lower also have pretty poor records at a ground where they’ve played a significant amount of cricket these last couple of years.
Batsman
Runs
Average
S/R
Group matches at this venue
AJ Finch
58
11.6
87.9
2
MJ Guptill
73
10.4
100.0
1
Fakhar Zaman
96
10.7
89.7
1
T20 batting records in Dubai
I’ve just watched KL Rahul spank a 23 ball half-century in a warm-up match against England and while that game is taking place on the ICC Academy Ground as opposed to the International Stadium that will be used for the World Cup itself there is clearly something about the Dubai air that agrees with King Legend. Watch his innings of 132 not out at this venue in 2020.
Simaraly, England have a couple of players with good records in Dubai including captain Eoin Morgan who looked woefully short of form in the 2nd part of the IPL despite managing to guide KKR to the final.
Elsewhere India also have Ishan Kishan who has performed very well for Mumbai Indians when they’ve visited Dubai and Ravi Jadeja who over the last couple of years has turned into one of the best finishers in the world. That India play 3 of their group games here and potentially a semi-final and final thereafter bodes well for their chances to reclaim the title they last won in 2007.
Batsman
Runs
Average
S/R
Group matches at this venue
KL Rahul
612
55.6
145.4
3
EJG Morgan
394
43.8
130.46
2
KS Williamson
343
42.9
124.3
2
JM Bairstow
323
40.4
127.2
2
Ishan Kishan
286
71.5
156.3
3
RA Jadeja
203
50.8
130.1
3
Strangely enough have been one of the top performers down the road in Abu Dhabi, Suryakumar Yadav has a fairly retched record in Dubai. However, as the below table shows, he’s not the only one with key players from Australia, West Indies, England and Pakistan also having struggle at this venue.
Batsman
Runs
Average
S/R
Group matches at this venue
SPD Smith
111
13.9
113.3
3
MM Ali
70
10.0
100.0
2
ADS Fletcher
107
15.3
101.9
2
SA Yadav
101
16.8
107.4
3
Mohammad Rizwan
187
14.4
100
2
T20 batting records in Sharjah
Sharjah is an interesting venue. Having seen some really big scoring during IPL 2020 the runs dried up in the recently concluded 2021 tournament and so some of the stats at this stadium perhaps need to be taken into context based on the kind of pitches that are created for the T20 World Cup.
I could include the likes of Glenn Maxwell in the list below with his incredible average of 56 and strike rate of 178.3 at Sharjah but what’s the point? Australia don’t play any of their games in Sharjah and in that sense Steve Smith (ave 44 & S/R 147) and Virat Kohli (ave 48 & S/R 122) will also miss out on the opportunity to add to their impressive T20 stats in Sharjah.
However for those sides that do play a couple of games at Sharjah, these are the player to watch for based on previous T20 form at this stadium.
Batsman
Runs
Average
S/R
Group matches at this venue
Sarfraz Ahmed
341
48.7
124.5
2
Mohammad Rizwan
233
46.6
133.1
2
DJ Malan
197
49.3
124.7
2
Q de Kock
173
43.3
132.1
2
By contrast a few big hitters including West Indies duo Chris Gayle and Andre Russell have found things hard going in Sharjah in the past with England captain Eoin Morgan also having struggled in previous T20 outings here.
No sooner has the IPL finished and we move straight into the T20 World Cup with T20 head to head now having published full player head to head statistics for all 11 Test playing nations including
Head to head stats for all 15 squad members plus any official reserves have been included spanning data from T20 internationals as well as tournaments around the world (IPL, PSL, CPL, BBL, T20 Blast and The Hundred)
Virat Kohli head to head stats vs New Zealand
Users can also search for a batsman’s head to head record against various types of bowling with our stats showing data against 6 different styles of bowler.
Rohit Sharma head to head record vs different types of bowling
Access the T20 World Cup player head to head stats on the page below
IPL player head to head statistics are now live on the site and can be accessed on our pages here
Unlike the original version of the data that only compared records of batsman and bowlers from matches played in the IPL, the new report searches games played across all other major T20 leagues (PSL, BBL, CPL, T20 Blast, The Hundred and of course the IPL) as well as international T20 matches to give you greater insight into the key match ups in any game.
The report structure has also been simplified and embedded within the page itself meaning that essential data is just a few clicks away – give it a try below
Due to other commitments, I’ve been unable to update the blog for the last few weeks and I’d have liked to put some more venue related stas and records up ahead of the IPL restart but life has been busy and therefore I’ve not had the chance.
However, starting from today I will begin to update the existing IPL pages and first up are the Powerplay stats and the Death Over stats for both players and teams.
