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While Dublin Guardians have not had a great European T20 Premier League (ETPL) campaign by any means, Indian spin stalwart Ravichandran Ashwin, the franchise's captain, has stood as one of tournament's most remarkable bowlers, highlighting the importance of holding a great economy rate and creating pressure in a format where the flow of wickets stays extremely volatile.
While Dublin Guardians have managed just one win and faced seven losses in their campaign and stand at the bottom of the table, the fact that a 39-year-old Ashwin, who retired from international cricket, has still got it, is one of the most heartwarming stories from the league. Ashwin's five wickets in eight matches might be no match for Anrich Nortje (19 wickets in eight matches for Rotterdam Dockers), his economy has made him a standout bowler. His overall economy of 5.37 (for bowlers with 10-plus overs), ranks top ahead of team-mate David Willey (5.66). A central highlight of Ashwins spellbinding campaign is his ability to suppress boundaries. Boasting the lowest boundary percentage in the league at 5.72 per cent, Ashwin has gone boundary-less in four of his last five matches and has conceded just two sixes across all eight games, as per data from CricViz. Ashwins impact spans all phases of the innings:-Powerplay (Overs 16): He has conceded just two boundaries in the opening overs, securing the joint-best powerplay boundary percentage (8.33 per cent) for bowlers with 3+ overs.-Death Overs (Overs 1620): In the high-pressure final overs, Ashwin leads the league with a tournament-best economy rate of 3.33, remaining the only bowler yet to concede a single boundary in this phase. Dublin will play their next fixture against Amsterdam Flames in Dublin on Tuesday. (ANI)
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