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. 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.