The death overs specialist batsmen are the need of the T20 format, and that need also applies precisely in the Indian Premier League. The word “Finisher” was probably popularised by MS Dhoni in world cricket. Before that, very few people had an idea about this effective term of cricket.
AB de Villiers is again a name that revolves before the eyes after MS Dhoni; he has started to play this role in the last two seasons of IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore. From Indian cricket, names like Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Hardik Pandya are the stalwart candidates for that position in the past.
If we have to talk about some overseas names of finishers, then Andre Russell and Liam Livingston are the most exciting faces in the current times. But, it is not a cakewalk to score runs in death overs with a bold consistency as it reads at the top order line-up.
In the past, usually, Wicketkeepers were handed over that position as they had to do dual work on the field. Also, batting in the top position after keeping wickets was a tough job to do. But, nowadays, exceptional batters are only groomed for that role of batting in death overs and trained to finish off the innings successfully.
Here are the top 10 finishers who scored the most runs in the death overs of IPL.
Note: Death Overs are from Over 17 – Over 20 in T20 cricket.
Most Runs in Death Overs in IPL
| PLAYER | RUNS IN DEATH OVERS | INNINGS | STRIKE RATE | SIXES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS Dhoni | 2786 | 172 | 189.00 | 175 |
| Kieron Pollard | 1708 | 117 | 181.50 | 127 |
| Dinesh Karthik | 1565 | 117 | 186.97 | 91 |
| AB de Villiers | 1421 | 75 | 232.56 | 112 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 1420 | 130 | 159.73 | 69 |
| Rohit Sharma | 1176 | 75 | 196.65 | 79 |
| Hardik Pandya | 1126 | 78 | 183.98 | 82 |
| Virat Kohli | 1099 | 69 | 200.91 | 71 |
| Andre Russell | 1065 | 63 | 203.63 | 93 |
| David Miller | 988 | 75 | 177.69 | 60 |
Read Now: More Death Overs Records in IPL
MS Dhoni is the only person to score more than 2000 runs in this phase. He is also the first batter to reach the milestone of 5000 runs in IPL without scoring a hundred. He is also the leading six-hitter at death overs in the tournament, and it will be difficult for anyone to beat Dhoni’s achievements at this phase of the game.
You can read here 47 records that MSD holds in cricket.
Rohit Sharma is the lone top-order batter on the list who courageously batted till the death overs and made over 1000 runs at Overs 17-20. He led Mumbai Indians from the year 2013 and made them champions in his first season of the captaincy.
Dinesh is the third wicket-keeper batsman on the list after MS Dhoni and AB de Villiers. His batting positions have also revolved around the middle or lower-middle order theme.
AB de Villiers’ strike rate of 232.56 at the death overs is the highest among any batter, with more than 500 runs in this phase of play in the tournament.
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