Chance for batsmen to regain control

After being forced to move out of the country for a year, the IPL is back in India, which is excellent news for the many fans of the tournament and for all the participating batsmen, but not so for the bowlers. The 2008 edition, which was held in India, produced 1611 runs more than in 2009 in South Africa. The difference in run rates was fairly significant too - 8.30 in 2008, which translates into an average 20-over score of 166, to 7.48 in 2009 (average 20-over score of 150).

Most of the pitches used for the 2008 edition were excellent for batting (Kolkata and Bangalore were exceptions), which meant plenty of fours and sixes: there were 1703 fours in 2008, almost 400 more than the following year, while the difference in the number of sixes was 117. With the tournament returning to India, expect the number of boundaries to soar again this year.

A comparison of the batting and bowling numbers for each team between the two years will also give an indication of the sides which are likely to benefit the most by a return to Indian conditions. The teams which lost out the most last year, in terms of batting stats, were Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab. Rajasthan's batting average fell from nearly 30 in 2008 to 18.15 in 2009, while the run rate dropped from 8.74 to 6.82. Clearly, the likes of Swapnil Asnodkar found scoring a much tougher challenge in South Africa, though Rajasthan were also hurt by the absence of Shane Watson. Their fall in batting stats was the steepest among all teams, which explains why they won just six games out of 14 in 2009 after having won the tournament the previous year.

The other team whose batsmen had a much tougher time was Punjab - their average from 31.18 to 22.16, and the run rate from 8.81 to 7.19. Mahela Jayawardene was in good form, averaging more than 36 at a strike rate of 132, but Kumar Sangakkara scored at barely more than a run a ball, and even Yuvraj Singh wasn't at his fluent best. (Click here for more.)

The run rates of all teams dropped in the South African edition, which indicates how different the conditions were in 2009. Even Deccan Chargers, who finished last in 2008 and won in 2009, had better batting stats in 2008 - an average of 23.96 and a run rate of 8.29 - than in 2009 (average 23.84, run rate 7.90).

Obviously, almost all the teams did much better as bowling units in 2009 than they had in 2008. The team which improved the most was Deccan, which explains to a large extent why they won the IPL. In 2008 they had conceded more than 34 runs per wicket, at a run rate of 8.70 per over; in 2009, the average dropped to 21.70 - an improvement of almost 37% - while the run rate fell to 7.52. The numbers for Bangalore, too, improved substantially, but one team which bucked that trend was Kolkata Knight Riders - their average fell from 24.54 to 33.16, while the improvement in run rate was only marginal. It's hardly surprising that they finished at the bottom of the league.

That the IPL is moving back to India is bad news for bowlers in general, but even more so for the spinners. That might seem surprising, given that India is generally considered to be one of the best countries for spin bowling, but last year many of the pitches in South Africa were slow, making it difficult for batsmen to play forcing shots off spinners. A comparison between fast bowlers and spinners in the IPL over the two years makes it obvious that spinners enjoyed the conditions in 2009 - their economy rate dropped from 8.19 to 6.76, which was significantly better than the fast bowlers' economy rate of 7.65. Spinners also took 226 wickets in IPL 2009, a huge improvement from the 134 they took in 2008.

Anil Kumble led the spinners' pack last year, taking 21 wickets at an average of 16.52 and an economy rate of 5.86. Pragyan Ojha was excellent too, conceding only 6.50 runs per over, and taking 18 wickets at less than 20 apiece. (Click here for more.)

Breaking up the 20-over period into three parts, it's clear that scoring in the middle overs - between the seventh and 14th - was much more difficult in South Africa. Teams averaged only 6.72 runs per over during this period, a huge drop from the 7.87 they averaged in the previous edition. The boundary stats in the middle overs in the two years tells the story - 557 four and 241 sixes in 2008, 387 fours and 148 sixes in 2009. Out of the total difference of 117 sixes over the entire tournament, 93 came in the eight overs in the middle of the innings. The bowlers had plenty to rejoice in 2009, but this could be the year the batsmen stamp their authority again.