The IPL Watcher
The best venues for pace and spin
A look at the performances of fast bowlers and spinners at each venue in IPL 2010
S Rajesh
25-Feb-2013
Over the last few days, there’s been plenty of stats going around on teams and players, but not much on the venues, so here’s one that looks at the ten grounds that have been used in IPL 2010 so far. This one deals with the performances of fast bowlers and spinners.
Overall, the averages are almost the same, but spinners have done much better in terms of economy rate, conceding a run less per over than the fast bowlers. And among the venues, the numbers spring a few surprises.
I was quite shocked to see fast bowlers’ average in Bangalore – the Chinnaswamy pitch has had plenty of bounce for the pacers, but they’ve conceded 45 runs per wicket here, at a run rate of almost eight-and-a-half. Dale Steyn, Bangalore’s spearhead, has looked dangerous here, but has only taken two wickets at an average of 60.50. Praveen Kumar (average 25.40) and Vinay Kumar (22.60) have done better, but a few others have spoilt the numbers for fast bowlers – Sreesanth has conceded 42 in 18 balls, Yusuf Abdulla 36 in 17, Morne Morkel 34 in 18 and Irfan Pathan 33 in 18. On the other hand, Anil Kumble’s four wickets here have come at an average of 23.50 and an economy rate of 5.93.
On the other and, Mohali and the Brabourne have been kinder to fast bowlers in terms of wickets, though the economy rate remains higher.
Full postChennai sixes versus Mumbai fours
Tuesday's match will be between the team which has hit the most sixes and the one that has the most fours
S Rajesh
25-Feb-2013
It’ll be a battle between the team which has hit the most sixes with the one that has the most fours on Tuesday. If both live up to their billings, it could be a real cracker.
Chennai lead the sixes tally with 67, which is ten clear of Rajasthan, the second-highest team. That’s largely thanks to that match against Rajasthan, when they smashed 17. Murali Vijay leads with 20 sixes, which is only one behind the tournament leader, Yusuf Pathan.
Mumbai’s modus operandi, on the other hand, has been very different – they’re the leaders in fours (with 149), and the laggards in sixes (36). Sachin Tendulkar contributing 52 of those (which is a joint record for the tournament, with Jacques Kallis).
On the other hand, Chennai have conceded the most number of fours, which is only one lesser than the number Mumbai have scored. That should make for a potent combination when Tendulkar and Co take on Chennai bowlers (though the appearance of Doug Bollinger could queer the pitch a bit). And if Albie Morkel bowls to Tendulkar, it’ll pit the bowler who’s conceded the maximum fours (36) against the batsman who’s hit the maximum number.
Full postThe poorest finishers
Deccan Chargers have been terrible with both bat and ball in the last six overs in IPL 2010
S Rajesh
25-Feb-2013
Monday’s match between Rajasthan Royals and Deccan Chargers will be a clash between two teams who are among the worst in the final overs of a match. Deccan, especially, have been terrible during the last six overs with both bat and ball: their batting run rate of 7.81 is the lowest while the bowling run rate of 11.81 is easily the highest (Kings XI Punjab are next on 9.72, which is two runs per over better than Deccan). The contrast for Deccan is starker because they are the best bowling team in the first six overs – their economy rate of 7.33 is the least among all teams.
Of all their bowlers who’ve bowled at the death, Andrew Symonds is the only one who has gone at less than ten an over – his economy rate is 8.41. The rest make for very sorry reading: RP Singh has conceded 79 runs in 36 balls (13.16 per over), Pragyan Ojha 74 in 36 (12.33), Jaskaran Singh 58 in 24 (14.50), Kemar Roach 47 in 24 (11.75) Rahul Sharma 39 in 16 (14.62) and Chaminda Vaas 35 in 18 (11.67). Consistently, all the good work done in the first 14 overs have been wasted with their shocking displays in the last six.
