Decoding Trent Boult's brilliant Powerplay numbers in IPL 2023
Rajasthan Royals have made an impressive start to the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL), having won four of their first seven games. They are currently second in the team standings and are on the right track to qualify for the playoffs. Trent Boult's brilliance in the powerplay overs has been the major reason behind their success. Here we decode his stats.
Why does this story matter?
Boult's pace and swing with the new ball have troubled the best of batters. In his last outing versus Royal Challengers Bangalore, Boult dismissed Virat Kohli for a golden duck. The left-arm pacer sent back Shahbaz Ahmed in his next over as the Challengers were reduced to 12/2. Boult finished with figures worth 2/41 in four overs as RR lost by seven runs.
Boult's powerplay numbers in IPL 2023
Boult owns seven wickets in the 15 overs he bowled in the Powerplay in IPL 2023. Only RCB's Mohammed Siraj has taken as many wickets in this phase. Boult has conceded runs at a paltry rate of 6.06 in this phase. Notably, six of Boult's seven wickets in powerplay this season came in the first over. Siraj trails Boult in this regard (three wickets).
RR's sensational run in powerplay overs
RR's economy rate of 7.54 in the Powerplay is only higher than that of RCB (7.00) in IPL 2023. Gujarat Titans (7.69) are the only other team with an economy lesser than eight in this phase. Notably, RR's run rate with the bat in powerplay reads 9.21. This shows how threatening Boult has been even on decent batting decks.
Most powerplay wickets since 2020
Since IPL 2020, Boult has snapped 39 Powerplay wickets in 51 innings at an economy of 6.76. While no other bowler has even 30 wickets in this phase in this period, Mohammed Shami trails Boult with 29 wickets. Among bowlers with at least 16 wickets in this regard, none has a better economy rate than that of Boult.
100 IPL wickets for Boult
During the game against RCB, Boult became the 22nd bowler to complete 100 IPL wickets. He has now raced to 101 wickets in 84 games at an economy rate of 8.27. The New Zealand star owns a four-fer in the tournament (4/18). Notably, 47 of Boult's IPL wickets have come in the Powerplay. For RR, the veteran pacer has 25 wickets at 27.32.
