Decoding CSK's inexperienced bowling attack in IPL 2023: Key stats

Chennai Super Kings have made it to their record 10th final in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. They will square off against the defending champions, Gujarat Titans at their home ground. Although CSK are second-best on paper, their players have stepped up to the occasion. The likes of Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, and Maheesh Theekshana have shouldered the responsibilities for the franchise.

• CSK have a fairly inexperienced bowling attack and it was due to this weakness most people did not expect them to reach the finals in 2023. On top of that, Deepak Chahar was unavailable due to an injury and it raised their concerns.
• Apart from Ravindra Jadeja, most of the CSK bowlers were inexperienced at this level, especially in comparison to GT's bowling attack.

Deshpande, Theekshana and Pathirana have appeared in 22, 21, and 13 IPL matches respectively. While the likes of Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami and Mohit Sharma have featured in 108, 109 and 99 matches respectively, proving the stark difference in experience at this level. Only Jadeja has 200-plus IPL appearances in the CSK bowling attack.

Deshpande snapped seven wickets in the powerplay phase (overs 1-6) at an economy of 7.80. He averages 33.42, bowling 91 dot balls. Meanwhile, Theekshana has scalped three powerplay wickets this season with a slightly higher economy of 8.30. For CSK, pacer Deepak Chahar is the joint second-highest wicket-taker in this phase with 10 wickets.

Deshpande has picked up five wickets in overs 7-15 in IPL 2023 but has clocked an economy of 13 in this phase. His economy is a testament to his inability to vary the pace and contain runs. Theekshana has scalped four wickets in this phase (ER: 7.96). Meanwhile, Pathirana has just one wicket in this phase, having bowled 132 balls, besides conceding 169 runs.

Pathirana has been the breakthrough bowler for CSK in overs 17-20. 16 out of his 17 wickets this season have come in this phase of the game. He holds the record for most wickets in overs 17-20 this season. Deshpande has claimed nine wickets in overs 17-20, while Theekshana has four wickets at an impressive economy of only 7.

Deshpande is the highest wicket-taker for CSK this season with 21 scalps from 15 matches. However, his economy of 9.61 is pretty high. Pathirana has scalped 17 wickets in IPL 2023 at an average of 19.23. He owns an impressive economy of 7.72. Theekshana has accumulated 11 scalps this season in 12 matches (ER: 7.91). Jadeja and Chahar scalped 19 and 12 wickets respectively.

Pathirana made his debut in 2022 and before this season he has featured in two matches and had taken two wickets. Overall he has scalped 19 IPL wickets in 13 fixtures. Theekshana scalped 12 wickets in 2022. He has picked 23 wickets in the competition. Before 2023, Deshpande had only featured in seven matches across two seasons. Overall he has scalped 25 IPL wickets.

Pathirana has been exceptional in the last few overs. He is MS Dhoni's go-to bowler in the death overs. He owns an economy of 7.77 in this phase. Only Yuzvendra Chahal's economy of 7.75 in the death overs is better in this regard.