IPL final: Batting-friendly Ahmedabad pitch narrows gap between RCB and PBKS, keeps things on par

IPL final: Batting-friendly Ahmedabad pitch narrows gap between RCB and PBKS (BCCI Photo)

Going into Qualifier 1, Shreyas Iyer had managed just 25 runs – 10, 9, 0 and 6 – in this year’s IPL. Then, in Qualifier 1, the Punjab Kings captain was schooled by Josh Hazlewood. The ball bounced and moved away a touch, and Shreyas tried an ungainly hoick to get an outside edge behind the stumps. He was dismissed for 2. In the context of the game and given the nature of the surface, it was an atrocious shot which triggered PBKS’ collapse against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. On a pitch that had something for the bowlers, the PBKS batsmen looked clueless as their team were bundled out 101 in 14.1 overs. That was a free pass for RCB to the final.

The PBKS captain was rightly criticised after the game, with former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody asking him to keep his ego “inside his pocket”. “At times, you need to put your ego in your pocket and just move forward,” Moody said on ESPNCricinfo’s Timeout. “To me that was the perfect example of not reading the situation – trying to overcome something that has been a darkness in the past instead of just swallowing your pride and just moving on by just accumulating.”

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A lot of fans were not happy with the national selectors’ decision to omit Shreyas from the England-bound Test squad. But the dismissal showed Ajit Agarkar and Co. had a point. The red Dukes will move in the air and off the deck in England, and picking a player for an overseas Test series based on his IPL form is always fraught with risk.

Shreyas learnt from his mistakes and made a match-winning 87 not out off 41 balls against Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator on Sunday. It was a sublime effort – the skipper leading from the front and by example. But putting emotions aside, a flat Ahmedabad pitch lessened the degree of difficulty for him and the other PBKS batsmen. The ball was doing virtually nothing on that surface. Also, a wet outfield made the bowlers’ job even more difficult. It was one of those days when Jasprit Bumrah went for 40 runs in his four overs without a wicket.

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On paper, the PBKS batting line-up doesn’t look meaty. Four uncapped Indian players in their top six can be a disadvantage when the side is under pressure, a la Qualifier 1. RCB, on the other hand, boast serious quality and pedigree – from Phil Salt and Virat Kohli to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hazlewood. The average first innings score at Narendra Modi Stadium, however, is 178, and a batting-friendly pitch narrows the gap between the two sides. In fact, it keeps PBKS on a par with their rivals. A Mullanpur-style collapse is unlikely in the final.