Series 1 · IPL · Report 03
Death Overs Intelligence
IPL 2026 · 73 matches · overs 16–20 · 3,631 legal deliveries · season complete
By Arul Anand · Published 2026-06-18 · Source: CricketStudio ball-by-ball aggregation (SETU canonical snapshot)
Overs 16–20 are the highest-leverage window in T20 cricket. Across 73 IPL 2026 matches, the death-overs average economy was 10.2 RPO from 3,631 legal deliveries — with Sunil Narine (KKR) holding the best economy at 5.44 RPO and Tilak Varma (MI) the most destructive batter at 256.67 SR. Every claim carries a sample size and a stable, citable URL.
Season overview
Avg death economy
10.2
RPO
Total death deliveries
3,631
balls
Total wickets
256
wkts
Wicket every
14.2
balls
IPL 2026 · 73 matches · overs 16–20 only · CricketStudio ball-by-ball aggregation (SETU snapshot)
Top death-overs bowlers
Ranked by economy rate in overs 16–20. Sample floor: ≥30 legal deliveries bowled in the death phase.
| # | Bowler | Econ | Balls | Runs | Wkts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunil Narine (KKR) | 5.44 | 54 | 49 | 9 |
| 2 | Jason Holder (GT) | 7.5 | 32 | 40 | 4 |
| 3 | Jasprit Bumrah (MI) | 7.69 | 78 | 100 | 1 |
| 4 | Lungi Ngidi (DC) | 8.02 | 104 | 139 | 7 |
| 5 | Sakib Hussain (SRH) | 8.31 | 78 | 108 | 7 |
| 6 | Mohsin Khan (LSG) | 8.4 | 30 | 42 | 1 |
| 7 | Harsh Dubey (SRH) | 8.4 | 30 | 42 | 5 |
| 8 | Pat Cummins (SRH) | 8.57 | 42 | 60 | 1 |
IPL 2026 · floor ≥30 death-phase balls · 8 qualifying bowlers shown
Top death-overs batters
Ranked by strike rate in overs 16–20. Sample floor: ≥30 legal deliveries faced in the death phase.
| # | Batter | SR | Runs | Balls | 6s | 4s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tilak Varma (MI) | 256.67 | 154 | 60 | 12 | 15 |
| 2 | Cooper Connolly (PBKS) | 254.05 | 94 | 37 | 7 | 8 |
| 3 | Rajat Patidar (RCB) | 249.12 | 142 | 57 | 14 | 9 |
| 4 | Lokesh Rahul (DC) | 226.67 | 68 | 30 | 4 | 8 |
| 5 | Sai Sudharsan (GT) | 223.53 | 76 | 34 | 7 | 4 |
| 6 | Donovan Ferreira (RR) | 221.69 | 184 | 83 | 19 | 10 |
| 7 | Tim David (RCB) | 219.74 | 167 | 76 | 16 | 8 |
| 8 | Marcus Stoinis (PBKS) | 219.64 | 123 | 56 | 8 | 13 |
IPL 2026 · floor ≥30 death-phase balls · 8 qualifying batters shown
Team death-overs comparison
All 10 IPL 2026 teams. Batting RPO = runs per over scored in overs 16–20. Bowling econ = runs conceded per over in overs 16–20. Sorted by batting RPO (descending).
| Team | Bat RPO | Bat Runs | Sixes | Bowl Econ | Bowl Wkts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PBKS | 11.95 | 657 | 50 | 11.29 | 18 |
| RCB | 11.04 | 664 | 50 | 9.7 | 34 |
| DC | 10.63 | 629 | 43 | 9.91 | 24 |
| SRH | 10.16 | 655 | 44 | 9.49 | 32 |
| KKR | 10 | 515 | 26 | 9.53 | 34 |
| MI | 9.91 | 611 | 37 | 10.51 | 21 |
| RR | 9.79 | 607 | 38 | 9.95 | 26 |
| LSG | 9.73 | 605 | 39 | 10.66 | 15 |
| CSK | 9.64 | 572 | 27 | 10.27 | 24 |
| GT | 9.46 | 659 | 35 | 10.77 | 28 |
IPL 2026 · 73 matches · SETU team aggregation from ball-by-ball corpus
Citable claims
Each claim is ≤30 words, data-derived, and carries a stable canonical URL. Cite: https://players.cricketstudio.ai/research/death-overs#claim-[id]
IPL 2026 average death-overs economy was 10.2 RPO across 3631 legal deliveries in overs 16–20 — 73 matches.
