For all their struggles with the bat this IPL, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have found consistency, and at times brilliance, through their bowling unit. In the two games they've won this season, it is their bowling that has set the platform by restricting the opposition to under 190, allowing individual batting efforts to seal the chase.
They have produced superb performances, like holding off the dangerous Rajasthan Royals (RR) opening pair of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal or keeping the ruthless Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) batting unit quiet. The Indian pace trio of Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav and Mohsin Khan, with a combined 29 wickets this season, has been central to this effort. LSG's bowlers have the best economy rate of 8.9 this season while their fast bowlers have gone at 8.45, which again is the best among pace bowlers across teams.
The success of LSG's fast bowlers has come from the variety within their attack. Senior pro Shami has offered more than just his trademark swing and seam, blending in yorkers and well-disguised slower balls to stay effective across phases. Prince has impressed with his accuracy and ability to adapt his variation through all phases of the game, while Mohsin's discipline and control have anchored the attack.
Shami has taken seven wickets in eight games so far, at an economy of rate 8.06. The wicket column, though, does not give the full picture, as it fails to capture his relentless control in the powerplay and the use of his variations. It was on display during his standout spell against SRH, where he conceded just nine runs in four overs, bowling 18 dot balls - among the most economical in IPL history - dismissing Abhishek Sharma with an offcutter and Travis Head with a scrambled seam delivery, which underlines how he has evolved in the T20 era.
"Shami is very well experienced and also it is about the bowlers understanding their strengths," LSG bowling coach Bharat Arun said of the success of the pace attack. "Where my role comes in is to keep reminding them about their strengths and constantly challenging them to execute what they are supposed to in the game."
As of Shami's ambitions to make an international comeback with his performances - he last played for India in March 2025 - Arun, who worked with Shami during his stint as the bowling coach with the Indian team, said, "I think Shami's mindset is very, very clear. On numerous occasions, he has said, 'Selection is not in my hands but to do well is in my hands,' and that is exactly what he is doing. If you look at the form with which he is bowling, everybody now is talking why is Shami not in the international team. He enjoys his bowling, that is what he says."
Prince, who is LSG's highest wicket-taker with 13 so far, has added a new dimension to LSG's attack. He has been quick to recalibrate his lengths, has developed a wider repertoire that includes a deceptive slower bouncer and has been nailing his yorkers at the death. In the powerplay, he has taken five wickets at an economy rate of 7.9, in the middle overs he has been excellent with an economy rate of 6.83 with six wickets - also the best for a fast bowler in the league so far (minimum 50 balls bowled) - and at the death his economy is 10.52 while taking two wickets.
As for Mohsin, he missed four games after the first match of the season against Delhi Capitals, but he has made a big impact in the four matches he has played so far. His ability to build pressure with dot balls has been crucial; he has the best economy rate of 6.33 in the powerplay among all bowlers this season [minimum 50 balls bowled].
That showed in the wicket-maiden - he has bowled three such overs this season - to Sooryavanshi against RR, where he relentlessly hit a hard length before forcing a mis-hit, and even more so in his career-best 5 for 23 against Kolkata Knight Riders, where his change of pace came in handy albeit in a losing cause.
Mohsin has long been plagued by injuries which has limited his ability to string together an extended run, but this season LSG have ensured he is better prepared and managed.
"Injuries are an inherent part of a fast bowler's career," Arun said. "You can probably delay the onset of injuries, but every bowler can get injured. The thing that we have done is we have understood that he has come back from an injury.
"We have had camps two-and-a-half months prior to this. Our strength and training coach and the physios have really worked on him at least three months in advance for him to come back into peak form. I think the kind of work he put into his fitness is reaping rewards right now."
Overall, LSG's fast bowlers have stood out through precision, with their yorkers conceding at a miserly economy rate of 3.48, the best in the league. Their slower balls, too, have been a key weapon, returning the second-best economy rate of 9.9, narrowly behind Mumbai Indians' 9.8.
That makes the impact of Shami, Prince and Mohsin even more significant in a season where their lead spinner, Digvesh Rathi, has been off-colour. They've also kept out the prodigious Mayank Yadav and the experienced Anrich Nortje out of the playing XI, which is an indicator of how well this pace attack has performed. They will hope for their batters to join the party soon to keep their flickering hopes alive.