Cricuru desk
Phase-by-phase cricket analysis: powerplay, middle overs, death overs and the chase-defend split.
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A 35-run innings at 150 strike rate is two different stories depending on which over it ends in. A 35-run powerplay knock on a flat track is a foundation; a 35-run death-overs knock is a recovery. We score players by phase because the role they fill is what your fantasy team actually buys.
Powerplay wickets are twice as expensive as middle-overs wickets because they remove two resources at once: the set batter and the batting powerplay. A powerplay bowler with a wicket every 18 balls is worth more than the same bowler with a wicket every 24 balls in the middle overs.
Middle overs are won by bowlers who land the ball. Economy 6.5 in overs 7-15 is worth more than economy 7.5 in the death because the dot-ball pressure compounds. We rank middle-overs bowlers by dot percentage before we look at wickets.
Death-overs bowling is a separate skill. Yorkers and bouncers are two different skills. We split death-overs bowling by length: full, hard length, short. A bowler who lands three full tosses in a row is not the same bowler as one who lands three yorkers.
The chase-defend split matters more than most fantasy tools admit. On flat decks with short square boundaries, chase is roughly 8% better than defend. On slow turners with longer square boundaries, defend is roughly 6% better. We carry that split into captaincy: chase decks take a top-order captain, defend decks take a bowler captain.
| Phase | Primary metric | Secondary metric |
|---|---|---|
| Powerplay batting | Balls-per-boundary | Dot% |
| Powerplay bowling | Wicket rate | Economy |
| Middle overs batting | Strike rate vs spin | Dots conceded |
| Middle overs bowling | Dot% | Economy |
| Death batting | Strike rate | Average balls faced |
| Death bowling | Yorker% | Economy |
Public ball-by-ball data, cleaned and split by over number. Sample sizes per player are listed in each long-form player note.
Yes — one per week during the IPL season, archived in the analysis desk.