Stories

One question. One dataset. One answer.

Every story carries a citable claim under 30 words, a visible sample size, an explicit date window, and a provenance chain to ball-by-ball data. 26 stories published. New stories every Monday through July.

Venue

Sawai Mansingh Stadium: IPL's Most Chase-Friendly Venue

Sawai Mansingh Stadium: 64.1% chase win rate across 64 IPL matches, 10 seasons — highest of any major IPL venue (≥30 matches) in the 2008–2026 corpus.

Jun 23, 2026
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Rivalry

CSK vs MI: 39 Meetings, the IPL's Closest Long-Running Rivalry

Mumbai Indians lead Chennai Super Kings 21–18 across 39 IPL meetings — 16 seasons, zero no-results. The closest long-running H2H in IPL history.

Jun 23, 2026
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Strategy

The IPL Toss: 19 Seasons of Data, 0.2 Percentage Points of Advantage

Toss-winning captains who elected to field won 54.4% of matches in IPL 2008–2026 — just 0.2 percentage points above the base chase win rate across 1,146 matches.

Jun 23, 2026
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Cross-league

Four MLC Batters Above Kohli's IPL 2026 Powerplay Strike Rate

Four MLC batters post career powerplay strike rates above Kohli's IPL 2026 figure of 174.8 — MJ Owen leads at 194.3 across 123 balls (min. 30 balls each).

Jun 23, 2026
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Season

RCB's 2026 IPL Title: What Kohli's Season Said Before the Final

RCB won back-to-back IPL titles in 2025 and 2026. In 2026, Kohli scored 675 runs at powerplay SR 174.8 across 16 matches — 206 powerplay balls.

Jun 23, 2026
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Era

IPL's Biggest Scoring Jump Happened the Season Impact Player Arrived

IPL 2023 — the season the Impact Player substitution rule launched — saw scoring jump 9.3 runs per innings (155.8→165.1), the largest single-season rise in the 19-year corpus.

Jun 23, 2026
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Venue

Chepauk: IPL's Only Bat-First Fortress

MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk) is the only major IPL venue where batting first wins more often: 55.1% bat-first rate across 89 matches, 12 seasons.

Jun 30, 2026
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Rivalry

KKR vs MI: The Most Lopsided Major IPL Rivalry

Mumbai Indians lead KKR 24–11 across 35 IPL meetings — a 13-match gap over 19 seasons, the largest of any major IPL rivalry with 30+ games.

Jun 30, 2026
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Era

IPL Scoring Across Three Eras: 141.6, 149.5, 161.0

Average IPL team scores rose 19.4 runs over three eras: 141.6 (2008–2012) → 149.5 (2013–2018) → 161.0 (2019–2025) across 1,242 total matches.

Jun 30, 2026
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Strategy

Narendra Modi Stadium: Where the Majority Strategy Loses

At Narendra Modi Stadium, 72.7% of toss-winning captains elect to field — yet they win only 46.9% of those encounters, below chance, across 44 IPL matches.

Jun 30, 2026
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Season

Kohli's IPL 2024: 741 Runs, Leading by 158

Kohli scored 741 runs in IPL 2024 at average 61.75 and SR 154.7 — leading the season by 158 runs over second-place Ruturaj Gaikwad (583), across 15 innings.

Jun 30, 2026
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Venue

Wankhede: 76.6% Elect to Bowl, 54.8% Win Chasing

76.6% of toss-winning captains elect to bowl at Wankhede across 124 IPL matches — yet chasing teams win only 54.8%, below the 57.6% achieved at Eden Gardens.

Jul 7, 2026
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Rivalry

CSK vs RCB: The South Indian Derby, 21–13

CSK lead RCB 21–13 in 34 IPL meetings across 16 seasons — zero no-results, 61.8% CSK win rate in IPL's most-contested South Indian derby.

Jul 7, 2026
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Era

IPL 2024: The Highest-Scoring Season in 19 Years

IPL 2024 averaged 173.6 runs per innings across 74 matches — the highest single-season figure in the 19-year Cricsheet corpus, 2.6 above 2025's 171.0.

Jul 7, 2026
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Cross-league

MLC's Batting Average Elite: Hetmyer and Smith Above 50

Hetmyer (66.5) and Smith (56.0) lead MLC's career batting average table — both above 50 across at least 6 innings. 10 MLC batters career-average above 40.

Jul 7, 2026
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Season

Shubman Gill's 2023: 890 Runs, Era 3's Highest Season Total

Shubman Gill scored 890 runs in IPL 2023 at average 59.33 and SR 158.9 — the highest single-season total of the 2019–2025 era across 17 innings.

Jul 7, 2026
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Venue

Chinnaswamy: 90.1% Bowl First, to Near-Average Effect

Chinnaswamy: 90.1% of toss-winning captains elect to field — the highest of any major IPL venue — yet chasing teams win only 55.6% across 81 matches, 12 seasons.

Jul 14, 2026
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Rivalry

MI vs RR: 16–14, the Closest Major IPL Rivalry

MI lead RR 16–14 across 30 IPL meetings — a 2-win margin over 16 seasons, the closest H2H of any major rivalry with 30+ meetings in the corpus.

Jul 14, 2026
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Era

IPL 2009: The Season Played in South Africa, the Lowest-Scoring in 19 Years

IPL 2009, relocated to South Africa, averaged 134.9 runs per innings — the lowest of any IPL season in the 19-year corpus, 38.7 runs below 2024's peak.

Jul 14, 2026
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Cross-league

Rashid Khan's MLC Economy: 6.48 Across 300 Balls

Rashid Khan's MLC career economy is 6.48 across 300 balls and 18 wickets — second-best in the league (Imad Wasim 6.41), consistent with his global T20 benchmark.

Jul 14, 2026
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Season

Buttler's IPL 2022: 863 Runs, Era 3's Top Overseas Season

Jos Buttler scored 863 runs in IPL 2022 at average 57.53 and SR 150.3 — the highest overseas-batter single-season total in IPL's 2019–2025 era, across 17 innings.

Jul 14, 2026
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Venue

Eden Gardens: IPL's Best Chase Venue, Yet Captains Bowl Less Here

Eden Gardens: 57.6% chase win rate across 99 IPL matches — the highest of the major venues, yet captains elect to bowl here only 67.7% of the time.

Jul 21, 2026
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Era

IPL 2025: The Second-Highest-Scoring Season Confirms a New Baseline

IPL 2025 averaged 171.0 runs per innings — the second-highest season in the 19-year corpus, just 2.6 below 2024's record 173.6, making high scoring a structural baseline.

Jul 21, 2026
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Cross-league

Nicholas Pooran: MLC's Most Prolific High-Average Batter

Nicholas Pooran: 928 MLC career runs at average 42.18 and SR 145.0 across 28 innings — the highest run total among MLC batters averaging above 40.

Jul 21, 2026
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Cross-league

Daryn Ferreira: MLC's Fastest Scorer with a 40+ Average

Daryn Ferreira's MLC career SR is 213.8 across 9 innings (248 runs, avg 41.33) — the highest strike rate of any MLC batter averaging above 40 with 5+ innings.

Jul 21, 2026
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Season

Suryavanshi's IPL 2026: 776 Runs, SR 237.31, Orange Cap on Debut

Vaibhav Suryavanshi: 776 runs, SR 237.31 in IPL 2026 — Orange Cap in his debut IPL season, 101 runs ahead of Virat Kohli (675) in the scoring charts.

Jul 21, 2026
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