The Indian Premier League is one of the best cricketing events globally right now. The event gets a lot of traction from the entire world, and the top reason behind the tournament’s popularity is that it is the only league on the planet, where the active Indian cricketers unite forces with the foreign players.
Over the years, IPL has brought about a revolution in world cricket. Earlier, there were many friendships between the Indian players and cricketers from other nations, but thanks to the IPL, the fans even got to see Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh play for the same team.
One of the most attractive things about the IPL is the powerplay overs. As everyone knows, each team gets 20 overs to showcase their batting talent. While every bowler tries his level best to curtail the runs flow, the batsmen aim to take maximum advantage of the powerplay overs.
There is a mandatory powerplay during the first six overs, which allows the fielding team to place only two fielders outside the 30-yards circle. The batsmen just need to hit the ball over the circle fielders to score boundaries. Sometimes, even the mistimed shots give them rich rewards.
Many players have taken the perfect advantage of this restriction, and here’s a look at the top six batsmen having the highest strike rate in powerplay after playing a minimum of 400 balls in that zone.
#5 Wriddhiman Saha – 137.50
Indian wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha played a sensational knock of 87 runs against the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2020 recently. The right-handed keeper slammed a dozen fours and a couple of maximums in his quickfire inning.
Saha has generally done well in the first six overs. The teams have not used him to perfection so far. He can do really well as an opening batsman in the IPL, and his strike rate of 137.50 in the powerplay just shows that.
#4 David Warner – 137.95
Wriddhiman Saha’s partner-in-crime from last night, David Warner has played excellently in the first six overs. He finds the gaps easily, while the southpaw also bashes the right deliveries outside the boundary line.
Warner has a career strike rate of 137.95, while playing in the powerplay overs of the IPL. He will aim to take it to up 150 by improving his game in the next few seasons.
#3 Virender Sehwag – 144.16
Known for his trademark style of kicking off the innings with a four, Virender Sehwag holds the third position in this elite list. Sehwag has the best strike rate in powerplay overs for any Indian batsman. The right-handed batter played for the Delhi Capitals and the Kings XI Punjab in his IPL career.
He slammed a century against the Chennai Super Kings in the Qualifier 2 match of IPL 2014. Apart from that, he had led the Delhi-based franchise to the Top 4 multiple times. Sehwag retired from IPL after the 2015 season. He is currently working as a cricket expert.
#2 Chris Lynn – 145.62
Swashbuckling Australian opener Chris Lynn has played for multiple franchises in his brief IPL career. His most successful stint was with the Kolkata Knight Riders from 2014 to 2019. Surprisingly, KKR released him from their squad before the IPL 2020 Auction.
Lynn is currently a part of the Mumbai Indians squad. The defending champions have not given him a single game in this competition so far because the other foreigners are doing well. Nevertheless, Lynn has a brilliant strike rate of 145.62 in the powerplay.
#1 Jos Buttler – 155.11
Jos Buttler stands at the numero uno position in this list. He has played for the Mumbai Indians and the Rajasthan Royals in his IPL career. Buttler has belted the bowlers in the first six overs.
His strike rate of 155.11 in the first six highlights why RR have been so good at the start of their innings. It will be interesting to see if Jos The Boss can take his team to the Top 4 in IPL 2020.
