Jasprit Bumrah or Matheesha Pathirana, Who is the Better Death Bowler in IPL?

Probuddha Bhattacharjee

Jasprit Bumrah and Matheesha Pathirana are two death-over specialists of MI and CSK (Source: OneCricket)Jasprit Bumrah and Matheesha Pathirana are two death-over specialists of MI and CSK (Source: OneCricket)

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It is often said in the case of T20 cricket that batters win you matches while bowlers win you tournaments. Thus, the bowlers in a T20 team are an essential part. The most important skill for pace bowlers is the ability to bowl in the death overs. 

When we speak of death-over bowling experts, the name that comes to the mind of all cricketing fans is Jasprit Bumrah. He has been an excellent exponent of this skill. While Bumrah is a master of the art, a recent star in this galaxy is the Sri Lankan youngster Matheesa Pathirana. 

Bumrahs proved his mettle in the biggest stages, while Pathirana is still at the earliest stages of his career. However, the Sri Lankan bowler has been efficient for the Chennai Super Kings. 

Although Pathirana's sample size is pretty small, we will attempt to analyze this gradually burning question of the cricketing world. 

In order to compare this two death-over bowlers, we will consider the economy, and wicket taking frequency of the two bowlers. We will be calculating the bowling efficiency in case of the bowlers using these three stats. The lower the value of Bowling Efficiency, the better it will be considered.

Abbreviations to keep in mind -

  • BPW- Balls Per Wicket
  • RPW- Runs Per Wicket


Bumrah vs Pathirana - IPL Death Over Efficiency

Jasprit Bumrah vs Matheesha Pathirana IPL Death Over Stats Comparison (Source: OneCricket)Jasprit Bumrah vs Matheesha Pathirana IPL Death Over Stats Comparison (Source: OneCricket)

The figure suggests that Pathirana has been the more efficient bowler in his short IPL career. The bowling efficiency of Pathirana is 33.51, while that of Bumrah is 42.96. Therefore, this round goes to the Sri Lankan youngster. 


Bumrah vs Pathirana - IPL Death Over Efficiency in Playoffs and Finals

Jasprit Bumrah vs Matheesha Pathirana IPL Death Overs Stats Comparison in Playoffs and Finals (Source: OneCricket)Jasprit Bumrah vs Matheesha Pathirana IPL Death Overs Stats Comparison in Playoffs and Finals (Source: OneCricket)

If the performance of the two bowlers are considered in the death overs of the playoffs and the finals, then Bumrah emerges the winner. The Bowling Efficiency of Bumrah in this case is 40.55, while that of Pathirana is 42.38. Therefore, this round goes to the Indian genius, Jasprit Bumrah. 


Bumrah vs Pathirana - IPL Death Over Efficiency in Winning Cause

Bumrah vs Pathirana IPL Death Over Stats Comparison in Winning Cause (Source: OneCricket)Bumrah vs Pathirana IPL Death Over Stats Comparison in Winning Cause (Source: OneCricket)

The impact of a death bowler plays a significant role in a team's win. Therefore, we will look at the bowling efficiencies of the two bowlers in the death overs of the matches won by their two teams. 

In this case, Pathirana's bowling efficiency is 24.95, and Bumrah's is 37.1. Thus, this concludes that Pathirana has been more impactful in CSK's wins than Bumrah has been in the MI's. 


Conclusion

The metrics considered here see Pathirana as the winner by a 2-1 margin. But it must be remembered that the young Sri Lankan's career is still at a natal stage. On the other hand, Jasprit Bumrah has proven himself at the most challenging stages over the years. Pathirana has a long way to go before being compared with a master like Jasprit Bumrah. However, this study has been done at the current stages of the two players' careers. Pure analysis keeps Pathirana ahead at this moment.