IPL 2018: Ranking the batting of each team in league stages

In the league stages of IPL, a total of 18,616 runs were scored of which 11,074 came from boundaries. Even before the completion of playoffs, the number of sixes hit this season is already a hundred more than last year.

While batsmen cleared the ropes 817 times in 56 matches, the fielding teams have scalped only 670 wickets. Such has been the dominance of the batsmen in the tournament so far.

While four teams, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, have qualified for playoffs, the question which arises now is where do these teams stand in terms of their batting.

Here are the batting rankings for the eight teams after completion of league stages:

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#8 Kings XI Punjab

KL Rahul was on fire for the Kings XI Punjab throughout the tournament. He scored runs quickly at the top and provided great starts to his team. But the Kings of Punjab were not able to make big totals in spite of those starts in the initial matches. But things seemed to have changed after the inclusion of Chris Gayle in the playing XI.

Gayle scored three half-centuries and a century in the tournament and Kings got a blazing start to the tournament as they have won five out their six matches. But once Gayle's form dipped the Punjab-based franchise could win only one of the remaining 8 matches.

KL Rahul batted his heart out in the tournament as he scored 659 runs i.e. nearly 30% of the team's runs. During the losing streak, he never got the support required from other batsmen.

The middle-order has been their area of concern throughout the tournament as the middle order batsmen kept on gifting wickets during the crucial phases and Rahul alone could take the side home.

They have the second lowest run-rate in the tournament and their runs-per-wicket ratio is also the second lowest making them the lowest ranked team.

Top performers with the bat:

1) KL Rahul: Total runs - 659, Innings:14, HS - 95*, SR:158.41, Avg: 54.91

2) Chris Gayle: Total runs - 368, Innings:11, HS - 104*, SR: 146.03, Avg: 40.88

3) Karun Nair: Total runs - 301, Innings:12, HS - 54, SR: 136.19, Avg: 25.08

Average Run Rate: 8.226

Runs per wicket: 23.763

#7 Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals were heavily dependent on Sanju Samson in the initial part of the tournament and later it was Jos Buttler who led the side to their playoffs. Ajinkya Rahane's contribution came in bits and pieces as he wasn't consistent throughout the tournament.

Apart from these three batsmen who made more than 300 runs this season, Rahul Tripathi was the only other player to score more than 200 runs.

In the absence of Buttler in the playoffs, they desperately need Rahane, Samson and Tripathi to come good if they want to proceed further.

In this IPL, their runs-per-wicket ratio is the worst and Rajasthan have lost the highest number of wickets, 95, in the tournament.

Top performers with the bat:

1) Jos Buttler: Total runs - 548, Innings: 13, HS - 95*, SR: 155.24, Avg: 54.80

2) Sanju Samson: Total runs - 391, Innings: 14, HS - 92*, SR: 138.65, Avg: 30.07

3) Ajinkya Rahane: Total runs - 324, Innings: 13, HS - 65*, SR: 119.11, Avg: 27.00

Average Run Rate: 8.337

Runs per wicket: 23.295

#6 Sunrisers Hyderabad

SRH has always been known for their bowling and even in this season, it is their bowling that is helped them win matches even in this season. With the loss of Warner, the batting of SRH was always going to be weak and in spite of Williamson heroics, they have the least run rate in the tournament.

Kane Williamson has been in ominous form for the Sunrisers as he scored 661 runs for them. In the fourteen innings that he played, Williamson has scored eight half centuries. The only other batsman who has come good for the table toppers was Shikhar Dhawan who scored 437 in 13 innings. These two have scored nearly fifty percent of the runs for the Hyderabad based franchise.

The problem in their batting has been the middle order as Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan and Shakib Al Hasan have failed to perform on a regular basis.

In spite of having the worst run rate what keeps them away from being worst batting team the runs per wicket ratio of 28.59 which is the third best for any team in the tournament.

Top performers with the bat:

1) Kane Williamson: Total runs - 661, Innings: 14, HS - 84, SR: 143.07, Avg: 60.99

2) Shikhar Dhawan: Total runs - 437, Innings: 13, HS - 92*, SR: 139.61, Avg: 43.70

3) Manish Pandey: Total runs - 276, Innings: 12, HS - 62*, SR: 120.00, Avg: 27.60

Average Run Rate: 8.154

Runs per wicket: 28.590

#5 Mumbai Indians

After the first two matches in which they scored 165/4 and 147/8, Mumbai Indians have changed the opening combination. Suryakumar Yadav opening with Evin Lewis was a strong attacking opening combination but the other Mumbai Indians batsmen haven't performed consistently.

Surya Kumar Yadav and Evin Lewis were the highest run-scorers for Mumbai with 512 and 382 runs respectively but both the batsmen could not score big even after getting good starts on many occasions. As many as six Mumbai batsmen have scored more than 200 but they have failed together as a team with the bat.

Top performers with the bat:

1) Suryakumar Yadav: Total runs - 512, Innings: 14, HS - 72, SR: 133.33, Avg: 36.57

2) Evin Lewis: Total runs - 382, Innings: 13, HS - 65, SR: 138.40, Avg: 29.38

3) Rohit Sharma: Total runs - 286, Innings: 14, HS - 94, SR: 133.02, Avg: 23.83

Runs per wicket: 8.541

Average Run Rate: 26.742

#4 Royal Challengers Bangalore

Royal Challengers Bangalore have always been a batting heavy side. This year it looked like they have the right balance, but to their dismay, they are still not performing well as a side. Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers were the only consistent performers in the team.

