IPL 2012 The slog-over kings of IPL 2012

New Delhi: It turns out that the top two teams in IPL 2012 so far are also the two teams who're best in the slog overs, with both bat and ball. Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders are the top two in the points table, and both sides have especially excelled with the ball in the final overs of these matches.

Daredevils have preferred chasing in this tournament, and they didn't bat first till their eighth game, when they thrashed Mumbai Indians by 37 runs after scoring 207. However, their bowling at the death bailed them out against Rajasthan Royals in their most recent game, when Morne Morkel conceded three in the penultimate over, and Umesh Yadav gave away ten in the last to clinch a one-run win. On the other hand, Daredevils had scored 20 in their last over, when Amit Singh conceded two sixes and two fours. Those last three overs turned out to be the difference between the two teams - Royals scored 13 off their last two, while Daredevils scored 20 off their last.

Similarly, Knight Riders have found the right players to do the job for them at the end. Like Daredevils, they haven't racked up a huge run rate with the bat in the last six, but their bowlers have been quite outstanding: they are the only side to concede less than eight an over in the last six, which means the difference between their batting run rate and their bowling economy rate in these overs is 0.84, which is next only to the Daredevils' 1.04.

The difference for these two teams is far greater than for other sides - Pune Warriors, who are third in the list, have a run rate that's 0.23 better than their economy rate. Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore are the only two sides who've scored and conceded more than ten an over in the last six. Mumbai Indians are pretty low in the table too, though that's largely because of the three matches that Lasith Malinga missed - in two of those games, Mumbai Indians conceded 128 runs in 69 balls, a run rate of 11.13 per over.

At the bottom of the pile are Deccan Chargers, which isn't surprising considering where they lie in the points table. Their batting has been meek in the end overs - their run rate is the second-lowest - while their bowling has been easy to hit around..

Teams in the last 6 overs with bat and ball

Team Bat avg
Run rate Bowl avg Econ rate Diff (RR)
Delhi Daredevils 24.41 9.15 16.69 8.11 1.04
Kolkata Knight Riders 17.00 8.76 13.87
7.92 0.84
Pune Warriors 21.95 9.64 24.94
9.41 0.23
Rajasthan Royals 23.65 10.20
21.32 10.02 0.18
Chennai Super Kings 17.36 9.07 15.23 9.05 0.02
Royal Challengers Bangalore 20.08 10.18
21.82 10.45
-0.27
Kings XI Punjab 17.88 9.43 19.83 9.74 -0.31
Mumbai Indians 15.92 8.26 12.46 8.58 -0.32
Deccan Chargers 14.13 8.59 35.54 10.28 1.69