Estelle Vasudevan
When Rajasthan Royals came up against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2024 Eliminator, they were on the backfoot. After a phenomenal run of eight wins in their first nine games, they had slumped to four straight losses (and a no result) at the end of the league phase of the tournament. Not an ideal lead-up to a knockout game. To make matters worse, their opponents had pretty much done the opposite, winning six on the trot to pip Chennai Super Kings and make it into the playoffs.
Rajasthan needed a good start to the Eliminator and who better to deliver it than the master of powerplay bowling himself, Trent Boult. RCB managed 50 runs in the Powerplay, but you know how many of those runs Boult conceded? Six. In three overs. And he picked up the wicket of Faf du Plessis. He set the tone for the Rajasthan performance and they never looked back.
The thing with Boult is, this kind of Powerplay performance is almost a given for him in the IPL. He now has the second-most wickets in the Powerplay (62), behind only Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (71). Over his career, it’s been his most fruitful phase of bowling. This year too, his powerplay numbers stand out: he has 12 wickets in the first six overs, the most by any bowler in IPL 2024. And he’s gone at just 7.03 runs per over, the second-most economical among the top 15 wicket-taking bowlers in this phase, behind Jasprit Bumrah.
True numbers for bowlers who have bowled over 75 deliveries in the powerplay this season (as of May 22, 2024)
If we look at his true numbers, only T Natarajan, Bhuvaneshwar and Bumrah have been more economical, and the former two are the only bowlers who rank higher on the wicket-taking front. If we look at his overall IPL numbers in the powerplay, 2024 seems like a par season for him. Yet, he’s managed to outperform most of the other bowlers in the competition. When Boult is at par, he’s among the best. When he hits his peaks, very few can do better. This is especially relevant in a season where we have repeatedly seen record-breaking totals and massive scores in the powerplay.
Boult’s True numbers over his IPL career
So, what makes Boult so good with the new ball? It can’t be pinned down to one thing. You could say he is at his most lethal when there is some swing or seam on offer and you’d be right. His ability to move the ball both ways is certainly a huge asset, especially with his left-arm angle. But moving the new ball alone means nothing if you have no control. And control is another area that Boult excels in. It’s what we saw in that performance against RCB in the Eliminator, the ability to hit the right areas again and again and again. Add his control to his variety and you have another string to his bow. Boult will deliver the regular length delivery and move the ball into or away from the batter, but he’s also got a really accurate regular and slower bouncer and a quick yorker, making him a tough bowler to get away, even with the field in.
In Qualifier 2 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Boult set the tempo once again for the Royals. He sent Abhishek Sharma packing in the very first over. This was the seventh time Boult had picked up a wicket in the first over of an innings this season. Talk about setting the tone. By his third powerplay over, with Rahul Tripathi smacking the ball around, Boult went to his short delivery and got RR the much-needed breakthrough before removing Aiden Markram in the same over. In Qualifier 1, SRH had been knocked over by Mitchell Starc’s early strikes. Qualifier 2 seemed on track for a repeat with another left-arm quick seizing the moment, but Boult wouldn’t have a World Cup 2015 repeat face-off in a final against Starc, because a batting collapse knocked RR out. But the reason the Royals could envision a place in the IPL final at the mid-innings break was due to Boult.
It was the type of performance that you’ve grown accustomed to, from a man who has shone with the new ball in all formats of the game. Boult’s free agency means that he probably won’t play too much cricket for New Zealand outside of major tournaments, but he has showcased once again that he is still a hugely skillful bowler and is sure to have many more opportunities to shine come IPL 2025.
Stats by Varun Alvakonda.
