Powerplay Batting and Power Hitting: Lessons from the Latest IPL for Aspiring Batsmen

I'm Bharath Chipli, and as a top-order batsman who has opened up and tried to take the game on for Karnataka and in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore, the first six overs were always where I felt most alive. The powerplay is a phase that rewards courage — but never recklessness. Watching the latest IPL seasons, I'm convinced young batsmen in Bengaluru and across India have more to learn from this window than from any other part of the game. Let me share what I see, and how I'd want a young batsman at our academy to approach it.

Why the Powerplay Decides So Many T20 Matches

The reason is simple and it's written into the rules. Fielding restrictions allow only two fielders outside the 30 yard circle, encouraging aggressive stroke play and calculated risk taking. That's a gift to a batsman — gaps in front of square, a hard new ball that races off the bat, and a field you can pierce or clear. In T20 cricket, the first six overs often decide the tempo of the entire match.

What's striking is how much the mindset has changed. Over the years, IPL teams have transformed their approach to the powerplay. Earlier seasons focused on preserving wickets. Modern seasons emphasize rapid scoring, fearless intent, and maximizing the field restriction advantage. The numbers back this up — eight of the top 10 highest powerplay scores in IPL history have come in 2024 or later, a clear sign of how dramatically the batting landscape has shifted.

What the Latest IPL Actually Taught Us

I always tell young players to study current cricket, not just old highlights. Here is what the recent IPL made crystal clear.

1. Attacking from ball one is now a method, not a gamble

The benchmark example is Sunrisers Hyderabad. The highest powerplay score in IPL history is 125 for 0 by Sunrisers Hyderabad against Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024. This performance showcased fearless hitting and a modern approach where both openers attack from ball one. They carried that intent forward — they continued their form in IPL 2025 with a 94/1 powerplay against the Rajasthan Royals in the season opener.

But notice the word I keep using: method. With the rise of data analytics and a fearless batting philosophy, teams now attack from the very first ball. That's not slogging — it's a planned, rehearsed way of batting.

2. The scoring rate has genuinely jumped

This isn't just a feeling. The powerplay run rate in IPL 2025 jumped by almost 30% compared to early 2024, and eight scores of 60-plus came in just the first 10 innings of the season. Punjab Kings showed how brutal it can get — Punjab Kings stormed into the record books with the second highest powerplay total in IPL history. Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh were utterly dominant in the powerplay, posting 116 runs off just 36 balls at an astonishing run rate of over 19.

3. But intent still has to fit the situation

Here's the part the headlines miss. The same IPL that produced record powerplays was won on smart, situational cricket. Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their maiden IPL title in 2025, defeating Punjab Kings in the final at Ahmedabad. It was a thrilling six-run win over Punjab Kings in the final — proof that controlled, situation-aware cricket wins trophies, not just fireworks. The Player of the Match, Krunal Pandya, summed up the modern game beautifully when he said, "My biggest strength has been to learn what the situation requires." That line should be on every young cricketer's wall.

Power Hitting Is a Skill — Here's How I'd Build It

Power hitting looks like raw strength on TV. It isn't. It's timing, base, bat-swing and decision-making trained over months. When I work with young batsmen, I break it into parts:

• A stable base: Power comes from the ground up — a strong, balanced base lets you swing through the ball, not at it.
• Clean bat-swing: Hitting the ball cleanly, like the best openers do, beats trying to muscle it. Clean contact travels further than a violent heave.
• Hitting zones: Know your two or three strongest scoring areas and back yourself to access them again and again.
• Match-up awareness: Pace on the ball, the angle, the field — pick the bowler and ball you attack instead of attacking everything.
• Risk laddering: Rotate strike, punish the loose ball, and save the big risks for when the equation demands them.

The reason this matters is that the very best players combine clean striking with judgement. As one analysis of SRH's openers put it, Head's consistent ability to dominate the new ball, coupled with Abhishek's clean hitting, made SRH's opening pair one of the most dangerous in IPL history. "Clean hitting" — that's the technical foundation we train, ball after ball, on the bowling machine and in throwdowns.

Batting Under Pressure: Composure Over Panic

Aggression and composure are not opposites — the best top-order batsmen hold both at once. In my own first-class and T20 cricket, the innings I'm proudest of weren't the flashiest; they were the ones where I read a tricky situation, absorbed a good spell, and then released the pressure at the right moment.

For a young batsman, I'd frame it this way:

• Have a plan before the ball is bowled. Decide your intent for the over, not just the ball.
• Separate a good ball from a bad shot. Getting beaten by a quality delivery is fine; the dismissal to study is the soft one.
• Reset between balls. One breath, one trigger, one clear thought. That routine is what keeps your heart rate down when the chase gets tight.
• Trust your preparation. In the IPL final, Krunal Pandya simply said, "I knew I had to be brave to get wickets tonight. Thought I'd do that by bowling slow." A batsman needs the same clarity — know your plan and have the courage to execute it.

Reading and Adapting to Match Situations

Powerplay batting isn't one fixed gear. On a flat deck with short boundaries, you maximise the field restrictions hard. On a two-paced surface, you take fewer aerial risks early and cash in later. The IPL itself shows the spread — even within a single tournament you see both 100-plus powerplay assaults and cautious, wicket-preserving starts depending on conditions and the match-up.

What I want our young batsmen to develop is a question-and-answer habit: What's the pitch doing? Who's bowling and what's his strength? What does the scoreboard need from me right now? The answer to those questions — not ego — should set your tempo. That's exactly why a score of 50-60 runs in the powerplay is generally considered good, while anything above 70+ runs is seen as an excellent start — but the "right" number always depends on the surface and the situation in front of you.

How We Train This at the Academy

At VB Pase Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, founded by former India cricketer Vijay Bharadwaj, we don't just throw balls and ask boys to hit hard. We build the powerplay batsman methodically: BCCI-certified coaching to get the technical base right, bowling machines to groove specific shots and match-ups, and video analysis so a young player can actually see his bat-swing, base and decision-making rather than guess at them. Power hitting is coached as a skill with a clear progression — clean striking first, then range, then situation. Our elite coaching staff focuses as much on the mind — composure, intent, reading the game — as on the muscles.

Final Thoughts

The latest IPL gave aspiring batsmen a brilliant syllabus: attack the powerplay with planned intent, build genuine power-hitting skill rather than chasing it, and never forget that learning what the situation requires is the truest sign of a quality batsman. Fearless and smart — that's the combination I chased throughout my career, and it's what I want every young cricketer who walks through our gates to chase too.

If you're a parent or a young cricketer in Bengaluru or anywhere in India who wants to build this kind of fearless, situation-smart batting the right way, come and see how we work. Explore our programs to find the right pathway for your game, or get in touch with our team — I'd love to help you turn raw intent into a complete top-order batsman.