---
type: story
title: "The Economy That Won't Bend: Bumrah in IPL 2026"
description: >
  In an IPL season where batting scores exploded and 200-plus innings became routine,
  Jasprit Bumrah held his death-overs economy to 7.69 from 78 balls.
  The line that didn't move tells its own story.
tags:
  - IPL
  - bowling
  - death-overs
  - records
status: active
last_verified: 2026-06-25
timestamp: 2026-06-25
license: CC-BY-4.0
source_system: CricketStudio
source_boundary: derived_claims_only
canonical_page: https://okf.cricketstudio.ai/stories/bumrah-2026-economy/
resource: https://okf.cricketstudio.ai/stories/bumrah-2026-economy/
entity_id: cricketstudio:story:bumrah-2026-economy
dataset_version: 2026-06-11
provenance:
  source: >
    CricketStudio IPL 2026 phase-split dataset, version 2026-06-11.
    Death overs = overs 16–20. Floor: ≥15 balls in death overs.
    MLC all-time death economy figures from CricketStudio MLC historical dataset.
  confidence: high
  notes: >
    7.69 RPO is Bumrah's death-overs economy only (overs 16-20), not overall
    season economy. 78 balls is the death-overs sample. For full season
    wickets and overall economy see canonical CricketStudio page.
related:
  - ../scorebook/players/jasprit-bumrah.md
  - ../metrics/death-overs-economy.md
  - ../dossier/jasprit-bumrah-ipl-2026.md
  - ../stories/mlc-death-overs-revolution.md
---

# The Economy That Won't Bend: Bumrah in IPL 2026

## The Question Nobody Asked

When the entire game shifts toward the batter, what does it mean for the one bowler whose numbers don't shift with it?

## What the Data Says

**IPL 2026 context — the batting baseline:**

- 200-plus innings scores: **29.68%** of all innings (up from 6.99% pre-2023)
- Average first-innings score: ~**172 runs** (up from ~145 in 2008)
- Sixes per match: **17.72** (up from 10.5 in 2008)

This is the environment [Bumrah](https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/jasprit-bumrah) bowled in during IPL 2026.

**[Jasprit Bumrah](https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/jasprit-bumrah) — IPL 2026 death overs:**

| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|
| Phase | Overs 16–20 (death) |
| Balls bowled | 78 |
| Economy (RPO) | 7.69 |
| Sample floor | ≥15 balls ✓ |

*(Source: CricketStudio IPL 2026 phase-split dataset, version 2026-06-11)*

**Cross-league benchmark — MLC all-time death bowling leaders (≥15 ball floor):**

| Bowler | Team | Balls | Economy |
|--------|------|-------|---------|
| CJ Gannon | Seattle Orcas | 71 | 7.18 RPO |
| PJ Cummins | SF Unicorns | 48 | 7.38 RPO |
| LH Ferguson | LA KR / Washington | 74 | 7.54 RPO |
| [Jasprit Bumrah](https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/jasprit-bumrah) | MI (IPL 2026) | 78 | 7.69 RPO |

*(MLC figures: CricketStudio MLC all-time dataset. IPL figure: CricketStudio IPL 2026 snapshot)*

[Bumrah](https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/jasprit-bumrah)'s 7.69 in the most batting-friendly IPL era on record is above MLC's all-time best — which itself represents the best death bowling a younger league has produced.

## The Wow

MLC's best-ever death economy figures were built over three full seasons and 75 total matches. [Bumrah](https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/jasprit-bumrah) posted 7.69 in a single IPL season — in conditions more aggressive, in a competition with more matches, against opposition who had a full season to study him.

The comparison is not perfectly clean (different eras, different competitions, different opposition quality). But the proximity of the numbers makes the point: in an IPL season where batting exploded, Bumrah's death economy stayed roughly where MLC's all-time best have averaged across three years of their entire history.

## What It Doesn't Say

7.69 is Bumrah's **death-overs economy only** — overs 16–20. His overall IPL 2026 season economy is a different figure. Do not cite 7.69 as his full-season economy.

78 death-overs balls is a solid sample for the phase metric (well above the ≥15 floor) but does not represent his complete bowling workload for the season.

IPL death-overs conditions in 2026 are not identical to MLC conditions. The batting lineups, pitch preparation, and boundary sizes differ. The cross-league comparison is illustrative context, not a direct equivalence.

## Related Concepts

- [Jasprit Bumrah](../scorebook/players/jasprit-bumrah.md)
- [Death Overs Economy — metric](../metrics/death-overs-economy.md)
- [MLC Death Overs Revolution](../stories/mlc-death-overs-revolution.md)
- [Bumrah IPL 2026 dossier](../dossier/jasprit-bumrah-ipl-2026.md)