Rajasthan, meanwhile, are third from bottom with both bat and ball in the last six – they score 8.81 runs per over and concede 9.63.
| Team | Batting - run rate | Bowling - econ rate |
| Mumbai Indians | 11.13 | 8.29 |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore | 10.13 | 8.86 |
| Chennai Super Kings | 10.03 | 9.51 |
| Kings XI Punjab | 9.22 | 9.72 |
| Delhi Daredevils | 8.93 | 8.65 |
| Rajasthan Royals | 8.81 | 9.63 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 8.78 | 8.36 |
| Deccan Chargers | 7.81 | 11.81 |
Vaas' sudden dip
Chaminda Vaas has given away runs at 6.66 per over and held the purple cap for a while but has been benched for the past two games by a team conceding 8.47 runs an over
Sidharth Monga
25-Feb-2013
Chaminda Vaas has given away runs at 6.66 per over and held the purple cap for a while but has been benched for the past two games by a team conceding 8.47 runs an over. Sounds bizarre? Not really, when you consider his ineffective death bowling. The signs were there from the first match of the tournament, against Kolkata Knight Riders, when Vaas started with a double-wicket maiden, and went for just four runs in his first spell, before going for 18 runs in a game-changing first (and only) over of his second spell. The trend continued for the next four matches: Vaas has gone for only 57 runs in 12 overs of his first spells, and 63 in six overs in the later stages of the match.
The one reason for this huge dip in effectiveness has to be that the white ball barely swings after the first five-odd overs. And Vaas has lost the two other variations at the death: the bouncer and the quick yorker. Neither did it help that Vaas took an overseas player’s slot, nor that RP Singh has been even more ordinary at both ends of the innings. Between Vaas and RP, Deccan lacked a bowler who could go for less than eight runs when put under pressure. Their economy rate in the last six overs is, at 11.49, the worst by a big margin – and a clear pointer to why they have lost games in the later stages.
To shore things up, Deccan went for Kemar Roach ahead of Vaas but it didn’t quite work - 80 runs in eight wicketless overs. With Ryan Harris available for selection, Vaas might have to wait a bit longer to get a game.
Full postZip your lips
Not long ago Virender Sehwag received no more than media brickbats – and ran the risk of public humiliation - when he called Bangladesh an ordinary side , then sticking by what he said when his India team were run close
Sidharth Monga
25-Feb-2013
Not long ago Virender Sehwag received no more than media brickbats – and ran the risk of public humiliation - when he called Bangladesh an ordinary side, then sticking by what he said when his India team were run close. Now Sehwag’s good friend and captain at Delhi Daredevils, Gautam Gambhir, has found himself reprimanded by the IPL for expressing similar sentiments about Rajasthan Royals. He narrowly escaped a fine too, and possibly a spell in the corner of the classroom.
These were his remarks after Delhi had crushed Rajasthan on Wednesday night: "I think Rajasthan was never a threat. Except for Yusuf Pathan, the other guys were pretty ordinary. We weren't really worried about anyone else." Forget whether Gambhir’s remarks were justified and focus on the content: anything remotely racist, sexist or otherwise discriminatory? Doesn’t seem so. Instead, Gambhir’s remarks were a breath of fresh air, for their honesty and directness, in a tournament overflowing with platitudes and hyperbole. The IPL has done the right thing in coming down hard on slow over-rates but is clearly overstepping the mark here. No more can Kevin Pietersen call Yuvraj Singh a pie-chucker (or even comment on Test cricket being a man’s game), Sehwag had better watch what he says and it’s just as well, perhaps, that the sharp-tongued Graeme Swann isn’t around. And Ian Bishop had better hope he doesn’t get a call for observing – on air! - that the fielding in the IPL over the last week has been ordinary.
Full postBack to the future
Nine years on and it ain’t a joke anymore
Carlyle Laurie
25-Feb-2013
Nine years on and it ain’t a joke anymore. On April 1, 2001, Cricinfo published a spoof article that unveiled plans for an Asian Cricket League, a subcontinental inter-city tournament based on the European football leagues. It would comprise various city teams playing against each other, with each team set up as a “commercial franchise owned by a single owner or group”, with games in the off season between April and September. Cricinfo's “sources” said the matches would be day-night one-dayers staged in stadiums hired from their owners.
There’s more: “Each player will be a free agent, and able to contract with any team he desires. Salary caps will apply to ensure that no team is able to dominate by hiring the top players only. Every year there will be a draft system which will enable weaker teams to pick up talent which otherwise would not be available to them.”
