NEW DELHI: India skipper Rohit Sharma was in his elements on Wednesday. The Afghanistan bowlers were struggling on a batting wicket. That he could play most of his shots in the front foot was an indicator that the pitch was flat and high-scoring. Even though India managed to restrict Afghanistan to 272 for eight, they overhauled the target with relative ease.
In the lead up to the 2019 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup in England, all the talk was about how it is going to be a high-scoring tournament and could even be the highest in the history of the Cup. And there was some merit to it. Between 2015-19, England had created a brand of white-ball cricket and surfaces that changed the way teams approach the format. They were putting up 350-plus scores for fun in bilaterals at home. On similar kinds of pitches such performances were expected during the World Cup as well.
However, that was not how the tournament went about. There were just 26 300-plus totals in 86 innings where teams got to bat first with the highest score being 396/7 by England against Afghanistan. As the tournament progressed, pitches slowed down so much that team totals during all three knockout games were below 250. And the average team total for the event was around 251.
World Cups often can be a tricky tournament and predictions are hard to make especially in the current format (ten teams, 45 league games before knockouts). And in the four years since the England edition, the game has moved on so much — two T20 World Cups and as many World Test Championships — that there is a question over the relevancy of the 50-over format itself. While that is a topic for a separate discussion, teams have become more enterprising in the way they approach ODIs.
Despite India having the reputation of preparing batting beauties, the debate on record totals being breached were not to be heard ahead of the 2023 edition. This World Cup is different and the scores in the first week tell a new story. There have been six 300-plus totals in eight games.
Barring Chennai, which remained true to its nature with the pitch aiding spinners, rest of the venues have been largely batter-friendly. Hyderabad saw a slew of high-scoring games, including Pakistan chasing 345 against Sri Lanka. England scored 364/9 in Dharamshala against Bangladesh. What more, South Africa broke the record for the highest team score in the history of the tournament — 428/5 against Sri Lanka in New Delhi. The average team total till the Pakistan-Sri Lanka game was 272 (approx) in comparison to the 225 in the first week of the England edition.
It has been only a week, and a few more venues are yet to host a match. However, it should not come as a surprise should the trend continue. Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata have been batting-friendly venues for a while and to an extent, so is Ahmedabad. In Lucknow, the pitches have been relaid after the IPL and it will be interesting to see how it behaves in the clash between South Africa and Australia on Thursday.
The key difference from the 2011 edition is that this World Cup is happening at the beginning of the domestic season and not the peak summer. The pitches in the grounds are largely fresh and the weather is such that the wear and tear might not be what it is during February-May. Which is why, former India fielding coach R Sridhar expects a high-scoring event as well. “Surely, we are coming out of the monsoon (South West) in most parts of India," he said.
"The pitches are quite fresh, it's the beginning of the season as far as the Indian season is concerned. I am expecting a lot of action in terms of stroke play, and it is going to be great for spectators.” He also said that there will be games where bowlers will have an upper hand. “You will see some matches where the ball dominates and some thrilling battles between bat and ball, but we will also see a lot of high-scoring games, 300-350 plus runs are scored and chased down as well. So it makes for great viewing both on television and in the stadium.”
While Sridhar admitted that dew could come into play at times but he felt that since each venue hosts only a handful of games (five at best) should nullify the wear and tear. “Occasionally you might find a sluggish pitch, but largely you’ll find excellent ones,” he said. On Wednesday, the The tournament is a long one (46 days and 48 games) and a lot could change from here on. However, for now, it seems like this could well be one of the highest-scoring World Cups ever.