Before the Delhi Capitals’ game against the Gujarat Titans, head coach Ricky Ponting instilled in the players the same enthusiasm that opposing teams would naturally gravitate toward. He said the Sunrisers Hyderabad were setting the trend since they had broken the record for most points ever scored in the history of the major league twice in the most recent season.
Off subject a little, but for those of you who have watched football for a long time, Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the greatest ever football managers. He famously stated, “Attack wins you games, defense wins you titles.”
In cricket parlance, the famous remark means something like “attacking batting wins you games; defensive bowling wins you titles.” This has always been the standard in Twenty20 cricket, for those of you who are still confused.
The events of this IPL season have truly marked a dramatic break from the pattern that has been seen for many years. There have been five occasions in this season’s IPL where both teams in a given match have scored more than 200, and there have been 14 instances where teams have scored 200 or more in an innings (KKR-3, SRH-3, CSK-2, MI-2, PBKS-1, DC-1, RCB-1, RR-1). Surprisingly, there have only been 31 games thus far.
Also read: Gautam Gambhir considers switching ball manufacturers in the IPL 2024 after too many high-scoring matches
He also mentioned how the impact player’s regulation is to blame for this problem. None of this could be witnessed firsthand until batters have complete faith in their batting order going deep and the batters to follow. The former Australian skipper hinted at the way Travis Head of SRH batted a few days ago against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
It appears that’s where the game is headed. Obviously, a few of those [high scores] are the result of Sunrisers [SRH]. In our match, KKR scored 260 odd [272/7]. The impact player, in my opinion, is significantly influencing how teams are batting. Last night, you observed how Travis [Head] batted. It’s not possible to bat in that manner unless you have faith in the players below you and bat deep in your batting order,” NDTV Sports cited Ponting as saying.
I believe that the 2017 IPL may be won by more aggressive batting by Ricky Ponting
In addition, Ponting shared his thoughts on the unusual rules of the IPL in comparison to the Big Bash League and earlier IPL seasons (prior to 2023). He believed that the teams that were more aggressive in their approach and went for the kill at bat would have a higher chance of winning this season.
“The greatest defensive bowling teams frequently win major competitions like the Big Bash and the Indian Premier League in Australia. However, with the way the IPL is going and the new rules it has introduced, it appears that the club most eager to take on bowling and attempt to get some extremely high totals will win. He continued, “I believe that offensive batting may be more important in this IPL than defensive bowling.
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