Batter-only deal allows Marsh to take 'the game on and intimidate the opposition'

Before IPL 2025, fans' memories of Mitchell Marsh were invariably of the big Australian hobbling off the field, with headlines later confirming that he was out for the season. It could have been similar this year, but a batter-only deal appears to have worked wonders for both Marsh and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), "the golden ticket" freeing him up to focus on only one aspect of his game, as Tom Moody put it.

"I think firstly he is fit. I think in previous seasons we've seen Mitch Marsh sort of start but then find himself injured. I think a lot of that's the workload of trying to be the allrounder," Moody said on ESPNcricinfo's Time Out. "He's not bowling now, so he's exclusively a batter that doesn't field. So he's got the golden ticket. Now he sort of understands his game. This is not just recent but the last three years, four years, he's really come to terms with his game and what he needs to bring to the party.

"And that's what we saw tonight, just take the game on and just intimidate the opposition with his presence."

For the record, the 64-ball 117 he hit on Thursday night against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad took his season tally to 560 runs from 12 innings, placing him at No. 4 on the Orange Cap list for the moment. LSG are out of the race for the playoffs, but Marsh is in line to finish among the top few run-getters for the season.

What must have made LSG happier is that they didn't have to spend too much on Marsh, who has a history of injuries, at the last auction. He came to them at INR 3.40 crore (US$ 0.40 million approx.).

"He was bought cheap - a steal - and sometimes that fires you up," JioStar expert Aakash Chopra said. "Earlier, he had a big price tag and low returns. This year, he's come in differently. The Ekana pitch [in Lucknow] suits him - ball comes on nicely. And his sixes? When he hits, they stay hit. Shot selection has also improved. He's showing real class."

On Thursday, Marsh scored 60 of his runs down the ground, four of his eight sixes and three of his ten fours coming in that area, while the pull was his most productive shot, accounting for 32 of the runs he scored. Talk about power - only 12 runs came behind the wicket.

"I think he had an issue with balls coming into him before. He would get out lbw [and] bowled quite a lot," Varun Aaron said. "But now he has made an adjustment in his technique where he is really holding his shape going down the ground, and today we saw so many shots hit so powerfully down the ground. He's always had the power. I mean, he comes from Perth. He's always had the ability to play the short ball really well."

Taking over the thought from Aaron, Moody added, "The thing with Mitch, what makes him so devastating when he's on, is that you can't go upstairs [bowl the short ball]. From a fast bowler's perspective, if that's taken away from you - the short ball that can rush and hurry on to people - that's taken away from you, and you have the ability to hit the sight screen like he can, he becomes so difficult to bowl you. Your length options are so limited. He's brutal with the short ball. He really does hit the ball hard."