Will IPL break the 300 barrier this season? Looks unlikely

Scoring patterns indicate that ‘300’ is remarkably achievable but it takes more than just a gung-ho Powerplay onslaught to do so. But in doing so, they disregarded their middle-order and this could come in the way of team’s crossing the high 300 hurdle.

IPL 2024 performances in wins

Deep batting line-ups do not necessarily translate into a heap of runs in this IPL. After two defeats, Chennai Super Kings fans will debate and vary over the strength of a superficial line-up that bears eight noted batters on paper and limited striking ability beyond No. 4.

While it may have slipped in the superior rampage of their respective top orders last year, KKR and SRH marched into the final with sustained middle-order boosts during crucial league-stage outings.

The run-scoring trends of the top two teams from last season exemplify how KKR outperformed their final opponent and the rest of the league. The KKR top-3 scored the most runs (1015) behind SRH (1051, 75.15%) in won matches in 2024. While SRH’s middle-order (No. 4-7) plundered 1256 runs last year, KKR bore the second-lowest contribution from the bunch of all 10 teams, aggregating only 933 runs. However, the Knights achieved greater consistency with 82 percent of middle-order runs resulting in wins, as opposed to SRH’s 58.35 percent (733 runs), eventually trimming the Orange Army’s 12-run strike-rate advantage over KKR.

If the plans and personnel are foolproof, the results will be imprinted from the outset to form early trends. SRH’s middle order had a dashing start in 2024, scoring at 175 in the first three games to set the tone for the rest of the season. While they have touched 167 in the first three matches this year, SRH have been outgunned by Delhi Capitals (186.20) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (189.47)  after two games each, emitting signals of improved stability in other camps.

The turbo-charged starts further highlight the early concerns that follow for multiple franchises. Five-time champions Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are the only teams to bear a top-3 that have failed to attain a minimum 150 strike-rate thus far this season. The staggered middle-order returns have consequently sliced the chock-a-block run-scoring competition in the top order, with five teams failing to put on similar strike rates to maintain a healthy run flow. The woes are pronounced with perennial slow-starters, MI, and general accumulators, CSK.

Last year, MI topped the middle-order scoring charts with 1300 runs at 157.19. Though only 28 percent of those shaped wins, it was MI’s evident source of strength behind a misfiring top-order that tallied a total of 994 runs at 149.12. The starts haven’t been any better this season either as MI’s top-three average a lowly 12.83 for 77 runs with the lowest strike-rate (114.72). The middle-order combinations have also failed to light up spectacularly, channelling 160 runs at a dismissible 119.40 SR, again the lowest of all 10 teams.

CSK are in a similar rut already. The attritional top 3’s middling 140.78 are followed by a meek middle-order setting that has gathered only 164 runs at 113.88. Unreadable home pitches and a defence of a talisman incapable of heavy lifting will not find any more takers should the batting middlemen continue to fail in this cut-throat scoring business.