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The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) is exactly a week away, and the franchises are sweating it out in the UAE in preparation for the tournament.
The opening game of IPL 2020 will see the Chennai Super Kings take on the Mumbai Indians on the 19th of September. Right from the very first match, death bowling will be one of the key aspects that will determine every team's fortunes.
Ranking the death-bowling pairs of all 8 IPL 2020 teams
With the T20 format becoming increasingly batsman-friendly, the willow-wielders often rack up massive totals in the final five overs of the innings. All 8 teams have attempted to invest heavily on death bowlers to effectively prevent losing matches at the death.
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Ahead of IPL 2020, we attempt to predict who the two main death-overs bowlers from each team will be, and rank them (from worst to best) in terms of how strong the combination looks.
#8 Royal Challengers Bangalore - Chris Morris and Navdeep Saini
RCB have majorly struggled with death bowling over the years in the IPL, and although they tried to address this issue by buying Chris Morris, their problems are set to continue.
The South African can't be relied on to hit the yorkers consistently, and is more suited to the middle overs than the death due to his hit-the-deck style of bowling. Navdeep Saini, on the other hand, has shown that he has a good yorker in his arsenal, but it remains to be seen if he has the variations needed to be a solid death bowler.
RCB might fare better in IPL 2020 than they did in previous seasons, but they are still not good enough to be placed higher on this list.
#7 Rajasthan Royals - Jofra Archer and Jaydev Unadkat
RR have Jofra Archer and Jaydev Unadkat to call upon at the death and while the former is a good choice considering his pace, variations and yorkers, the latter definitely is a weak link in the lineup.
Archer has bowled at the death on the biggest stages, such as the 2019 World Cup, with reasonable success. Unadkat, on the other hand, has been incredibly expensive and predictable since his excellent season for the Rising Pune Supergiant.
While this combination doesn't exactly inspire confidence, both bowlers' experience at the death might serve RR well in IPL 2020.
#6 Kolkata Knight Riders - Pat Cummins and Prasidh Krishna
The most expensive overseas player in the history of the IPL auction, Pat Cummins will be KKR's spearhead as far as the pace attack is concerned. The Australian will take the new ball and bowl at the death, but he isn't exactly a proven performer in the role.
Cummins will be partnered by the young Prasidh Krishna, who was trusted by captain Dinesh Karthik to bowl at the death in the last edition of the IPL. The Karnataka pacer was expensive, and while he showed glimpses of why he is considered a great talent, he didn't do enough to warrant a higher place on this list.
Both Cummins and Krishna are quality bowlers, but they might not be best suited to bowl at the fag ends of innings.
#5 Chennai Super Kings - Dwayne Bravo and Deepak Chahar
In all likelihood, CSK will continue with their tried-and-tested combination of Deepak Chahar and Dwayne Bravo at the death in IPL 2020.
Chahar has been excellent in the few overs that he has bowled in the last five, but the sample size is too small to inspire a great deal of confidence. The West Indian, on the other hand, is clearly on the decline - his pace isn't what it used to be, and his slower ball is becoming far too predictable.
However, both bowlers have experience and variations, and their style of bowling could be suitable for the UAE.
#4 Kings XI Punjab - Mohammed Shami and Sheldon Cottrell
KXIP might struggle in the middle overs owing to their rather weak bowling attack, but they shouldn't have too many problems with the new ball or at the death. The duo of Mohammed Shami and Sheldon Cottrell, both of whom have a great deal of international experience, make up a decent death-bowling partnership.
Shami had a good IPL season for the first time ever last year, and looks set to build on that as the leader of the pace attack. The Indian speedster has a potent yorker, and has shown that he doesn't get flustered when up against it. Cottrell, on the other hand, has a host of variations and adds great variety to the KXIP bowling attack since he is a left-armer.
Shami and Cottrell could give opposition batsmen headaches in IPL 2020 at the death.
#3 Sunrisers Hyderabad - Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Siddarth Kaul
While there are questions lingering over Bhuvneshwar Kumar's fitness, he is expected to be a key part of SRH's death-bowling partnership this IPL alongside fellow Indian pacer Siddarth Kaul.
Both Kumar and Kaul have played this exact role for SRH over the past few years, and work well together. David Warner's side have always been known for their variations while bowling, and the knuckle ball, which both bowlers have perfected, will be one of their key weapons.
This partnership is both potent and has a ton of IPL experience, and finds a place at #3 on this list.
#2 Delhi Capitals - Kagiso Rabada and Daniel Sams
Daniel Sams has never played in the IPL before and was called in only as a replacement for Jason Roy, but there is good reason to believe that the left-armer will have a big role to play.
DC have strong Indian contingents in the batting and spin-bowling departments, and they can afford to play two overseas pacers unlike all other teams on this list.
Shreyas Iyer's side will probably give Sams the nod ahead of Anrich Nortje, since the former has performed admirably in the Big Bash League. Boasting of a potent slower ball, the Australian will partner the ever-present Kagiso Rabada in what will be a solid death-bowling partnership.
#1 Mumbai Indians - Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult
The fact that MI's partnership of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult might largely be because of the prowess of the former, but the Kiwi quick has vast experience at the international and IPL level.
Not much needs to be said about Bumrah, who is arguably the greatest death bowler in the world at the moment. Boult, on the other hand, has been expensive in the past, but can be trusted to produce the goods for an MI side that made their intentions clear by trading for him.
Bumrah and Boult are undoubtedly the best death-bowling pair in IPL 2020, at least on paper.
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