Virat Kohli scored 530 runs in 14 innings with an average of 48.18 but could not lead his side to the playoffs as the lost the crucial encounter against Rajasthan Royals on the penultimate day of the league matches.

The other batsman who performed for the Bangalore based franchise, AB de Villiers, scored 480 runs in just 11 innings with an average of 53.33 and at an astonishing strike rate of 174.54. The two stalwarts in RCB's lineup lacked support from other batsmen on most occasions.

Mandeep Singh who played a few good knocks at the start could continue his good work. All-rounders like Colin de Grandhomme and Moeen Ali performed in a match or two but that wasn't enough for RCB to qualify.

Top performers with the bat:

1) Virat Kohli: Total runs - 530, Innings: 14, HS - 92*, SR: 139.10, Avg: 48.18

2) AB de Villiers: Total runs - 480, Innings:11, HS - 90*, SR: 174.54, Avg: 53.33

2) Mandeep Singh: Total runs - 252, Innings: 13, HS - 47*, SR: 135.48, Avg: 25.20

Average Run Rate: 8.773

Runs per wicket: 27.000

#3 Delhi Daredevils

In spite of being the holders of the wooden spoon, Delhi Daredevils have put up a good show with the bat on many occasions. While the overseas players have failed to impress with the bat, the young batsmen rose up to the occasion and have shown glimpses of the good things that might come Delhi's way in the near future.

Rishabh Pant was the leading run scorer in the league stages with 684 runs that at an insane strike rate of 173.60. His highest score of 128*, which also the highest score in the tournament, came against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have the best bowling line up in the tournament.

If not for the failures of the overseas batsmen, Delhi Daredevils would have been in a much better position on the points table because players like Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw and Vijay Shankar have performed consistently with the bat. They have the run rate and runs per wicket ratio are third and second in comparison to other teams, which shows the potential of the young Indian batsmen in Delhi's lineup.

Top performers with the bat:

1) Rishabh Pant: Total runs - 684, Innings: 14, HS - 128*, SR: 173.60, Avg: 52.61

2) Shreyas Iyer: Total runs - 411, Innings: 14, HS - 93*, SR: 132.58, Avg: 37.36

3) Prithvi Shaw: Total runs - 245, Innings: 9, HS - 65, SR: 153.12, Avg: 27.22

5) Vijay Shankar: Total runs - 212, Innings: 11, HS - 54*, SR: 142.24, Avg: 53.00

Average Run Rate: 8.903

Runs per wicket: 31.240

#2 Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders' batting was excellently led by Dinesh Karthik who was also the leading run scorer for the Kolkata based franchise with 438 runs in 14 innings with an average of 54.75. The captain remained not out on six occasions in the tournament and has been finishing the innings on a regular basis.

KKR's biggest asset is their opening partnership. While Chris Lynn can take on the fast bowlers, Sunil Narine as the ability to plunder the spinners. Both Lynn and Narine have done a good job for the team as they scored 425 and 327 runs respectively.

As many as six KKR batsmen have crossed the 200-run mark in the tournament. The overall run rate of 8.911 is the second best run rate in the tournament.

Top performers with the bat:

1) Dinesh Karthik: Total runs - 438, Innings: 14, HS - 50, SR: 149.48, Avg: 54.75

2) Chris Lynn: Total runs - 425, Innings: 14, HS - 74, SR: 131.17, Avg: 32.69

3) Robin Uthappa: Total runs - 346, Innings: 14, HS - 54, SR: 138.40, Avg: 24.71

4) Sunil Narine: Total runs - 327, Innings: 14, HS - 75, SR: 189.01, Avg: 23.35

Runs per wicket: 27.931

Average Run Rate: 8.911

#1 Chennai Super Kings

CSK has the best run rate and runs-per-wicket ratio among all the teams. The best thing about Chennai's batting is that contributions were made by different players. As many as 16 50+ scores were made by six different CSK batsmen.

Ambati Rayudu was the leading run scorer for the Chennai Super Kings as he scored 586 runs with a strike rate of 153.40. His opening partner Shane Watson was also among the runs as he scored 438 runs in 13 innings with a strike rate of 147.47. With these scoring runs quickly at the top, Chennai on most occasions got the good starts to make a big total.

Dhoni and Raina continued their run-scoring prowess in IPL as the two managed to scored to 3 and 4 half-centuries respectively. Dhoni has been finishing innings for Chennai on most occasions as he remained not out 9 times in 14 innings.

With four batsmen scoring more than 390 runs, Chennai has the best run rate in the tournament and even their runs-per-wicket ratio is nearly 10 more than the overall average for all teams.

Top performers with the bat:

1) Ambati Rayudu: Total runs - 586, Innings: 14, HS - 100*, SR: 153.40, Avg: 45.70

2) MS Dhoni: Total runs - 446, Innings: 14, HS - 79*, SR: 157.04, Avg:89.20

3) Shane Watson: Total runs - 438, Innings: 13, HS - 106, SR: 147.47, Avg: 33.69

4) Suresh Raina: Total runs - 391, Innings: 13, HS - 75*, SR: 130.76, Avg: 39.10

Average Run Rate: 9.031

Runs per wicket: 37.134