IPL 2019: Why ‘taking the game deep’ is not everyone’s cup of tea

Opting to bowl first after winning the toss has been one of the success mantras for most teams in the IPL for quite a long time now. Teams focusing on finishers, batsmen improvising to tackle death bowling and the dew factor are some of the factors which influence such results. At one point it had almost obvious that the team winning the toss would chase unless there were some drastic conditions to force them choose otherwise.

The results this year have, however, been quite even as far as batting first or chasing is concerned. The 21 games of IPL 2019 so far (before the KXIP vs SRH game) have seen a total being chased 10 times and defended 10 times, while one encounter ended in a tie.

However, it is not that decisions at the toss have been as even as the results. Out of 21 matches, only thrice has the captain winning the toss opted to bat so far. That implies that the change in consequences is not impacted by conditions.

What has changed?

Are the teams less focused on finishers? No. Have the bowlers suddenly started bowling better? Yes, but not to an extent to make such a huge paradigm shift.

The real change has been in the approach.

One of the greatest finishers the game has seen, MS Dhoni, is known for taking the game deep and preying on the pressure exerted on the opposition in the death overs. His success rate has been phenomenal with this approach.

That is something that most teams have tried to emulate this season. But more often than not, they have failed in that approach.

One of the common trends observed in teams losing while chasing is their inability to capitalize on the powerplays. Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad, with two ultra-aggressive openers, are the only teams to take full advantage of the powerplays on a regular basis. CSK also made full use of the powerplays in their win against Delhi, which set the game for them.

In the 10 games that chasing teams have lost, the powerplay run rate has been 7.73, while the run rate during the middle overs has been 7.60. The similar run-rate in the powerplays and the middle overs indicates the approach of keeping wickets in hand and taking the game deep. This is where most teams have faltered.

Rajasthan Royals have twice failed to chase down totals from positions they should have won. Scoring only at the rate of 7.8 between overs 7 and 16, RR failed to compensate at the death.

Similarly, Kings XI Punjab scored only 69 runs in the middle overs without the loss of a single wicket, but still failed to win the match against CSK.

Dhoni and Jadhav failed to launch after leaving too many for the death overs (picture courtesy: BCCI/iplt20.com)

This approach, which has been so successful for CSK over the years, backfired for them too against Mumbai Indians, as they left way too much for the last 6 overs and ended up losing by a huge margin. Only Kolkata Knight Riders have won all their games chasing, thanks to some insane hitting by Andre Russell.

Russell’s power-hitting helped KKR chase down 53 off 18 against SRH as well as RCB, while chris Lynn and Sunil Narine’s breathtaking start (91 off 49 balls) helped them beat RR.

Going forward in the tournament, teams must look to start with more intent to utilize the powerplays, and consolidate in the middle overs. They should not hesitate from taking calculated risks, because that has proven to be the most effective winning strategy in the IPL over the years.

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