Playoffs reversing bowl-first trend?

After Sunrisers Hyderabad successfully defended 162 in the Eliminator - a total they thought was below par, a total their opponents Kolkata Knight Riders felt they should have chased without much trouble - captain David Warner revealed he had contemplated what no other captain will admit to. He was actually torn between batting and bowling first had he won the toss. This in an evening game, when pitches usually get better to bat on during the chase, with dew playing a part too. In the league stage, the team batting first only won 11 of 44 evening games.

This has been a chasing tournament: before the final day of league matches - a day of high-pressure games - totals were defended only 16 times in 54 matches. Yet, starting with that final day of league matches, things have been different. Sunrisers themselves failed to chase 172 against Knight Riders, a result that forced them to play the Eliminator. It took an innings "a million times better than any hundred" AB de Villiers to prevent Gujarat Lions from defending 158 in Qualifier 1. That too in Bangalore where you might as well not bother with the ball if you've only scored 158. Then, on Wednesday, Sunrisers went ahead and inflicted a 22-run defeat - the same margin as their previous meeting - on Knight Riders while defending 162.

What has changed? Have the pitches finally become tired or is it the pressure of the big matches? The latter shouldn't be an issue - four of the six World T20 finals have been won by sides chasing - but Warner is a bit of a traditionalist. "I am a believer of runs on the board," he said. "In these kind of games. In these pressure situations runs are a lot handier. When you see a total of 160, you can be in two minds as a batting unit. You can either get off to a good start and have positive intent or you can try to get through the first six and set a platform to the end.

"There is always going to be pressure in every situation but with runs on the board you can always feel a little bit ahead of the game. Always chasing on a wicket like this, it is hard to start. You saw when they lost wickets in clumps and we didn't let them have a partnership going, it was hard for the new batter to come in and play shots. The pressure was on the other guy at the other end. That's what happens in this format. If you get two new batters in, it is very hard when you are chasing."

The Delhi pitch, where Warner played a lot as a Delhi Daredevil, played a big part in his assessment, never mind that England won the World T20 semi-final here at a canter while chasing. "I have played here in the past where it has been pretty low and slow where there is no grass on the square," Warner said. "I feel they have done a very good job. It's a wicket that suits - you look at Jason Holder and Morne Morkel - the length they bowled was very hard to hit. You know, tall bounce, hitting the wicket, sort of skidding on bail-high. Very hard to get going and trying to hit and have release shots."

Early on in the tournament, when winning the toss and electing to field was almost half the job done, quite a few players said they expected the trend to change in the later stages. It seems to have happened, listening to Warner talk, seeing how they have defended, seeing how Lions made a game of a paltry total. Earlier if sides were batting first and lost early wickets, the instructions during the timeouts were to keep on swinging. Better to lose in 15 overs when going for a challenging total than to lose in 18 after rebuilding towards a middling total. While chasing still retains the advantage, especially with the final in Bangalore, you are likelier to see sides rebuild and make a match out of similar situations. Who knows, Warner might even bat first if he wins the toss against Lions in Qualifier 2.