IPL 2023 has been a run-fest so far. At this early stage, one-fifth of the way through the league phase, this season is on track to be the highest scoring in IPL history: teams have scored at 8.86 runs per over, compared to a previous high of 8.64 an over in 2018.
The average first-innings score is 181, and eight of the first 14 games have had first-innings totals of 190 or more. Seven of the eight scores of 190-plus have been defended, with Kolkata Knight Riders' heist against Gujarat Titans the only exception. No team has come close to defending a total below 190.
When batting first, teams have gone hard against the new ball. The first-innings run rate in the powerplay is 8.16 an over, the highest in IPL history. Teams batting first have also scored 28.7% of their runs in the powerplay, the joint second-highest in an IPL season, behind 2009 and level with 2018.
In the first 14 games, teams batting first have reached hundred inside 12 overs in nine innings, which is two more than the previous highest season (2018). Rajasthan Royals have scored their fastest hundred ever in the IPL (in 7.4 overs against Sunrisers Hyderabad). The average 10-over score batting first this season is 88.1, up from the previous best of 84.1 in 2018, and much higher than last season's 76.2.
Tom Moody, who coached Sunrisers Hyderabad to the 2016 IPL title, believes the characteristics of the ball may be a cause of those higher powerplay scores. "It looks like this season… we've got a Kookaburra ball that's not swinging a lot," he said on ESPNcricinfo's T20 Time:Out show.
"Those first few overs where you would like to give your new-ball bowlers - who have got the skill to swing it - that advantage to challenge the outside edge or the inside edge. That is not happening as much, therefore the batters are having their way and they can hit through the line."
Impact Player's impact
The high-intent approach that most batters have used is reflected by a steep increase in attacking-shot percentage. It is impossible to know for sure why batters are attacking more, but one obvious change this season has been the addition of the Impact Player rule, which has generally seen teams bat one position deeper than they did in previous years.
"Most teams will probably [continue to] use it the way that every team has been using it," Mark Boucher, the Mumbai Indians coach, said. "When you bat first, you want to try and squeeze in an extra batter, and if you bowl first, you want to get that extra bowler in." During their defeat to Chennai Super Kings on Saturday, Mumbai fielded seven frontline batters.
As logged by ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball data, batters have attacked 42.1% of balls in the first 14 games of IPL 2023, the highest proportion of attacking shots at this stage of any recent IPL season. Attacking intent has been even greater when teams are setting totals: 44.3% of balls in the first innings have been attacked.
This season, players coming down the order have had genuine pedigree as T20 batters. In aggregate, players used as No. 7 and 8 batters in IPL 2023 have had career T20 averages of 22.7 and strike rates of 138.3, the highest-ever figures for players batting in those roles.
The Impact Player rule has also enabled teams to field an extra bowling option, and rely more on specialists than allrounders as compared to previous seasons. Perhaps this explains the discrepancy between the sharp increase in intent (measured by attacking-shot percentage), and the smaller shift in outcome (measured by scoring rates).
Early-season trends
A note of caution on this year's run-glut: it is not uncommon for teams to score quickly at the start of any given IPL season before scoring rates decline as the tournament wears on. Perhaps this is due to the fact that pitches tend to be fresh at the start of a season, whereas some teams opt to play on used, worn surfaces as the league phase draws to a close.
When compared to the first 14 matches of recent seasons, 2023 has clearly still been a high-scoring year, second only to the start of the 2018 season. But do not be surprised if scores tail off somewhat in the coming weeks, or if spin plays a greater role in determining the outcome of games.
We have also seen home advantage come into the picture for the first time in four years, with the IPL reverting to its regular home-and-away format after three seasons of neutral venues. Nine of the first 14 games (62.3%) have been won by the home team; in the most recent home-and-away season, IPL 2019, 57.9% of games were won by the home team (excluding ties and no-results).
Stats inputs by Shiva Jayaraman