3 IPL 2023 teams that are struggling because of their death bowling

The 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has taken off with exciting matches and thrilling finishes, with each of the 10 teams having lost at least one game.

While the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) sit atop the table with three wins in four matches, the Delhi Capitals (DC) find themselves at the bottom of the pile with four losses in as many games.

One area that most teams still struggle with is death overs (overs 16-20) bowling. With batters developing more range and a variety of strokes, bowlers often come unstuck in death overs.

Add to that the smaller boundaries on offer, and controlling the opposition in the death overs has often been a nightmare for the bowlers and the fielding captain.

Historically, the most successful teams in the IPL have often had death-over specialists like Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah for the Mumbai Indians (MI), Dwayne Bravo for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and Sunil Naraine between 2012-14 for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Other IPL winners in the past have often had death-over specialists like Sohail Tanvir ( 2008 Rajasthan Royals ), RP Singh ( 2009 Hyderabad Deccan Chargers), and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (2016 SunRisers Hyderabad).

Despite most IPL teams having specialist coaches, the economy rate in the death overs this season has been more than 11 runs per over. While SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), Rajasthan Royals (RR), and Gujarat Titans (GT) have a decent economy rate of around 10 runs per over in the death overs, the average economy rate of the other teams this season is 11 runs per over.

Despite their death-bowling woes, few teams have overcome the issue by strengthening themselves in other departments. The Punjab Kings (PBKS) are one such team who, despite having an abysmal economy rate of over 16 at the death in two of their three games, have managed to emerge victorious twice.

On that note, we look at the three teams whose results in IPL 2023 have been severely impacted by their inefficient death-bowling.

---

#1 Delhi Capitals (IPL 2023 death overs economy rate 12.56 runs per over)

Anrich Nortje's death bowling skills will be vital to DC"s performance in the IPL.

The Delhi Capitals have had a dismal start to their IPL campaign, losing all four games thus far. While there have been many areas of concern, death bowling is at the forefront.

The Capitals have conceded 178 runs at the death at a run rate of 12.56 per over while picking up just four wickets. They have also conceded a league-high 14 sixes in that phase this season.

The Capitals' key weapon in this phase has been South African speedster Anrich Nortje, whose economy rate was just 8.5 runs per over the last three years. This season, however, Nortje is going at almost 10.5 runs per over.

To address their death-bowling issues, DC drafted specialist Mustafizur Rahman into the playing XI in their last match against the Mumbai Indians. The move seemed to have paid dividends until Mustafizur conceded two sixes off the last three balls of the 19th over.

The Capitals will hope that the combination of Nortje and Mustafizur can help sort out their death-bowling issues, which could go a long way in the side rediscovering their winning touch.

---

#2 Royal Challengers Bangalore (IPL 2023 death overs economy rate 12.08 runs per over)

Harshal Patel's death bowling woes this season have cost RCB a couple of times.

Over the years, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have been the team most affected by their death bowling.

Despite boasting some of the best batters in IPL history in Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, and AB de Villiers, RCB have often fallen short of reaching their ultimate goal of winning the elusive title. This has been due to the franchise's inability to perform credibly in death-overs.

While playing at the Chinnaswamy Stadium with small boundaries has played a part in RCB's paltry death bowling numbers, the side continues to leak runs at an alarmingly high rate. To help eradicate the problem, the franchise drafted Harshal Patel ahead of the 2021 season.

While the medium pacer has performed admirably in this phase in the last two years, with an economy of just nine runs per over, Harshal has struggled mightily this season, going at over 12 runs per over.

The team themselves are going at over 12 runs per over in death-overs, and it has proved costly in both their losses this season against the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Lucknow Super Giants.

RCB will hope Harshal and the other bowlers step up to ensure the work done upfront with the new ball isn't neutralized.

---

#3 Mumbai Indians (IPL 2023 death overs economy rate: 11.51 runs per over)

The absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer has hurt MI in the death bowling department.

The five-time champions Mumbai Indians are yet again off to a slow start in the IPL. They finished at the bottom of the points table last year and haven't shown substantial improvements thus far this season. Much of that can be attributed to the absence of Jaspirt Bumrah for the entire season due to injury.

Jofra Archer, who missed the entirety of last season, has also missed the previous two matches with an injury. Bumrah and Archer are two of the world's premier death bowlers, and their absence has left a dent in the MI bowling attack.

With an inexperienced bowling attack and a lack of death-over specialists, Mumbai Indians have an economy rate of 11.51 runs per over in the death overs. MI would want Archer to return to the lineup soon to shore up their death bowling woes.