IPL 2018: Ranking the bowling of each team after 6 rounds

In the first 24 matches, batsmen have dominated most of the games scoring 7983 at a rate of 8.651 runs per over. In spite of the dominance of the batsmen till now, the role of bowlers is equally important for a team's progress in such a long tournament. The presence of bowlers has been felt in the form 300 wickets and 1880 dot balls. It is a known fact that bowlers can win matches on their own and the same was on display in 5 matches when the bowlers have won the man of the match awards.

Even though batsmen had more impact in the initial half of the tournament, bowlers' role can never be neglected. The question is who are the best and the worst performing teams with the ball?

*All the stats are for the first 24 matches*

Here is the ranking of the bowling of each team:

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#8 Royal Challengers Bangalore

The average run-rate in the tournament so far is 8.651 and the rate at which RCB conceded runs is 9.646. RCB is clearly conceding 20 runs more than other teams in the 20-over span. They have conceded more than 200 runs three times in the last four matches and are facing serious concerns in their bowling department.

The pitch in Bangalore might be one of the reasons for a higher run-rate, but losing a match with 2 balls spare when 45 runs were required off last 18 balls is not a pardonable offense. Only Yuzvendra Chahal and Umesh Yadav have an economy rate of less than 9 in the tournament so far and rest of the bowlers must step up if they want to end the season in a respectable position.

Top performers with the ball:

1) Umesh Yadav M: 6, W: 9, ER: 8.12, SR: 16.00, BF: 3/23, Dots: 62

2) Chris Woakes M: 5, W: 8, ER: 10.36, SR: 13.75, BF: 3/36, Dots: 44

3) Yuzvendra Chahal M: 6, W: 7, ER: 8.04, SR: 18.00, BF: 2/22, Dots: 47

Average Bowling Run Rate: 9.646

Runs conceded per wicket: 31.750

#7 Rajasthan Royals

In the six matches so far Rajasthan Royals' bowlers have claimed just 26 wickets. In spite of them playing a rain-curtailed game against DD, the wickets difference between Rajasthan and next best should not have been as high as 10. The lack of wicket-taking ability is proving to be costly for them even in terms of runs as they have conceded runs at a rate of 9.129 per over.

Only two bowlers could take five wickets in all the matches till now. The next on the list is IPL debutant, Jofra Archer, who replaced the second-best performer of the team, Ben Laughlin. Archer was awarded the man of the match in the match against Mumbai Indians as he claimed 3-22 in 4 overs. The seven wickets in the match against MI is the highest number of wickets for RR in a match, so the inclusion of Jofra Archer might change the fortunes for Rajasthan's bowling.

Top performers with the ball:

1) Shreyas Gopal M: 6, W: 5, ER: 7.06, SR: 19.20, BF: 3/20, Dots: 34

2) Ben Laughlin M: 5, W: 5, ER: 10.06, SR: 19.20, BF: 2/20, Dots: 22

Average Bowling Run Rate: 9.129

Runs conceded per wicket: 29.645

#6 Delhi Daredevils

The number of players who have bowled for Delhi in the 6 matches is 12, the next highest is only 9. Of the twelve bowlers, Trent Boult and Rahul Tewatia are the only ones to have bowled in all matches. The Delhi bowling lineup is heavily dependent on these two and no other player has bowled in more than four innings. Even the three bowlers who have played four innings have an economy rate of more than 10.

Liam Plunkett who played in their recent match against KXIP was impressive with the ball, as he took 3 wickets for just 17 runs. His inclusion will be crucial to DD's future performances with the ball.

Top performers with the ball:

1) Trent Boult M: 6, W: 9, ER: 8.33, SR: 14.55, BF: 2/21, Dots: 51

2) Rahul Tewatia M: 6, W: 6, ER: 7.31, SR: 19.00, BF: 3/18, Dots: 36

Average Bowling Run Rate: 9.238

Runs conceded per wicket: 27.919

#5 Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings always have a minimum of 7 quality bowling options because of the inclusion of three world-class allrounders in their playing XI. Chennai is the fourth team to have conceded more than 9 runs an over throughout the tournament. In spite of conceding heavily, it is their batting that has helped them stay at the top of the table.

Of the nine bowling options used so far, only Deepak Chahar, Shane Watson, and Ravindra Jadeja have an economy rate of less than 9. Even Ravindra Jadeja has bowled only ten overs in the five innings and is expected to play a bigger role with the ball in next few matches. The area of concern for CSK is that they have conceded more than 195 runs on three occasions. If the Super Kings want to continue their stay at the top, they need to perform better with the ball.

Top performers with the ball:

1) Shardul Thakur M: 6, W: 8, ER: 9.94, SR: 13.50, BF: 2/18, Dots: 42

2) Deepak Chahar M: 6, W: 6, ER: 7.88, SR: 17.00, BF: 3/15, Dots: 52

3) Shane Watson M: 6, W: 6, ER: 8.23, SR: 17.00, BF: 2/29, Dots: 35

Average Bowling Run Rate: 9.058

Runs conceded per wicket: 28.605

#4 Kings XI Punjab

Three regular bowlers of KXIP, Ravichandran Ashwin, Andrew Tye and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have performed well so far in the tournament. Bowling at the start and in the death overs, Andrew Tye has been effective so far in the tournament as he claimed 9 wickets. Ashwin has led the side excellently and has impressed everyone with his newly acquired skill, the leg break. Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been the X-factor in the Kings XI Punjab bowling lineup. He has been economical and is the only bowler in KXIP's lineup to have an economy rate of less than 7.

