Why bowlers are facing the brunt in IPL 2024
Flat pitches, lack of surprises reasons for bowlers finding it hard to arrest the charge
Dubai: The Indian Premier League Season 17 hasn’t been a paradise for the bowlers. High scoring contests have been the norm with batters displaying their ruthless form, tearing apart any bowling attack. Sunrisers Hyderabad top batters in particular have made a mockery of the rivals’ bowling by scoring three of the four all-time IPL top scores in this edition.
The power-hitting has been taken to a new level and scoring in excess of 14 runs is so common in the final five overs. The addition of Impact Players have given the license to thrill for the batters, who have kept the spectators on the edge of their seats.
Historically, the IPL has always been favouring the batters but the brunt the bowlers have had to bear during the ongoing season has been very brutal.
So what could be the reason for this high scores coming so often?
Less wear and tear
The pitches have been flat and the wear and tear has not been unlike the past years, hence the bowlers have hardly been getting any assistance from the pitches. The dew factor also makes batting easier. Some of the experienced bowlers have also come in for harsh treatment, spinners and pacers alike.
Pacers have been adopting the slow bouncers ploy, but that move also looks to be wearing off, despite the two-bouncer rule adopted this season.
However, in the last few games, there seems to be some respite for the spinners with Kuldeep Yadav, Sai Kishore Noor Ahmed and Rashid Khan keeping the batters in check.
Kuldeep stopped Sunrisers for a lesser score when it looked like they would easily sail past the 300-run mark.
The only way to stop is by coming up with surprises. The bowlers need to mix up their deliveries and the lesser they stop the batters from reading their mind early, the better the result will be in their favour.
Unconventional skills
Darren Sammy, who captained West Indies to both their T20 World Cup titles,
“It’s not just the young bowlers, every single international bowler has been under pressure.
“Look at the IPL right now. Teams are scoring 200 and it’s not a safe total. It tells you that the batsmen are really dominating T20 cricket now.” While teams would pack their squads with power-hitters, Sammy reckoned bowlers with unconventional skills or action could prove crucial in the June 1-29 tournament.
“The difference will be some X-factor bowlers,” the 40-year-old said.
“Whether that’s pace, whether that’s mystery spin — you’d need that in your armoury in order to defend totals or restrict opponents.”
Pace aces
The other way to silence the blazing bats would be with raw pace, he said.
“Pace is pace,” Sammy added.
Even in the past, pacers who could clock in excess of 150kmph could reap plenty of success. Hyderabad pacer Umran Malik did that and in this edition young Delhi pacer Mayank Yadav kept the batters hopping at the crease with 154kmph in the two matches he bowled while pulling out with injury in the third match.
Mayank is expected to return in Lucknow Super Giants’ next game, which could again tilt the result in his favour.
It is important to see a close contest between the bat and the ball and the return leg promises to more evenly balanced than the first leg as the prevailing dry conditions will assist the bowlers to use the rough and arrest the run flow.
— With inputs from agencies