You can access the latest data on both via the links below
With the 2021 edition of the CPL due to begin on 26th August, we take a look at the players with the best and worst T20 records at Warner Park, the stadium that will host all of the matches in this year’s tournament. Bearing in mind that Warner Park has been used to host plenty of CPL and T20 matches in the past, we have decent amount of stats to draw upon and you can find our details T20 statistics and records for Warner Park here
Let’s start with the batsmen who have most enjoyed this venue in T20 cricket and it won’t come as any surprise to see that the leading run scorers at Warner Park in T20s are dominated by 3 CPL and West Indies regulars.
Evin Lewis
Chris Gayle
Lendl Simmons
In regards the players with the best T20 batting average at Warner Park, West Indies old boy Marlon Samuels enjoyed this venue with an average of 54.1 over the duration of his career. However, as far as current players are concerned here are the leading batsmen.
Andre Russell
Dinesh Ramdin
Chris Gayle
Of course you can’t talk about T20 cricket without mentioning strike rate as a key factor to success. If young Shamar Springer gets another game for Barbados then he’ll been keen to keep up his exploits at Warner Park Stadium. The all-rounder has faced 1 ball at Warner Park in the CPL and hit it for six! However, those with longer careers and impressive strike rates at Warner Park in T20 matches can be seen below
Andre Russell
Fabien Allen
Rovman Powell
Bowling wise, it shouldn’t come as a major surprise that Carlos Brathwaite is the leading wicket taker in T20 matches at Warner Park. To date he bowled just shy of 500 deliveries (493 balls) at this venue far more than anybody else and over twice as many as Shamsi (219 balls) who he is tied with as the record wicket taker at Warner Park. in T20 cricket
Carlos Brathwaite
Tabraiz Shamsi
Sheldon Cottrell
In terms of strike rate, leg-spinners always enjoy taking wickets in T20 cricket and Warner Park is no different. While not having a huge amount of stats behind them the likes of Imran Tahir who has 6 wickets in the two T20 games he’s played at Warner Park and Qais Ahmed who took 3 in his single match here might well be worth watching. Out of those who have bowled a minimum of 50 balls at Warner Park in T20 matches, these are the bowlers with the best strike rate.
Ashley Nurse
Kesrick Williams
Tabraiz Shamsi
Of course not every player enjoys certain venues so to close let’s look at a few of the players who have less than favourable T20 records at Warner Park coming into the 2021 CPL season. This includes a couple of West Indian star batsmen and a local bowler who is still searching for his first T20 wicket on his home ground.
The T20 Blast 2021 season is now a couple of weeks old and we’ve already seen a lot of great action from the 18 teams involved. The hot dry weather and some excellent batting surfaces have contributed to some really big scoring to date with a par first innings score in the Blast being in excess of 180 to date.
As we’ve now reached a stage where every team has played between 3 and 5 games and with plenty more matches to come this weekend (weather permitting) then it seemed an appropriate time to launch our powerplay and death overs stats for the 2021 T20 Blast.
Both pages give an insight into the teams and players who are most successful in these phases of the game by providing the following stats
Whether it’s the explosive starts we’ve seen by Surrey’s batsmen in the powerplay or the brilliance of Sussex’s bowlers these stats should provide you with a unique insight into T20 domestic cricket in England.
The month of May should have seen the climax of the 2021 IPL season before moving swiftly onto the rescheduled PSL but unfortunately, Covid-19 had other ideas!
However, at T20 head to head we haven’t let the lull in action prevent us from getting on and adding new data and pages to the site for a tournament that we all hope will be able to begin on time and with in-stadium supporters to boot, the T20 Vitality Blast.
The site now contains head to head player statistics for the squads of all 18 sides competing in the Vitality Blast this year. We’ve also upgraded the site itself so that you can access all these statistics with the page itself.
Here’s what the new in page head to head reports look like!
Equally, we’ve added player statistics at all 20 of the grounds that are scheduled to host a Blast match this summer and you can find a full list of stadium records both of which can be found below.
As the tournament progresses we’ll also add powerplay and death over stats for all 18 teams and the top players in those particular phases as well as player/team articles and records.
The T20 Blast begins on Wednesday, 9th June with Lancashire Lightining hosting the Derbyshire Falcons, don’t miss out on the most up to date stats on T20 head to head
Preview SRH vs MI IPL 2021, Match 31, May 4th, Arun Jaitley Stadium. SRH vs MI head to head player stats and records. Team news and match predictions for SRH vs MI.
Recent meetings: IPL 2021, MI won by 13 runs, IPL 2020, MI won by 34 runs, SRH won by 10 wickets
SRH vs MI preview
For SRH the 2021 IPL season is fast turning into a nightmare with the team lacking any kind of confidence or cohesion. The replacement of David Warner as captain with Kane Williamson is a curious decision but as we’ve been writing about for the past few weeks, so many of the Sunrisers choices in regards selection and tactics during IPL 2021 have left a lot to be desired.
