After 20 riveting matches, the group stage of the latest season of the LPL came to a thrilling conclusion. The top four teams for the playoffs were decided by the final game, highlighting how evenly matched and fiercely competitive the teams were this season. This season’s squads, in contrast to previous ones, has a pool of highly skilled foreign players and a good mix of young and experienced Sri Lankan players, making each team a fierce competitor.

In this article, we will perform some statistical analysis on the best bowlers in the group stage across the three different phases of play. Here, we will consider a metric called the Adjusted score to rank the best bowlers. But before we delve into this metric, we need a brief introduction to the Adjusted SR factor and Adjusted ER factor. The metrics have been inspired from Cricinfo’s statistical features.

Read More: The best stats measure (thecricketmonthly.com)

The Adjusted SR factor is a metric that explains how a bowler’s strike rate stands out with respect to the average strike rate of all bowlers in that particular phase of play. Likewise, the Adjusted ER factor explains how a bowler’s economy rate stands out with respect to the average economy rate of all bowlers in that particular phase of play. Finally, the Adjusted score is the multiplication value of Adjusted SR factor and Adjusted ER factor. The lower this value, the better is the performance of the bowler.

We will be taking the top 10 players for every phase based on their Adjusted Score and we are filtering the data for each phase based on the number deliveries bowled by each bowler. In the Powerplay, the minimum number of deliveries is taken as 40, in Middle overs it is 60 and in the death overs it is 30. The values in the bracket beside the player denotes the number of deliveries bowled by them.

Powerplay

In a surprising twist in the tale, Angelo Mathews has surfaced as the top bowler during the powerplay in the group stage matches. He picked up 7 wickets in his 68 deliveries at a very impressive strike rate of 9.71 (best among all the bowlers). He bowled in the later stages of the tournament after his team underwent consecutive losses and he made an immediate impact. His spells in the powerplay were pivotal since Kandy won 4 of their last 6 matches.

Matheesha Pathirana impressed one and all in the IPL with his trophy winning performances and he has carried on with the same form in the LPL. He maintained a wonderful economy rate of 5.51 and has affected 4 dismissals. Kasun Rajitha has been sensational in the powerplay, picking up 80 percent of his wickets in the powerplay at a brilliant economy rate of 5.56

Another impressive bowler who has been ridden with injuries is Binura Fernando. While he wasn’t a regular wicket taker, his impressive variations proved to be very handy and he maintained an economy rate of just 5.51 in the powerplay.

Middle overs

Dilshan Madushanka was the highest paid player in the auction, owing to his tremendous talent with the new ball and his impressive execution of the Yorkers. He was commendable in the middle overs, maintaining a brilliant economy rate of 5.23 and a strike rate of 14, thus owing to his low Adjusted Score.

Nuwan Pradeep made a sensational comeback in the LPL and contributed 75 percent of his wickets in the middle overs at an astounding strike rate of 8.8. His regular wicket taking ability in the middle overs was crucial in Dambulla securing a spot in the playoffs. Dunith Wellalage impressed one and all in his short tenure with Sri Lanka. His 10 wickets in the middle overs came at a brilliant strike rate of 11.1 and was a crucial wicket taker for the Jaffna Kings.

Shakib Al Hasan brought in all his experience and expertise and executed brilliant spells in the middle overs. He effected 7 dismissals and maintained an extraordinary economy rate of 4.93 (best among all the bowlers)

Death overs

Wanindu Hasaranga has been an instrumental player for his team and does a wonderful all-round job of captaining, batting and bowling. While most of his wickets in the death have been against tail enders, he has been accurate in the death, by maintaining an economy rate of 7.5.

Nuwan Tushara hasn’t found a lot of success in his short tenure in the international circuit, but he has been superb for Kandy in the death overs, by maintaining an economy rate of just 7.8 at a brilliant strike rate of 8.5. Matheesha Pathirana finding his spot in the death overs chart doesn’t come off as a surprise since he executed similar death over spells for CSK in the IPL.

Binura Fernando also finds a spot in the death overs and what makes him stand out is his outstanding economy rate of just 6.2. This is combined with nearly 43 percent of his deliveries resulting in dot balls.

This analysis shows the tactical complexity and strategic strengths displayed by the bowlers during the various phases of play. These astounding bowlers’ efforts will surely continue to influence the dynamics of the LPL as the competition moves on to the playoffs stage.