It's hard to have a surprise moment when the IPL has already hit over 1,100 tournament sixes. But here, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma chased down 167 within 10 overs as Sunrisers Hyderabad joined the growing list of big scores in the tournament. These were the most runs ever scored in the first half of an IPL innings. There was no danger. Everything that was launched went into orbit and disappeared from radar.
Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting said in an interview with ESPNcricinfo: “I never thought scoring 300 points was impossible, but it seems possible.'' If Sunrisers had batted first at the speed of sound, there would definitely have been 300 in pursuit against the hapless Lucknow Super Giants.
IPL 2024 saw a significant increase in the total amount. The record for over 200 points is 37, but that number has already reached 35 in the 2023/24 season. Behind this statistic is a decisive change in approach to the game, highlighted by Punjab Super Kings' desperate comments. Captain Sam Curran. “Cricket is turning into baseball,” the England all-rounder said after his team chased the world record 262 by more than an over against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Series of runs is at the heart of T20 cricket's brand value. Engagement is everything, and virtual reality is more fun than real life, right? The deafening silence that greeted Virat Kohli's dismissal in Sunday's match against Delhi made me wonder if someone would pull the plug on the electric current that ignited the entire match. It was something like that.
Pitches are carefully selected with the batter in mind. “The wicket is very flat, very compact, very good scoring,” Delhi opener David Warner told AFP. “And when the limits are small, you get very high scores. In the old days, there were turns and you couldn't get scores like that,” the Australian opener continued. From about 75 yards for a boundary he went under 65 yards and had more opportunities to clear the ropes.
Some have complained that the introduction of the impact player rule last season has made the game's funding even more favorable to batters. This allows teams to substitute players mid-inning depending on the match scenario, which revolves around batting depth. “The impact player rule has played quite a role… When you try to put a batsman or batsman all-rounder in number eight or nine, it becomes a long batting line-up,” KKR paceman Mitchell Starc said. Most expensive player in IPL auction history.
“Flat pitches, narrow boundaries, quick outfield. This is what we call IPL. Target 278,” Pakistan fast bowler Junaid Khan wrote in X after SRH hit 277 for three in late April. Attack first. “Is this real cricket or stick cricket?” Junaid said in another post. This question conjures up images of anything-goes PlayStation fixes. Even when Yuvraj Singh hit 66 in an over, it felt unreal.
There are men with flesh and bones on the pitch. He's not a computer-animated fielder standing still while another electronic controller whizzes the ball into a crowd 300 feet away. Sometimes it feels like the IPL is a culmination of blockbusters, but there's limited value in watching a ball fly unless it's hit with Kohli's beauty.
That doesn't mean bowling skills won't be rewarded. Jasprit Bumrah has taken 20 wickets in this tournament with an economy rate of less than 6.5, making him nearly two runs better than the other players in the top five. “In this format, the ball swings two overs. When I want to bowl more, I play Test cricket. It satisfies my desire. This format is good for bowlers as there are time limits and rules for impact players. It's a little difficult,'' the Mumbai Indians spearhead said.
It's a hitter's game and always has been. “It's like a video game,” commentator Simon Katich said as Tristan Stubbs hit another six on Tuesday. He's not wrong.