"Strike-rates are very, very overrated. For
me, it's only about how I can win games for my team. And if on a
certain day I think a strike-rate of 120 can win the game for my team, I
will do that."
KL Rahul said the above statement after his team Kings XI Punjab lost its fifth game from the first six matches of IPL 2020. Is KL Rahul's slow batting responsible for his team's losses? Let's analyse with the Cricket Statistician.
Let's look at IPL first
KL Rahul's strike rate since he joined Kings XI Punjab:
His batting average is above 50 each season but his Strike Rate is falling down significantly.
Let's look at strike rate in T20Is
KL Rahul's strike rate for India in T20Is since 2016:
In ODIs, KL Rahul's batting position is constantly varying.
Why is KL Rahul's strike rate going down massively? I have given you 3 reasons:
1. Weakness against spin
KL Rahul is very weak against the spin bowling and that is one of the reasons why he is not able to pace his innings to his best capability in the middle overs.
CricViz Data showing record of KL Rahul vs bowlers of different type:
KL Rahul scores runs at a very low strike rate of 120-125 against spinners who turn the ball away from him. His strike rate is very high against Right Arm Off Spinners and so is his dismissal rates. He is best suited to bat against Right Arm Fast bowlers.
In the first 4 matches he played in IPL 2020, his record is very bad against the spinners as per CricViz.
On 26 March, 2020 when India lost the 2nd ODI against England, India put 336 runs on the board. But England chased the target comfortably in just 43.3 overs. KL Rahul who came in at 37/2 scored 108 runs from 114 balls.
Performance against spinners:
1. Moeen Ali: 26(32)
2. Adil Rashid: 33(29)
He is comfortable against spinners. He was knocking the ball around and rotating the strike. He is just not taking enough risk against them. While England's spinners finished with the spell of 20-0-112-1, Indian spinners had forgettable figures of 16-0-156-0 without any considerable dew effect. The pitch was not helping the spinners clearly.
2. Slow start in powerplays
KL Rahul stormed through the powerplay in IPL 2018. But since then, his performance has been very average in the powerplays.
KL Rahul's strike rate in powerplay in last 3 IPL seasons:
KL Rahul is playing the new ball as well as many other batsmen in the world. He can do better as seen from the strike rate of 2018 season. If he wants to play safe against the spinners, he should attack the fast
bowlers with full force to compensate for the lost runs in middle overs
against spinners.
If he wants to play safe against the spinners, he should attack the fast
bowlers with full force to compensate for the lost runs in middle overs
against spinners.
3. Statspadding
KL Rahul is phenomenal. He averages 50+ with the bat in last 3 seasons of IPL. His average for India is at the very best in last 3 years. But are his runs contributing to team's win each time?
As per CricViz, even though KL Rahul was orange cap holder half way through the tournament in IPL 2020, there were better batsmen whose contribution increased the chances of their team's win.
How does KL Rahul recover from slow starts? He scores in the death against seamers. He is very good player against the full length deliveries.
Against short balls, his balance and power ensures he gets the maximum benefit. He plays pull shots very well.
In the death overs, his strike rate is 183.9 in the last 3 IPL seasons. Clearly he recovers well after slower starts. He keeps rotating strike in middle overs. He can attack the spinners more to ensure healthy run rate even on the flattest of pitches.
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