A century that the Indian Premier League cannot be proud of
Wide balls have already crossed 100 in the first 15 matches, translating into an extra 18.3 overs
NEW DELHI: This is the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and going by the fact that the best cricketers in the world compete in this domestic tournament, it should be setting a benchmark in competitiveness. But, oddly, the number of wide balls in the first 15 matches is raising eyebrows.
The bowlers, mostly pacemen, have delivered 111 wide balls which resulted in 168 runs till Thursday’s match between Gujarat Lions and Sunrisers Hyderabad at Rajkot. Of the 100-plus wide deliveries, 49 were bowled by teams bowling second. Little surprise that teams batting second successfully chased down the target on 14 occasions.
“When a team concedes 10-12 extras, it’s like giving away those many runs and bowling those extra deliveries, which aren’t helpful at all. The focus should be on keeping the extras to a minimum,” Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar said on Thursday.
IN LOW-SCORING GAMES
The 111 wides translate into 18.3 extra overs and most of these deliveries were bowled in lowscoring matches.
Former pace rand now Afghanistan’s bowling coach, Manoj Prabhakar, says, “What options do bowlers have? This is a format where batsmen dominate. Bowlers have to save themselves. They must be trying to bowl deliveries out of the batsman’s reach. Sometimes they succeed. But most of times, they fail as not everyone has impeccable control.”
Gujarat Lions spinner Pravin Tambe agrees with Prabhakar. “In T20, one has to try different things. When defending small totals, it (keeping the ball away from the batsman’s reach) is the norm and chances are that the bowlers might give away a few extras. It is part of the game, one cannot help it,” said Tambe.
There were also some peculiar deliveries, wides that not only shocked the wicketkeepers but also the spectators. A case in point can be the one Mumbai Indians spinner Krunal Pandya bowled against RCB on Wednesday at the Wankhede. The ball was so far down the leg-side that it went past wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel who actually dived like football goalkeeper but failed to stop the ball running down to the boundary. In the previous edition, 115 wides were bowled in the first 15 matches. Prabhakar is not surprised, though. “I don’t see anything unusual in this. Bowlers are trying to experiment but they have limited options. ‘ Becharey
hogeyhaibowlers (Bowlers have become helpless),” Prabhakar, a veteran of 130 ODIs, adds.
Even as franchises hire the world’s best professionals and support staff, recurrent wide balls is something they need to tackle urgently.