Mohit Sharma was the second seam bowling option in the initial matches but he proved to be expensive and was replaced by Ankit Rajput in the last two matches. Rajpoot has performed well in two matches picking up two wickets with an economy rate of 7.85. Barinder Sran, the other seam bowling option, has leaked runs but has impressed everyone with his match-winning penultimate over against Delhi. With Axar Patel set to return from injury, KXIP bowling will become more balanced.

Top performers with the ball:

1) Andrew Tye M: 6, W: 9, ER: 7.91, SR: 16.00, BF: 2/23, Dots: 44

2) Mujeeb Ur Rahman M: 6, W: 6, ER: 6.91, SR: 23.00, BF: 2/25, Dots: 50

3) Ravichandran Ashwin M: 6, W: 5, ER: 7.91, SR: 28.80, BF: 2/30, Dots: 34

Average Bowling Run Rate: 8.524

Runs conceded per wicket: 27.730

#3 Kolkata Knight Riders

The spin-trio of Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, and Kuldeep Yadav have led the KKR bowling with 8, 5 and 6 wickets respectively. Narine has been the most economical bowler of the three giving away less than 7 runs an over. Even when CSK chased down a target of 203, Narine gave away just 17 runs and also claimed a wicket in his quota of 4 overs.

Tom Curran, the replacement for Mitchell Starc, has taken 5 wickets in the 4 matches that he was part of but he has been leaking nearly 12 runs an over. The other fast bowling option is the U19 star Shivam Mavi. Even though he has just two wickets in 4 games, he has impressed everyone with his bowling.

Top performers with the ball:

1) Sunil Narine M: 6, W: 8, ER: 6.95, SR: 16.50, BF: 3/18, Dots: 48

2) Kuldeep Yadav M: 6, W: 6, ER: 8.23, SR: 18.33, BF: 3/32, Dots: 31

3) Piyush Chawla M: 6, W: 5, ER: 7.90, SR: 24.00, BF: 2/16, Dots: 43

Average Bowling Run Rate: 8.50

Runs conceded per wicket: 25.972

#2 Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians are languishing at the bottom of the table along with Delhi Daredevils. In spite of having just one win in six games, Mumbai Indians have performed well with the ball. They are the leading wicket-takers and have claimed 46 wickets out of possible 60.

The rate at which they have conceded runs is also just above 8. They also the purple cap holder, Mayank Markande, in their ranks who has picked up 10 wickets in 6 matches. They have a good death bowling combination of Bumrah and Mustafizur, who have claimed 8 and 6 wickets respectively. Hardik Pandya has also performed well picking up 7 wickets in 5 matches. Even Krunal Pandya and Mitchell McClenaghan have been among wickets claiming 6 wickets each.

Top performers with the ball:

1) Mayanak Markande M: 6, W: 10, ER: 7.15, SR: 12.00, BF: 4/23, Dots: 42

2) Jasprit Bumrah M: 6, W: 8, ER: 7.37, SR: 18.00, BF: 2/28, Dots: 55

3) Hardik Pandya M: 5, W: 7, ER: 8.28, SR: 10.85, BF: 3/24, Dots: 29

4) Mustafizur Rahman M: 6, W: 6, ER: 8.34, SR: 24.00, BF: 3/24, Dots: 48

Average Bowling Run Rate: 8.10

Runs conceded per wicket: 21.043

#1 Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers inarguably have the best bowling unit. They have backups for almost every player and have an attack for all conditions. Even with their lead bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Billy Stanlake not playing in the XI, they managed to bowl of Mumbai for just 87 runs.

Even without Billy Stanlake, Sunrisers have a formidable bowling attack. Siddharth Kaul has been the pick of the bowlers with 9 wickets with an economy rate just over 7. Sandeep Sharma, who played in place of Bhuvneshwar in two matches, has impressed one and all by claiming 3 wickets for just 27 runs in 7 overs.

Rashid Khan, who conceded more than 100 runs in two matches because of Gayle and Rayudu, was back with a good performance against MI and ended his quota of overs with the figures of 4-1-11-2. His partnership with Shakib Al Hasan will be crucial for SRH's campaign.

SRH have the best economy rate with the ball conceding just 7.26 runs per over. They are just behind MI in the runs-per-wicket ratio giving away only 21.268 runs for every wicket.

Top performers with the ball:

1) Siddharth Kaul M: 6, W: 9, ER: 7.16, SR: 16.00, BF: 3/23, Dots: 51

2) Bhuvaneshwar Kumar M: 4, W: 6, ER: 6.86, SR: 15.00, BF: 3/26, Dots: 42

3) Shakib Al Hasan M: 6, W: 6, ER: 7.33, SR: 21.00, BF: 2/21, Dots: 42

4) Rashid Khan M: 6, W: 6, ER: 7.58, SR: 24.00, BF: 2/11, Dots: 61

Average Bowling Run Rate: 7.26

Runs conceded per wicket: 21.268