In their previous outing against Rajasthan Royals, they also received some criticism for bowling Rashid Khan out early in the innings. Personally, I thought they got their tactics spot on with Rashid having such a good record against Buttler as we indicated in our match preview and the fact that the Royals are so dependant on their top order to get them runs. Had they have knocked over the 2 right handers then Mohammed Nabi would have been an excellent match-up against the left handers in the middle order.
What was lacking from Sunrisers though was execution of even basic skills – they dropped both Samson and Buttler – to back up those plans. Ultimately it doesn’t really matter who your captain is if you can’t execute your basic skills and this has been a problem for SRH all season. In a league as close and competitive as the IPL, the successful teams will be the ones who do the simple things on a consistent basis with a little bit of star quality thrown in for good measure.
Just had a cheeky bet on #mi to win this match at odd of 6.0 seems like decent value #MIvsCSK#MIvCSK
Speaking of star quality, Mumbai Indians are beginning to show some of theirs with a magnificent chase in their last game at this venue headed by the evergreen Kieron Pollard. The big man put in a fantastic all-round performance to underline his continued importance to the franchise that he has been at since the IPL’s inception. It was also a good win for me personally as well because I put money on MI winning it from about the 12th over of their chase at very generous odds of 6.0 as shown in my tweet above.
SRH vs MI head to head stats
SRH bowling vs MI batting
We’ve already mentioned the Sunrisers decision to bowl Rashid Khan earlier in the innings than you’d normally expect and beyond the advantageous match up they hoped it would present against RR is the desperation that SRH have to get early break throughs. Prior to that game the Sunrisers had taken just 3 wickets in the powerplay all tournament with Rashid adding a 4th when he got rid of Yashasvi Jaiswal early on. Without any kind of penetration up front, SRH are always left chasing games and the table doesn’t lie when it shows they aren’t particularly good at that!
Average powerplay score and average number of wickets lost by team in IPL 2021
In this game they also come up against a Mumbai Indians side whose default plan is to not lose wickets in the powerplay and build themselves into a strong position in order to let their powerful middle order go big later in the innings. Our graph above shows that MI have lost the fewest wickets in the powerplay during IPL 2021. The question then is how can SRH disrupt this Mumbai Indians top order?
If SRH are guided by head to head stats to choose their match-ups once again then they’ll undoubtedly want to get Sandeep Sharma on against his name sake Rohit.
Sandeep vs Rohit IPL head to head stats
Of course the problem for Sandeep and most of the SRH bowling attack is that when the ball doesn’t swing, and it hasn’t at the venues they’ve played at, then they become exposed as the medium-fast bowlers that they are. The lack then of genuine pace in this Sunrisers squad becomes apparent and teams are left knowing that if they can navigate Rashid Khan’s 4 overs then there is very little threat elsewhere. SRH may well look at bringing in Jason Holder to add a little variety to their attack for this game. While by no means quick, Holder’s height and the bounce he creates will at least provide a different problem for the MI batsmen.
Several SRH players have had disappointing seasons but the form and fitness of Buvi have been a real issue for the men in orange. Following his exploits for India in the white ball games against England, it looked like Buvi was back to his best but so far he’s managed just 3 wickets from 5 matches and in this game he faces an opening pair who he has struggled to dislodge in past IPL encounters.
Buvi vs MI openers IPL head to head stats
MI bowling vs SRH batting
To balance out our criticism of SRH’s powerplay bowling, we should probably point out that Mumbai Indians themselves have also struggled to get early break throughs in IPL 2021. The selection of Dhawal Kulkarniin their previous match against CSK was almost certainly a recognition that they need a little more penetration in the early stages of the innings if they are going to defend their title this year and it’s that 3rd seamer role that is causing the champions the most headaches with none of the options they’ve tried to date really grabbing their opportunity.
With Warner dropped, SRH opted to promote Manish Pandey to open the batting. For his part, Pandey has a pretty good head to head record against all the bowlers that MI have used in IPL 2021.
Manish Pandey IPL record vs all MI bowlers used in IPL 2021
Again though, we are looking at an SRH side who are likely to be very dependant on their top 3 (whoever they are) to get them a good score in this fixture. In the reverse fixture earlier in the season, SRH were seemingly heading towards a victory when Warner and Bairstow were at the crease but they collapsed from a position of 67 without loss to 137 all out once that partnership was broken.
Run rate at the death for each IPL team
Following another collapse against the Royals in their last match, SRH now have the 2nd worst strike rate at the death. It’s difficult to see who out of the many options they’ve tried in the middle and lower order will be able to turn that around, especially against a side like Mumbai Indians who have been very strong with the ball during the middle and late stages of an innings.