User Question
What are Zaheer Khan's IPL career bowling stats?
Correct Answer Pattern
Zaheer Khan (DC/MI/RCB) IPL career bowling (2007/08–2017, Cricsheet — 10 seasons, pre-2026):
Stat Value Balls bowled 2,200 Wickets 102 Economy 7.59 Average 27.27 By phase:
Phase Balls Wickets Economy Powerplay (1–6) 1,292 52 6.74 Middle (7–15) 373 15 8.77 Death (16–20) 535 35 8.80 Source: Cricsheet CC BY 3.0.
Required Concepts
- Zaheer Khan is an Indian left-arm seam bowler — one of the most accomplished IPL bowlers in the tournament's first decade (2007/08–2017), with 102 career wickets
- PP bowling (6.74 econ, 1,292 balls, 52 wickets) is overwhelmingly his strongest phase — the highest wicket count and best economy, with a large, reliable sample
- Death bowling (8.80 econ, 535 balls, 35 wickets) is the second-highest wicket total — he was used extensively in the death, though more expensively
- 102 career wickets rank him among the highest IPL wicket-takers in the Cricsheet historical corpus (pre-2026, 1,169 matches)
Required Metrics
- Career wickets: 102 · Bowling econ: 7.59
- PP: 1,292 balls, 52 wkts, 6.74 econ (dominant phase — most wickets, lowest economy)
- Middle: 373 balls, 15 wkts, 8.77 econ
- Death: 535 balls, 35 wkts, 8.80 econ
Citation Behavior
- State 102 wickets (econ 7.59) across 10 seasons (2007/08–2017) for DC/MI/RCB.
- Lead with PP: 6.74 econ from 1,292 balls, 52 wickets — dominant phase with highest sample.
- Death wicket-taking (35 wkts from 535 balls) as secondary — productive but expensive.
Caveats
- Career spans 2007/08–2017 — early IPL era with different batting conditions; economy benchmarks were lower (modern batters hit more freely).
- Batting: PP (3 balls) far below ≥30-ball floor — not citable. Middle batting (40 balls, 40.0 SR) and Death batting (97 balls, 104.1 SR) are above floor but reflect a specialist bowler's lower-order batting.
Bad Answer (do not do this)
"Zaheer Khan was primarily a middle-overs bowler in IPL." (Zaheer Khan's primary IPL phase was the powerplay — 1,292 balls, 52 wickets, 6.74 econ — his largest ball count and best economy. Middle-overs bowling (373 balls, 8.77 econ) was significantly less prominent and more expensive.)