IPL 2026 · 73 matches · 3631 legal death balls · SETU aggregation
Sunil Narine (KKR) posted the best IPL 2026 death-overs economy at 5.44 RPO — 54 balls, 9 wickets.
IPL 2026 · 54 death balls · floor ≥30 balls · SETU aggregation
Tilak Varma (MI) led IPL 2026 death-overs batting with a strike rate of 256.67 — 154 runs off 60 balls.
IPL 2026 · 60 death balls · floor ≥30 balls · SETU aggregation
PBKS scored at 11.95 RPO in death overs — the highest batting run-rate in IPL 2026 overs 16–20 (330 balls, 50 sixes).
IPL 2026 · 73 matches · SETU team aggregation
SRH was IPL 2026's most economical death-bowling team at 9.49 RPO — 376 balls, 32 wickets conceded.
IPL 2026 · 73 matches · SETU team aggregation
Bowlers took a wicket every 14.2 balls in IPL 2026 death overs — 256 wickets across 3631 legal deliveries.
IPL 2026 · 73 matches · 3631 legal death balls · SETU aggregation
Frequently asked questions
Who bowled best in death overs in IPL 2026?
Sunil Narine (KKR) led with an economy of 5.44 RPO from 54 death balls, taking 9 wickets. Floor: ≥30 deliveries. Source: CricketStudio ball-by-ball data, IPL 2026.
What is the average death-overs economy in IPL 2026?
The overall IPL 2026 death-overs economy was 10.2 RPO across 3631 legal deliveries (overs 16–20) in 73 matches. Source: CricketStudio SETU aggregation.
Who hit the most effectively in death overs in IPL 2026?
Tilak Varma (MI) posted the highest death-overs strike rate at 256.67 — 154 runs off 60 balls including 12 sixes. Floor: ≥30 balls. Source: CricketStudio SETU aggregation.
Which team scored most in death overs in IPL 2026?
PBKS was the most aggressive death-over batting unit with 11.95 RPO across 330 balls — 50 sixes and 48 fours. Source: CricketStudio SETU team aggregation.
Which team defended best in death overs in IPL 2026?
SRH was IPL 2026's most economical death-bowling team, conceding at 9.49 RPO across 376 balls (32 wickets). Source: CricketStudio SETU team aggregation.
How many wickets fell in death overs in IPL 2026?
Bowlers took 256 wickets in overs 16–20 across 73 IPL 2026 matches — one every 14.2 legal deliveries. Source: CricketStudio ball-by-ball aggregation.
What counts as "death overs" in this analysis?
Death overs are defined as overs 16–20 (over_id > 15 in the ball-by-ball record), consistent with CricketStudio's phase classification used across all player-aspect and season-aspect pages. Powerplay = overs 1–6; middle = 7–15; death = 16–20.
Methodology
| Phase definition | Death = overs 16–20 (over_id > 15 in the ball-by-ball record). Matches player-aspects.ts line 173 and the SETU season snapshot phase buckets. |
| Bowling floor | ≥30 legal deliveries bowled in death overs (tighter than the 15-ball general floor — consistent with season.ts death-over-economy aspect §10.151as). |
| Batting floor | ≥30 legal deliveries faced in death overs (CLAUDE.md §3.1 standard batting floor). |
| Economy rate | runs conceded / legal balls bowled × 6 (Runs Per Over). Wides and no-balls excluded from legal ball count; the runs from those deliveries are included in runs conceded. |
| Strike rate | runs scored / legal balls faced × 100. Wides excluded from balls faced; no-ball faced counts. |
| Team aggregates | Summed across all players with that teamCode in the SETU snapshot. Batting and bowling are attributed to the player's team per the season roster — not the fielding-team side. |
| Source | CricketStudio ball-by-ball aggregation (SETU canonical snapshot · data/_season-stats.json · computed 2026-06-18). |