The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Toss report: Batting first isn’t that bad an option
BEING THE shortest format of the game, the Twenty20gameistheonemostsusceptibleto the ‘luck’ factor, the toss being the most crucial factor. With IPL-10 well into its fourth week, most captains seem to agree that the advantage of winning a toss can best be exploited by fielding first. They feel knowing a target can help them plan the chase accordingly, and these days almost no asking rate is considered insurmountable.
Ontheotherhand,battingfirstmostteams areunsureaboutwhatagoodtargetwouldbe. Often, a score considered a big one is chased down quite easily (Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab, Indore, April 20) while on other occasions, teams may be go too hard in the quest for a huge total only to fall flat on their face.
Life beyond the toss
Out of the 31 matches so far (including one washout without a toss), the captain winning the toss has chosen to bat only five times.
But if one looks at how the league has panned out so far, batting first is hardly an unmitigated disaster. Out of the 30 results, 13 have gone in favour of teams batting first, a success rate of 43.33 per cent, hardly a lopsided equation.
The slight bias towards chasing can also be explained by the dew factor in the evening at several venues, the inability of teams fielding secondtoholdtheirnervewhentheinevitable charge comes (Kolkata Knight Riders’ implosionagainstmumbaiindians,wankhede,april 9) and costly dropped catches (e.g. Jaydev Unadkat dropping Robin Uthappa on Wednesday).
Change in trend
Batting first has been increasingly profitable after the first 10 days of the tournament, with 10 of the 13 successful defences occurring since April 15.
Before KKR’S victory over Rising Pune Supergiant on Wednesday, the previous four results had all gone in favour of the teams batting first. They include the star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore line-up bowled out for apaltry49whilechasingkkr’sbelow-par131, and Mumbai Indians defending successfully defending 142 against Delhi Daredevils.
Bowlers win matches
Oneofthefactorsworkinginfavourofthis trend could be that sides have now, more or less, worked out their optimal team combinations. They seem to have come to the conclusion that having a strong bowling attack is a prerequisiteforsuccess,asmediocreandparttimebowlersarelikelytobecannonfodderfor qualitybatsmen.teamslikekkr,mi,sunrisers Hyderabadanddelhidaredevilshardlyhavea weak link in their bowling. These teams will feel more confidence while setting out to defend any decent total.
Bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ben Stokes and Jasprit Bumrah excel at bowling yorkers and change of pace, while the extra pace that the likes of Umesh Yadav, Chris Morris and Pat Cummins bring to the table is difficult to handle, especially for the lower order chasing a high asking rate. Spinners like Harbhajansingh,sunilnarine,kuldeepyadav, Samuel Badree and Yuzvendra Chahal are experts at foxing batsmen targeting them.
On the other hand, RPS paid the price for replacing their injured premier all-rounder in Ben Stokes with a specialist batsman in Faf du Plessis. The bowling was weakened considerably, and to make matters worse, the South African did not even get a hit.
On a different pitch
The case of the galactico-filled Bangalore outfit is an interesting study. With just two wins out of nine, they are staring at a possible early elimination. For a team helmed by ace chaser Virat Kohli, both their wins have come batting first. It may have something to do with the changing nature of the playing surface at their home venue, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The erstwhile batting paradise has become sluggish and combined with a slow outfield, makes getting big totals tougher.
The Eden Gardens pitch, which used to slow and spinner-friendly, now has good pace and carry. But they seem to have all bases covered even though they prefer to chase.