A better week for batsmen

The first week of IPL 2012 was characterised by low totals and bowlers generally holding the upper hand, but over the last nine days, batsmen have had more to celebrate, with two of them getting hundreds, and the scores generally being a little higher. The season had started with Rajiv Shukla, the IPL chairman, asking for totals of more than 160 in every innings of every match, but when the action began, it didn't quite pan out that way: in the first three games, the team batting first didn't even touch 130. Perhaps the bowlers adjusted to the format faster than the batsmen this season, on pitches that weren't conducive to quick scoring. Over the last week, though, it seems that batsmen are gradually reworking the par scores, and adjusting their strategies to ensure they keep wickets in hand for the final overs.

Splitting up the 29 games played so far into the first 15 and the last 14, it's clear that the big change has been the rise of batting averages: in the last 14 matches, the average has gone up from 19.67 to 27.36, an increase of 39%. The increase in strike rates, on the other hand, is marginal (4.27%). However, more batsmen have gone on to make significant scores - there were only 12 fifties in 199 innings played by batsmen in the first 15 games, but 174 innings in the last 14 games have produced 20 fifty-plus scores. The averages have also gone up because of the not-outs - 26 out of 199 in the first 15; 37 out of 174 in the last 14.

The overall batting strike rate so far this season is 122.09, which is lower than the rates in 2008 (128.98) and 2010 (126.76), but higher than last year's edition (120.71). What's also noticeable is that the number of sixes has reduced, while the fours have increased, in these last 14 matches.

The early matches were characterised by a lack of significant partnerships among the top-order batsmen, but that's changed over the last nine days. The top order has taken greater responsibility, and batted a larger chunk of overs. In the first 15 matches, the average partnerships for the first four wickets were all less than 30 runs per wicket; in the last 14 matches, the average partnerships for each of those wickets is more than 30.

Rajasthan Royals have led the way in that regard, thanks to an in-form top order. The combination of Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Dravid, Owais Shah and Brad Hodge has ensured that Royals have an average partnership of 39.34 for the top four wickets in IPL 2012, at a run rate of 8.39 runs per over. Both those stats - the average and the run rate - are the highest among all teams. Royal Challengers Bangalore are second-best in terms of run rate (8.20).

The average for the opening partnership has gone up from 23.80 to 35.21, an increase of 48%, even though the run rate has dropped marginally. Clearly, teams have preferred to keep wickets in hand, even if that means scoring at a slightly lower rate. The average run rate for the opening partnership this season is the lowest among all years: 7.33, compared to 8.04 in 2008 and 7.97 last year.

The stats for the first six overs reflects the top-order improvement. In the first 15 matches, the average in the first six overs of a match was around 25 runs per wicket, and 6.93 runs per over - in terms of score, that translates into a total of 42 for 2. In the last 14 games, the average has gone up to 40.70 per wicket and 7.51 per over, which is a six-over total of 45 for 1.

That's also because teams have figured out the top-order combinations which work better, and have discarded some of the out-of-form players. Chennai Super Kings, for example, had started with Murali Vijay partnering Faf du Plessis at the top of the order, but that combination produced only 115 partnership runs in five innings as Vijay struggled, scoring 31 off 48 balls in five innings. Since S Badrinath took over from Vijay, Super Kings' two opening partnerships have already produced 171 runs at a rate of 7.43 per over.

The toss puzzle

Teams may be slowly figuring out their best combination, but they still haven't figured out the best strategy after winning the toss: 20 out of 29 matches in IPL 2012, and ten of the last 14, have been won by the team which has lost the toss. Batting first after winning the toss has been a particularly disastrous tactic so far in the IPL - 10 of those 12 matches have resulted in defeats for the team winning the toss. Deccan Chargers have been hit the worst, losing all three matches when they won the toss and batted.

The stats for Royals best illustrates the toss conundrum: in the four matches when Dravid has won the toss, Royals have a 1-3 win-loss record; however, Royals have won all three games when they've lost the toss. Similarly, Kolkata Knight Rider and Pune Warriors have a 1-2 record in matches when they've won the toss, and a 3-1 record when they've lost the toss.