The first year of a new IPL cycle is the hardest due to things like tentative combinations and role clarity.
The same happened with Lucknow Super Giants in the 2025 season. A couple of fast bowlers of LSG were injured during that season. Most of the time, the top order of Lucknow carried the weight. They finished in seventh place in the table, and that is due to their poor power-play bowling.
LSG’s bowing has not been good in recent years. Their Powerplay bowling average of 49.72 and economy rate of 10.65 were the worst in the last season of IPL. Also, the false shot percentage of 16.1 was the lowest in the league. It meant that LSG’s bowlers were not even threatening the batters in the power play. The complete bowling unit took only 18 wickets in the power play in 14 games.
Powerplay stats in IPL 2025
Team Mat Wkts Avg ER False Shot % LSG 14 18 49.72 10.65 16.1 SRH 14 20 42.05 10.01 18.1 DC 13 16 46.56 9.55 19.7 MI 16 26 33.57 9.09 20.9 KKR 13 20 35.55 9.11 21.5 PBKS 17 23 38.95 9.23 21.6 RR 14 16 48.12 9.16 22.8 RCB 15 27 28.55 8.56 23.2 CSK 14 20 39.85 9.48 23.8 GT 15 19 45.21 9.54 26.9
LSG pinpointed this issue and responded with a targeted offseason response. They appointed Bharat Arun as the bowling coach of the team. He was coming from the title-winning run with KKR in IPL 2024.
After that, they decided to rebuild the bowling unit of LSG. They traded in Mohammad Shami from SRH. Now the improved bowling unit had much better chances in the power play. The conditions of the Lucknow red soil pitch also offered some assistance to these bowlers.
In this game, they brought the false shot percentage to 37.2. It was their highest at home, a significant improvement from the previous year. Shami was the leader among the group with 40 false shot percentage in his first spell. Around him, players like Mohsin Khan and Nitish Rana also performed better.
However, the most improved bowler was Prince Yadav. He was preferred over the seasoned campaigners like Avesh Khan and Mayank Yadav. This year, he was one of the best bowlers. He didn’t send a single overpitched delivery in his opening spell.
LSG seamers in Powerplay by lengths vs Delhi Capitals
Length Balls Wkts Avg ER Full 0 NA NA NA Good 25 4 1.5 1.44 Short 11 0 NA 8.72
So, they won the power play in this game. However, the game slipped from their grasp in the middle overs, where the attack lost its shine.
Whatever the case may be, LSG put forth a much-improved performance in this game. So, it seems that the bowling unit of LSG has found its mojo in the power play.
