Understanding Scoring Rate and Wicket Distribution

The effects of Impact Player Rule, Super Overs, and Shortened Matches in T20s

SRH vs RCB, Apr 15, 2024

When a team scores 287 runs in their 20 overs, break the record for most sixes in a match, and still feel not entirely safe, something fundamental has changed. This prompts 2 question:

1. How additional one player, additional one wicket can tip the balance too far in favor of batsman in the era of Impact Player Rule?
2. Also, why Scoring Rates in Super Overs and Shortened Matches are more than the Scoring Rates in regular matches?

To understand this new normalcy of the game, one needs to understand the fundamental nature of T20 cricket. In T20s, each team gets to face or bowl 120 legal deliveries or 20 overs per innings for 10 wickets each, unlike the traditional ODI format where a team gets to face or bowl 300 legal deliveries or 50 overs per innings for 10 wickets each.

Now to the Impact Player: The Impact Player Rule, which was introduced in 2023, allows teams to substitute one player during a match adding a tactical layer to the game. This rule enables a team to bring in a player from a list of five substitutes to replace a member of the starting XI. The substitution can occur at any point of a match: start of an innings, after an over, or even immediately after a wicket.

Now to the Super Over: When a limited over match ends in a tie (draws and ties are not the same), they face off in a Super Over (basically a tiebreaker) where each team gets to face 6 legal balls (1 over) with 2 wickets in hand.

As for shortened matches, unlike football which can be played even during rain or wet conditions, cricket (being a weather sensitive game) halts. Rain or other interruptions often reduce the number of overs per innings, based on a pre-defined cutoff time. However, the number of wickets available remains the same, 10 wickets each irrespective of the reduced overs.

Now let’s breakdown what’s changed, what rule tweaks it might take to restore equilibrium.

Scoring Rates Skyrocketed, But Wickets Didn’t

IPL 2024 wasn’t just the highest scoring season, batters averaged better than the previous season, while teams lost wickets at the same rate as before (almost 18 balls per wicket).

This suggests a deeper shift in strategy: maximize contribution per ball, not longevity. Batters are no longer trying to “bat through the innings”. Rather, batsman opt to go for the shots before they get out.

The Powerplay was turned into a playground

Nowhere was the shift more visible as players came out swinging hard, not cautiously assessing the pitch, not protecting their wicket, but to maximize the field restrictions.

And they succeeded.

IPL 2024 saw teams average nearly 7 runs an over, highest in the Powerplay, while still holding onto their wickets.

It’s a fundamental mindset shift: What used to be “build a base” is now, “bank on the lower order and swing hard”.

Why It worked: Less Dot Balls, Frequent Boundaries

The reason batters kept the scoring rate up without losing wickets is: Score more boundaries, while constantly rotating strike.

Even the riskiest phase (Powerplay) saw an uptick in efficiency as batters scored a six of every 15.5 balls, most frequently in the last 10 years and least dot balls percentage in the last 10 years. In Overs after Powerplay, teams hit a six every 12 balls and a four every 9 balls.

All while maintaining the singles and doubles at a similar rate as previous seasons.

That’s not just aggression. That’s refined aggression.

Batting down to Number 8

Before 2023, when teams lost their 7th or 8th wicket, scoring rate of players drops significantly as their batting and all rounders resources deplete and their bowlers get exposed to bat. It was the classic danger zone.

Not anymore.

With the freedom to replace a player with an extra batter or bowler, teams used impact player to deepen their batting lineup without touching the core of their bowling.

This is reflected in the data that, scoring rate remains the same even after the loss of 7th wicket.

Super Over and Shortened Matches

From 2018–2024, there has been 7 matches which went on to the Super Overs and 4 shortened matches.

Matches which went on till Super Over:

• DC vs KKR — Mar 30, 2019
• MI vs SRH — May 2, 2019
• DC vs KXIP — Sept 20, 2020
• RCB vs MI — Sept 28, 2020
• KKR vs SRH — Oct 18, 2020
• KXIP vs MI — Oct 18, 2020 (2 Super Overs)
• SRH vs DC — Apr 25, 2021

Shortened Matches:

• RR vs DD — Apr 11, 2018
• RCB vs RR — Apr 30, 2019
• PBKS vs KKR — Apr 1, 2023
• GT vs CSK — IPL Final — May 29, 2023

The table below gives a comprehensive view of the scoring rates of normal matches, Super Overs and Shortened matches.

So… Is this sustainable or Even Desirable?

T20 cricket, by nature compresses action into 120 deliveries. With 10 wickets spread across this very short space, there is no room for “preserving wickets”. The impact player rule amplifies that thinking giving teams confidence to go harder.

In Super Overs, even though each team gets only 2 wickets to play with, each wicket is spread over just 3 balls.

In Shortened matches, 10 wickets are spread across the innings with each wicket having a value of less than 12 balls.

A Potential Solution: Increase the definition of Risk

If the problem is too much batting depth, the solution isn’t necessarily banning the Impact Player rule which adds a tactical intrigue to the game. Instead, having 11 players and only 4 wickets in total will make teams to think of an approach of a mini ODI format where a wicket would value 30 balls each rather than than 12 balls approach with T20 cricket right now.

Similarly, for a shortened game, reducing the number of wickets would increase the value of wickets, while giving the teams the choice of the players from a set of 11 players.

For Super Overs, allowing each team with 2 overs instead of 1, while limiting to just 2 wickets, would double the value of a wicket (from 3 balls/wicket to 6 balls/wicket), while bringing in a variety in the bowling attack.

The Impact Player rule isn’t about one extra player making an impact on the game. It is about the whole team making an impact because of that one extra player.