Tuesday, May 19, 2009Grafters vs Blasters. Who will win this IPL?IPL 2009 has indicated an interesting shift in batting trends from IPL 2008. The overcast conditions in the initial games and difficult batting tracks have forced batsmen to take guard. They have switched to the “Grafters” mode this year as compared to the “Blasters” role most batsmen donned in IPL 2008.
Batsmen who are applying correct techniques and those who are taking fewer risks while stepping up scoring rates are the ones who have adjusted better to the conditions in South Africa. These players are relying more on skills and adaptability. Castrol Index (CI) indicates that batsmen with sound techniques, especially those with superior foot-work and an accurate judgement of the playing conditions are thriving this year. As a result they are notching up higher ratings this year than 2008. Players like Mathew Hayden, Suresh Raina, Adam Gilchrist, Jean Paul Duminy etc have adjusted faster and relied on their technical proficiency. They are spending more time in the middle and are grafting the innings without sparing punishment for loose deliveries from a bowler. The table below illustrates the role of the “Grafters” in this year’s IPL. The Boundary Hits column shows the percentage of balls hit to boundaries. The Scoring Shots column calculates the percentage of the number of deliveries off which actually a batsman scores against the total number of deliveries he faces. On an average, it is seen that players are trying to score on more balls this year than relying solely on boundaries, as is evident from the table below.
However, there will always be successful players like Virender Sehwag, Sanath Jayasuriya who will start hitting the ball from the start and will always score a high percentage of his runs through boundaries. Players like Sehwag, Jayasuriya, Hayden, Sachin, Pieterson, McCullum can switch gears in no time to wear the Blasters hat. The Grafters or the Blasters – whoever wins this IPL – it will be an intriguing story to follow.
(0) Comments
Page 1 of 1 pages
|
Recent Posts
|
