IPL 2017: Top 5 bowlers with most dot balls

‘Dot balls are gold in T20,’ is one of the most popularly used clichés used by commentators since the inception of the format. However. a decade after the inaugural T20 World Cup, this statement has, in fact, become even truer than before.

In IPL 2017 too, dot balls have been a key factor in determining the result of the contest and the bowlers who have excelled in the skill of delivering dot balls have reaped benefits.

In this challenging format, sneaking in a few dot balls requires tremendous abilities and hence bowlers who have acquired the art of dot ball bowling must be applauded.

Here we look at the top five bowlers with the most number of dot balls in this year’s IPL.

#5 Sunil Narine- 99 dot balls

This KKR spinner took the IPL 10 by storm with his swashbuckling batting at the top order and has constantly remained in the headlines courtesy of his blazing performances with the willow.

However, he has also ensured that his batting skills haven’t come at the cost of his bowling as he still remains a force to reckon with in then bowling department.

Although Narine’s strike rate (28.20) this year is the worst of his entire IPL career, he has still remained highly economical (7.10 runs per over). He has bowled 282 deliveries so far this season out of which 99 have been dot balls. With a dot ball percentage of 35.10 a game, Narine has enabled KKR to keep the lid tight on the run rate during his bowling.

As Narine comes with the reputation of being a wicket-taker, teams this year have preferred to play him out instead of attacking him. Hence, his economy rate and dot ball percentage have remained impressive.

#4 Sandeep Sharma- 102 dot balls

Sandeep Sharma’s swing bowling has bamboozled many a batsman

After registering consistent performances over the last three seasons, Sandeep Sharma has emerged in 2017 as Punjab’s bowling spearhead. His impeccable control over swing has made him a huge threat with the new ball.

Sharma’s ability to move the ball both ways is enough to plant doubts in the minds of batsmen while his accurate line and length have increased his potency.

Although Sandeep has an economy of eight-plus runs per over, he has still managed to deliver 102 dot balls. A bulk of these dot deliveries have come in the powerplay overs and hence Sharma’s performance is highly valuable.

Among the top five bowlers, Sandeep has bowled the least number of balls (253) and perhaps that’s why his dot-ball percentage of 40.1 is the highest among all.

#3 Bhuveneshwar Kumar- 106 dot balls

Bhuveneshwar Kumar has been immaculate with his discipline

No other bowler indicates the importance of dot balls in T20 cricket better than Bhuveneshwar Kumar. The leading wicket taker of IPL 2017, Kumar has remained at the forefront in terms of dot balls. He bowls in the powerplay overs and then comes back to deliver a couple of overs at the death.

On both occasions, he relies on dot balls to create pressure on the batsmen. With the new ball, he focuses on the swing while during death over bowling, he works on variation and lengths.

The fact that this right arm pacer has ample variations in his armoury makes him difficult to handle for the batsmen and this is one of the reasons why he has delivered 100 plus dot balls this season.

This SRH bowler has a dot ball percentage of 36.80 and has picked up 23 wickets so far. The most impressive factor of his bowling is his strike rate which is a phenomenal 12.52.

#2 Rashid Khan- 106 dot balls

Rashid Khan has had an impressive IPL debut season

Among the overseas spinners who have made an impact in this IPL, Rashid khan’s name will certainly come at the top. Right from the auction table to his performance on the field, this young leg-spinner has always managed to grab the headlines.

Playing for SRH, Rashid has been instrumental in enabling Warner to dominate the game in the middle overs. He has also bowled an over at the death in numerous games effectively. With 106 dot balls in 48 overs, Rashid has bowled the second most number of dot deliveries this IPL.

One key factor for Rashid’s spectacular number of dot balls is his quick action and his ability to bowl variations without changing his action. His deceptive googly is still difficult for most batsmen to read and thus Rashid has sneaked in with plenty of dot balls in crunch moments.

#1 Mitchell McClenaghan- 110 dot balls

McClenaghan has led the bowling attack really well

The spearhead of Mumbai’s bowling department, Mitchell McClenaghan is the leading dot ball bowler in this year’s IPL with 110 dot balls.

McClenaghan has been effective with the new ball as his express pace comes in handy in foxing the batsmen. In the death overs too, he has remained effective.

Along with pace, McClenaghan has relied on accuracy which has enabled him to pick 18 wickets this season so far.

Interestingly, his economy rate is on the higher side (9.22) which indicates that most of the runs he has conceded have come in the form of boundaries. But even then, delivering 110 dot balls in 300 deliveries is a spectacular achievement.