Data Shorts: Kamboj's death-overs efficiency checks off another key box for CSK

10.3 overs into MI's innings against CSK on Saturday, assistant bowling coach Sridharan Sriram was asked what his team would prefer chasing. With MI at 99/2, Sriram responded, "Under 200 would be brilliant, but we'd take anything around 210-220". Moments later, debutant Ramakrishna Ghosh dismissed Suryakumar Yadav, but MI still had Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya and two uncapped all-rounders to follow.

However, Jamie Overton, Anshul Kamboj and Noor Ahmad squeezed MI to 159/7. While Overton has split his overs between middle and death phases, Kamboj has been the standout death bowler this season. His IPL 2026 role contrasts sharply with 2024 and 2025, when he bowled 82.54% of his overs in the Powerplay.

Kamboj has taken 10 wickets in Overs 16-20 in IPL 2026, three more than the next best. Among 16 bowlers with at least eight overs in the phase, he tops averages, strike-rates and dot-ball percentage. His economy of 8.6 is bettered by only two others, and his false-shot percentage of 33.3% is second only to Overton's 34.4%. The tournament average economy and dot-ball percentage are 10.45 and 31.6% respectively.

Kamboj concedes a boundary roughly every five balls, inferior to Bhuvneshwar Kumar (one in 10) and Lungi Ngidi (one in eight), who have marginally better economies. His high dot-ball ratio (roughly one every two balls) compensates. Among seamers with at least 10 death overs in the Impact player era, his dot-ball percentage this season is matched only by Mohammed Siraj's in 2024.

Most wickets in Overs 16-20 in IPL 2026

Kamboj was taken for runs against RCB in Bengaluru, where the hosts scored 97/0 in the death phase. That included a brilliant yorker that uprooted Tim David's leg-stump, only for replays to show a no-ball. In death overs since, his returns read 9/61 in nine overs (ER: 6.77, Dot%: 50).

A key feature is his length variation across Powerplay and death. With the new ball, all four wickets came off good length or back-of-a-length deliveries, with 83.33% pitched in that zone. In the last five overs, 73.7% of deliveries are full. Full tosses have gone at 13.12 runs per over, but yorkers and slightly shorter deliveries have yielded 4/49 at an economy of 7.35.

Two of his four wickets on good length or short in the phase came on Saturday, responding to the two-paced surface. CSK's quicks returned 2/25 (ER: 5.26) from back-of-a-length or shorter deliveries. Only 17.85% of balls from quicks were pitched full.

Another distinctive feature is his round-the-wicket angle, making it tough for batters to line up for big strokes.

Kamboj in Overs 16-20 in IPL 2026

Historically, CSK's death bowling has relied on overseas quicks: Doug Bollinger, Dwayne Bravo, and Matheesha Pathirana. An Indian seamer in that role allows them to field Akeal Hosein (they used just three overseas players on Saturday) to build a well-rounded attack. The comprehensive win keeps them in the playoffs race with a better run-rate than other bottom-six teams. Even if they miss out, they are moving toward the right combination for future editions.