IPL 2025 chasing shadow of last year as six appeal declines; spinners stamp authority

NEW DELHI: The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is chasing the shadow of the previous edition, with six appeal taking a dip and spinners dictating the terms of play.

IPL 2024 set a new benchmark in T20s in terms of aggressive batting and high-scoring affairs. At the beginning of IPL 2025, setting new standards in the tournament was on the cards.

A staggering 119 sixes were struck in the first five games compared to 87 last year, and 200-plus totals were breached on six occasions, including three totals of over 240.

Since then, bowlers have retaliated with vigour under conditions that haven’t been a paradise for power-hitting. As a result, after the conclusion of 50 matches in the ongoing cash-rich league, the numbers have fallen behind in terms of run rates, sixes and 200-plus totals.

At the same stage in 2024, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru boasted run rates in excess of 10. However, the Gujarat Titans are the only side to tick the box.

While diving deeper into phase-wise statistics, franchises have managed the highest run rate and struck more sixes in the powerplay, but the statistics have seen a slight drop in the other two phases.

During the middle overs, the average run rate slipped from 9.00 to 8.89, while the death overs registered a drop from 11.81 to 11.02.

The regression in six-hitting best resonates with the overall comparison between the two seasons. The ongoing edition had 38 more maximums after 29 matches than IPL 2024.

However, after the 30th match, the difference was reduced to just 13, courtesy of the 38 six-hitting fest between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad last year.

After the conclusion of 50 matches, the current edition is lagging behind a staggering 70 sixes. In IPL 2024, there were three fixtures in the first 50, where more than 35 sixes were struck. But this year, 32 is the highest mark that has been breached.

The ball tweakers are collectively faring much better in 2025 than they did last year, with 220 wickets at an average of 30.02. In IPL 2024, spinners combined to scythe 154 wickets at an average of almost 37.

In IPL 2025, Noor Ahmad, Yuzvendra Chahal, Krunal Pandya, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav and R Sai Kishore have stormed their way to 12 wickets or more, compared to the last season, where Chahal and Kuldeep had managed to do so after 50 games. (ANI)