For the third consecutive game in Chepauk, batting in the death overs in IPL 2021 proved to be a big problem for the sides.
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IPL 2021 has seen six matches been played. Out of the six, four have been played at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai. In three out of the four games in Chennai, some common trends have emerged. The aspect considered here is death overs batting. It has been observed that as the death overs approach, teams batting first and second have tended to collapse. In two out of the three games, teams that were cruising towards the target lost their way in dramatic circumstances.Â
One thing has been established while batting in Chennai. Batting first and second, when the ball gets soft, teams tend to collapse. In the opening game between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians managed just 24 runs and lost five wickets. When Royal Challengers Bangalore were chasing, they were well placed at 103/3 in 14 overs.
However, Mumbai Indians clawed back into the contest as they lost five wickets. But, fortunately for Royal Challengers Bangalore, they had the freakish ability of AB de Villiers who guided them over the line. It took something exceptional from a great player to buck the trend. But, that has not been the case in the other two games.
In the clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians, Mumbai Indians lost six wickets for 38 runs. Andre Russell took 5/15 as he became the second bowler after Harshal Patel to take a five-wicket haul against the five-time champions. In response, KKR were in solid control with 31 runs needed off 30 balls. However, the choke applied by Mumbai Indians was such that KKR lost five wickets and scored just 20 runs.
In the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad, RCB scored only 46 runs and lost four wickets. This is still better than the previous games here. The trend, though, continued for Sunrisers. Shahbaz Ahmed took three wickets in the 17th over. SRH never recovered and they managed just 35 runs to lose seven wickets. It was deja-vu for SRH as they had suffered a similar collapse in Dubai in IPL 2020.Â
Even in the Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad game, KKR lost five wickets for 42 runs but the early platform was laid. Sunrisers Hyderabad smashed 58 runs and lost only two wickets in the final five overs. This game has so far proven to be an exception to the norm.
In IPL 2021, the sluggishness of the Chennai wicket seems to suggest that batting when the ball becomes softer in the death overs will be challenging. The trend to accelerate and go for broke in the final overs might have to be revisited in this tournament. Andre Russell admitted that for a new batsman, getting settled on the Chennai deck is a huge challenge.
Teams will have to capitalise in the powerplay and score big, as Kolkata Knight Riders did against Sunrisers Hyderabad. In case of a huge start, a collapse does offer them the buffer. Teams may have to do a reverse planning. In IPL 2021, teams may have to go big in the powerplay and be cautious in the death overs.
