Deepak Chahar: Decoding his powerplay stats in T20 cricket
Deepak Chahar unlocked a massive feat on Sunday (May 14) as he completed 50 powerplay wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The pacer became just the fifth bowler to get the landmark. He got to the milestone with a three-fer (3/27) versus Kolkata Knight Riders, albeit in a losing cause. Here we decode his stellar powerplay stats in T20 cricket.
50 powerplay wickets for Chahar
Known for his ability to swing the new ball, Chahar was at his lethal best against KKR. All of Chahar's three wickets came within the powerplay overs as he ran through KKR's top order, dismissing the trio of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Jason Roy, and Venkatesh Iyer. No other CSK bowler besides him took a wicket in the contest. KKR won the game by six wickets.
Fifth bowler to get this feat
Chahar raced to 50 powerplay wickets in his 70th IPL appearance. As mentioned, he became just the fifth bowler to get this milestone in the competition. He joined Bhuvneshwar Kumar (59), Sandeep Sharma (55), Umesh Yadav (53), and Zaheer Khan (52). Chahar's economy rate in this phase is 7.83. In IPL 2023, the pacer has seven powerplay wickets in as many games (ER: 8.61).
Most wickets in powerplay since IPL 2018
Chahar joined CSK in 2018 and has scalped 65 wickets in as many matches at an average of 27.92 ever since. He has picked 49 wickets in the powerplay overs in this period, the highest by any bowler in the tournament since 2018. He is three wickets ahead of second-placed Trent Boult, who has scalped 46 wickets in this regard.
Most dot balls in powerplay in a single IPL season
Chahar recorded 162 dot balls in the Powerplay in IPL 2019. It is still the highest number of dot balls in powerplay overs in a single IPL season. Praveen Kumar is in second position with 139 dot balls in IPL 2012 for Punjab Kings. Meanwhile, Mitchell Johnson's 138 dot balls in IPL 2013 for Mumbai Indians take a very close third spot.
His overall powerplay stats in T20 cricket
Overall in T20 cricket, Chahar has 61 powerplay wickets in 92 innings at an economy of 7.7. The tally also includes 11 T20I wickets. Overall, he has 144 T20 wickets in 129 games, out of which 29 have come in 24 T20Is. In IPL, he has raced to 66 wickets, conceding runs at 7.95. The tally includes a couple of four-wicket hauls.
