The IPL 2023 season brought forth several notable takeaways. Home advantage seemed to lose significance as teams failed to capitalize on their home conditions. Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans were the only teams that managed to maintain a positive win-loss record at home. The reshuffling of teams and players in the previous mega auction and reintroducing the home-and-away format may have contributed to this trend. in this article we will make a note on the rise of impact players and the importance of quick runs.
The Impact Player rule was a focal point before the tournament began. Teams eventually utilized the pattern of including an extra batter for batting first and then replacing them with a bowler during the second innings, making it a 12 vs 12 contest. Mumbai Indians demonstrated an effective strategy by going one batter short while batting first, allowing them to bring in an additional bowler during their defence.
Scoring rates skyrocketed in IPL 2023 – 8.99 per over, making it the highest-scoring season in history (from the – previous highest of 8.64 in 2018). The availability of an extra batter through the Impact Player Rule encouraged teams to bat more aggressively, scoring 200 (or more runs in an inning) 37 times. The teams displayed sustained momentum throughout their innings, leading to fewer mid-range totals between 140 and 179 runs.
Teams in IPL 2023 continued the trend of preferring to chase in T20 cricket, selecting to do so in 53 out of 74 matches. However, contrary to expectations, they had a poor win-loss record, with only 23 wins and 29 losses, marking the second-worst performance for chasing teams since 2015. The Impact Player rule introduced teams to set challenging totals, making defending easier and reducing the impact of dew in night games. Indian domestic players emerged as exceptional finishers, showcasing their power-hitting skills and outperforming capped Indian and overseas players during the death overs.
In IPL 2023, there was a notable increase in spinners’ use during the death overs compared to previous years. Spinners bowled 17.4% of the death overs, the highest since 2014. Captains frequently utilized spinners like Yuzvendra Chahal, Varun Chakravarthy, Rashid Khan, and Maheesh Theekshana, who not only bowled in this crucial phase but also outperformed fast bowlers in terms of economy rate (9.19 vs 10.94) and strike rate (11.4 vs 12.8).
