India Pacer’s Fiery Rant on IPL Run Fests says, “Smaller Grounds and Flat Tracks.”
On Sunday, the fast bowler of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Mohammed Siraj, rued the lack of help for bowlers in T20 cricket, saying smaller grounds and flat pitches are making 250-plus totals the new normal. In this IPL, the mark of 250 runs has been breached eight times as batters have employed an ultra-aggressive approach, making full use of the 'Impact Player' rule and flat surfaces on offer.
After RCB overhauled the 201-run target set by the Gujarat Titans in 16 overs, Siraj said, “See, nowadays cricket is really different; now 250-260 is made in every second match; earlier, 250 was a rare thing.”
He further said, “There is no help for bowlers; there are smaller grounds and flat wickets; there is no swing in the ball, so lots of changes. Bowlers can just keep playing and keep getting hit.” Life has been hard for the bowlers, especially this IPL, as teams have looked to go for big hits to keep the run-rate high even after the powerplay.
“After one month, there is the World Cup... so I tell myself that if I get hit on a good ball, it is fine, but I need to keep bowling less bad balls. I have not really bowled too badly this IPL; now 40 runs (in the quota of four overs) is normal in T20 cricket.” Siraj, who has taken six wickets in nine IPL games so far, said luck plays a big role in T20 cricket, but he tries to keep his mindset steady.