CHENNAI: It is not always noticed in the din over the sixes, oohs and aahs. Batting, especially in the second innings, is becoming progressively difficult in the IPL. The first round of 28 matches saw a record for the highest successful chase and 11 totals above 200. There were enough heroics with the bat. But they do not tell the full story.
Known to be a batsman's tournament, IPL over the years has helped shape the concept that no total is safe in limited-over cricket. Incidents like Rajasthan Royals overhauling Kings XI Punjab's 221 or Mumbai Indians forcing a Super Over after conceding 201 against Royal Challengers Bangalore strengthened that notion. That's when the story took a different turn.
End of the first half of the IPL shows a new trend. Teams batting first won 19 of the first 28 games and teams batting second seven. The tally leaves out two matches which were tied and decided in the Super Over. This is a significant rise in matches won by teams batting first.
In 2017, 2018 and 2019, the number of matches won by teams batting first after 28 matches were 13, 13 and 10, respectively. This may come as a revelation to the common fan. Experts had anticipated this. They had foreseen it because IPL matches this year are played in just three venues instead of the minimum of eight in India. So wear and tear on pitches would be much more. Add desert heat to the excessive use of pitches, with matches in one place every second or third day, the result would invariably be surfaces becoming slower, offering less bounce.
"The BCCI deserves a lot of credit for organising the IPL in the UAE. But I am surprised to see that no pitch curator from India has travelled. We could have had three Indian curators in each of the three venues. They are well trained and versed with the requirements of IPL, where you make pitches where the ball comes through and facilitates stroke-play," said Daljit Singh, former head of the BCCI's grounds and pitches committee.
"At the start, the wickets seemed placid and batting-friendly. But as the tournament has gone on, batting has become more difficult. If you play on three grounds instead of eight, pitches will get slower. Now on, if pitches do not get adequate rest, scoring will become more challenging and it will be more of a struggle for teams batting second," said former all-rounder Rajat Bhatia, who was an integral part of the IPL-winning Kolkata Knight Riders squad of 2012.
The former Delhi player expects spinners to play a bigger role in the second half of the competition.
"They may go for sixes in Sharjah where the ground is small, but the importance of spinners will increase as pitches become more sluggish. We will see more low-scoring matches in the later stages. A good or safe total will be less than we are used to seeing, unless matches are not played on used wickets."
This pattern was not visible in the first 10 days, which saw six totals above 200. But in the last week or so, teams have thrice defended totals in the 160s and those who made above 180 went on to post big wins. Contrary to expectations in certain quarters, due has not been a factor at all. Barring exceptions, teams batting second struggled in general.
"Because of overuse, pitches in the UAE are getting slower. That's why spinners are coming into play and batting is becoming difficult. Under the circumstances, pitches have to be rotated so that they can recover. Heat is another factor. It's important to save the pitch from scorching on non-match days. One has to avoid watering too much and using the heavy roller. Then there are 'home' games. Teams tend to prefer the strip on which they won their last match. This increases the load on the surface. These are the factors making pitches slow and unless there is a recovery period, they will become slower," added Daljit, a former first-class cricketer himself.
As the IPL heads towards the business end and the top-four race becomes more intense, teams have to contend with this reality. Value of each run will increase and the ones putting them on the board first will think they have a better chance.
After 28 matches
Year won batting first won batting second
2017: 13 - 15
2018: 13 - 15
2019: 10 - 17
2020: 19 - 7
(1 tie in 2019 & 2 ties in 2020 not counted)