Much of that has come to pass, of course, but the article – under the byline “Loof Lirpa” - is outdated on several counts. One, it expresses the hope that it “would promote increased interaction between players across the subcontinent, thereby reducing tensions". Two, it suggests that the scheduling would be around County cricket – enough said! And three, it makes no mention of Twenty20.
Cricinfo’s always been a step ahead of the rest but that would have been a step too far!
Full postDelhi bank on bench strength
Before the 2010 season began, would you have bet on Delhi Daredevils fielding David Warner, Paul Collingwood, Andrew McDonald and Farveez Maharoof as their four overseas players while leaving Tillakaratne Dilshan and AB de Villiers on the bench, and
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Before the 2010 season began, would you have bet on Delhi Daredevils fielding David Warner, Paul Collingwood, Andrew McDonald and Farveez Maharoof as their four overseas players while leaving Tillakaratne Dilshan and AB de Villiers on the bench, and still fashioning a comfortable win?
That Delhi are the second-placed side on the IPL table is a testament to their team selection, their bench strength and their willingness to gamble their way out of trouble. The trouble began with Dilshan and de Villiers losing form, then Wayne Parnell got injured and flew home, while Daniel Vettori was playing for New Zealand until March 31. The injury to Dirk Nannes, out for a week after sustaining a finger injury, was the latest setback Delhi had to overcome, against Rajasthan Royals, and they did.
All was not well in the Indian contingent either. Ashish Nehra started injured and still is, Gautam Gambhir was also sidelined for a few games, and Virender Sehwag has fired only once.
Any of the other IPL sides would have rolled over and succumbed to such adversity but Delhi have found performers in players like Mithun Manhas, Dinesh Karthik, Umesh Yadav, Amit Mishra and other less celebrated names when the star attractions failed.
Full postA 100 Twenty20 caps
Albie Morkel, the allrounder who has represented South Africa, Titans, Durham and Chennai Super Kings, is the first to play 100 Twenty20 matches
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Albie Morkel, the allrounder who has represented South Africa, Titans, Durham and Chennai Super Kings, is the first to play 100 Twenty20 matches. He reached the milestone in Chennai’s game against Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad.
David Hussey, who has played for Australia, Australia A, Nottinghamshire, Victoria and Kolkata Knight Riders, needs only four more caps during the IPL to join Morkel. With players increasingly plying their trade for Twenty20 teams across continents, expect several more to join them soon.
Full postAn away game at home
What’s the point of being the home side when your makeshift "home venue" is certainly going to be filled with fans supporting the opposition
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
What’s the point of being the home side when your makeshift "home venue" is certainly going to be filled with fans supporting the opposition? That is what the Deccan Chargers will be asking themselves tomorrow, when they walk into the DY Patil Stadium on the outskirts of Mumbai, one of their three home venues this season, to take on … well, the Mumbai Indians.
Sachin Tendulkar gets cheered everywhere in India anyway so why give his team the added boost of an "away" game at home? It’s far from certain that Deccan’s two other home venues – Nagpur and Cuttack – would have had more support for Gilchrist’s men than Tendulkar's, but at least there was the slim chance of it happening.
Full postWarne 1, Gilly 0
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
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Warne got it right. Gilchrist got it wrong. Gilchrist loves pace on the new ball but Warne didn’t give it to him, choosing to bowl Sumit Narwal in the first over, ahead of the quicker Siddharth Trivedi, and the much quicker Shaun Tait. It paid off, Gilchrist was out off the fourth ball of the innings when Yusuf Pathan held a skier.
When Yusuf strode to the middle, Pragyan Ojha was in the middle of an over and Yusuf loves starting out against spin, his long reach and powerful bat-swing forming a lethal combination. Symonds had words to share - Yusuf said later - Gilchrist attacked with a slip and a silly point. Yusuf sent his first legitimate ball sailing over long-off. Ojha finished the over without further punishment and the time was ripe for Gilchrist to bring on a quicker man and test Yusuf against the short ball. (Precious few teams are doing that this IPL). However, his only options were Chaminda Vaas and RP Singh and so he persisted with the slower bowlers. Ojha disappeared for two fours and a six in his next over and Yusuf had begun to run away with the game.
Lessons for future Rajasthan opponents: It may not be the wisest move to sledge Yusuf, and it’s definitely not the wisest to give him slow bowling at the start of his innings.
Full postMost Read
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