Thread by @ErikaMorris79

After such a long wait the #WPL2023final didn’t fail to deliver, overall the tournament has been a great success and certainly captured new fans. Mumbai Indians took the trophy but were they statistically the best team? Lets talk a look..

First up is the teams batting averages and this graph shows the tournament average and the difference to the team’s average pre-tournament. No surprise MI batters actually managed to outperform their career averages by 15.16, GG disappointed in #WPL2023 at 1.27 below their avg

T20 is all about strike rate so which team took this accolade? It is actually the big hitting runs up DP who stuck at 116 across #WPL2023 , increasing their pre-tournament rate by a huge 16! WPL was a batters dream as all teams increased their pre tournament strike rates

Who were the intent merchants of #WPL2023 by clearing the ropes the most times? Shockingly RCB take this with 70% of their runs scored coming from boundaries courtesy of the big hitting Devine and Kasat. GG prop the table up at just 55%, they may need to rethink for 2024

We all know that bowlers are players who win you tournaments and MI have proven this yet again with their dominant bowling in #WPL2023. They top the bowling average table at just 18.32 and are the only team to improve their overall average in the tournament.

Average is one angle to review but which team took wickets more frequently? Yet again this accolade goes to MI with their bowlers taking a wicket every 16 balls. Despite getting to the eliminator UW are only the 4th best bowling team, too much reliance on Ecclestone maybe?

What about the best #WPL2023 bowling economy? It’s the feared attack of Wong, Matthews, Sciver-Brunt and Isaqhue who yet again take this accolade with miserly economy of just 6.56. On the other hand GG were the most expensive at 10.86, they have to address this weakness

Averages and econ are one thing but its bowling the opposition out for less that wins you a T20 game. MI conceded the least runs at just 1174 and of course took the most wickets with 74 in total. RCB took the fewest wickets at 32 and UW conceded the most runs in #WPL2023

So who is statistically the best performing team in #WPL2023? Well this heat map ranks teams in 3 batting & 5 bowling aspects and drum roll.. its our winners MI who are statistically the best team with runners up DC in second place. GG foot the table and may want to rethink

How did #WPL2023 teams auction strategy translate into performance? This chart shows the total number of runs each team scored and the average cost per run based on their auction spend. We can see that MI really got value for their money whereas RCB may look to rebuild in 2024

We already saw earlier that winners MI took the most wickets across #WPL2023 but which team ended up with the lowest cost per wicker? It was actually DC way out ahead at just 9.59Lakh per wicket, MI are some way behind in second at 21.26. UW however spent 39.33 per wicket!

Let’s take a look at some individuals who have shone in #WPL2023 . Looking at batting average (and taking out one game players) and it’s MI’ Nat Sciver-Brunt who just sneaks the top spot at 66.4 with big hitting Harris behind at 57.5 Harmanpreet is the only Indian in the top 10

Who are the big hitters of #WPL2023? No surprise here but it is the big hitter Shefali Verma who takes this title with a Strike rate of 185.29, ahead of Dunkley at 175. This time there are 4 Indians in Verma, Hemalatha, Patil and Vastrakar in the top 10, the future looks bright!

It will be of no surprise that it is the teenage power hitter Verma is also the leading player in terms of boundary % with 81.75% of her runs scored coming from boundaries, closely followed by Capsey at 80%. Dunkley, Devine and McGrath conclude the top 5

Which of our #WPL2023 batters were the best value based on the cost per run dimension? This time is the buy and player of the season Hayley Matthews at just 0.15 Lakh per run, how MI got her at just 40Lakh I will never know! Surprisingly there are 3 RCB players in the top 10

And on the flip side who didn’t quite live up to their price tag and teams might be looking for a refund? Way out ahead here is Minnu Mani with just 1 run in 2 innings making her cost per run a huge 30Lakh. I am sure she will be looking to improve on this next year

Taking a step back to the bowlers for a few minutes and who concedes the least runs between the wickets they take? This goes to young RCB spinner Ahuja at just 2.5 runs per wicket, #WPL2023 leading wicker take Matthews is in third at 12.62

Who was the bowler in #WPL2023 who gave away the least runs? Yet again this goes to Ahuja at just runs per over. DC’s associate player Norris comes in second at just 9.42, should she have played more games? No surprise that MI players dominate this list with 5 in the top 10

Our next graph looks at the average wickets per innings. UPWarriorz Ecclestone takes this at 1.78 wickets per innings, she really did prop up their bowling. The next 4 places are dominated by MI players in Matthews, the impressive & consistent Wong, Kerr and breakout star Ishaque

Which of our #WPL2023 bowlers has proven the best value for money for their teams? No surprise it is the young star from MI Saika Ishaque at just 0.67 Lakh per wicket. Norris is again in second at 1.43 and yet again another RCB player in Sobhana Asha in third.

On the flip side who hasn’t quite lived up to their value? I don’t think anyone would have expected Renuka Singh to be top of this list at 150Lakh per wicket with Vaidya and Vastrakar in second and third. Franchises may expect more from their big name signings next year

Thank you for taking the time to read the quick walkthrough of the key stats from the inaugural #WPL2023, I think it’s safe to say it was a success and I for one am already looking forward to season 2. Now it is the mens turn in #IPL2023