Ability to adapt vital in testing times for bowlers: Ashwin

Express News Service

CHENNAI: “Nowadays, nothing is safe,” laughs Chennai Super Kings’ Ravindran Jadeja on the eve of the clash against Rajasthan Royals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Wednesday when asked what would be a good total to put on the board.  It’s been the story of white-ball cricket for a while now.

The game is measured, analysed on a ball-by-ball basis with data and match-ups as batters try to be proactive through every phase of play. Irrespective of when a bowler is being brought on — powerplay, middle-overs and death — the first intention of batters in T20s is to hit them over the ropes. In the final four overs, it has been even more difficult for the bowlers.

This IPL season has been no different. In the last four overs, Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 68 runs against Lucknow. Super Giants, Mumbai Indians made 44 against CSK, Gujarat Titans and Kolkata Knight Riders scored 60 and 52 runs, respectively, in the match against each other to name a few examples of how death overs have panned in the recent games. LSG even went heavy in the middle-overs against RCB with Nicholas Pooran going berserk.

The bottom line is that to be effective as a T20 bowler isn’t easy and requires an incredible amount of skill set for each phase of play. Then there is the role of dew in the second innings. In the 15 games (until RCB vs LSG), bowlers have conceded over 50 runs in a game as many as eight times, with Yash Dayal going for 69 against KKR. In the same period, bowlers have given away 40 runs or more 20 times.

How does a bowler approach the ruthless nature of the format, when the batter is ready to hit him/her for a six? R Ashwin draws parallel to baseball to explain it. “You have to look at it like a baseball pitcher. He wants to hit a home run every ball,” he says. “Sometimes I do (feel like a baseball pitcher). Sometimes I wish I can run an extra yard and bowl, like how a batter leaves the crease,” he adds with a laugh in a select media interaction on Tuesday.

For Ashwin, it is about the four overs, the batter in front and what score is on board if the team is bowling second and adapting to different surfaces and conditions. “Recently, in the PSL, every score was ticking towards 240-250. You will have such games also coming into the fore. How much are we going to be able to handle dew? How controllable is it? I mean, you can say a lot of things, you can practice with wet balls, but still a wet ball is a wet ball. It’s going to present its own challenges. So, I think it’s about how you can adapt and get through on that particular day. I think that day, then and there, is very important.”

However, if teams are going to constantly put on big totals, surpassing the 200-run mark regularly, what is a good day at the office for a bowler. The ace off-spinner said that the role of a bowler is defined by the team management, and he believes it is getting better with good captains. “Tushar Deshpande, how he got backed by MS Dhoni after that first game. In a game where 200 is scored somebody will go for 45-50 runs, right?,”asks Ashwin.

In the past, several bowlers have been mocked and made fun of for going for runs especially in the death. However, the trend seems to be slowly changing. Dayal, who went for 31 runs in the last over against KKR, was receiving a lot of support from social media including the opponent. “(It) needs to change. It’s a mental trauma for someone. I keep thinking a batter will go make an 8-ball four and he won’t be spoken about. It’s kind of crazy, but that’s how the game is taught to us. It’s tilted so much in favour of the batters that even an ordinary day for a batter is not magnified but for a bowler it is. A bowler bowls 4 overs, goes for 25 runs, he is not given credit. So, that’s how it is. The lens is like that. We need to turn the lens around and slowly, it will. It’s going to get better.”

<br /> CHENNAI: “Nowadays, nothing is safe,” laughs Chennai Super Kings’ Ravindran Jadeja on the eve of the clash against Rajasthan Royals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Wednesday when asked what would be a good total to put on the board.  It’s been the story of white-ball cricket for a while now.</p> <p>The game is measured, analysed on a ball-by-ball basis with data and match-ups as batters try to be proactive through every phase of play. Irrespective of when a bowler is being brought on — powerplay, middle-overs and death — the first intention of batters in T20s is to hit them over the ropes. In the final four overs, it has been even more difficult for the bowlers.</p> <p>R Ashwin during a practice session in<br /> Chennai on Tuesday | Ashwin Prasath<br /> This IPL season has been no different. In the last four overs, Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 68 runs against Lucknow. Super Giants, Mumbai Indians made 44 against CSK, Gujarat Titans and Kolkata Knight Riders scored 60 and 52 runs, respectively, in the match against each other to name a few examples of how death overs have panned in the recent games. LSG even went heavy in the middle-overs against RCB with Nicholas Pooran going berserk.</p> <p>The bottom line is that to be effective as a T20 bowler isn’t easy and requires an incredible amount of skill set for each phase of play. Then there is the role of dew in the second innings. In the 15 games (until RCB vs LSG), bowlers have conceded over 50 runs in a game as many as eight times, with Yash Dayal going for 69 against KKR. In the same period, bowlers have given away 40 runs or more 20 times.</p> <p>How does a bowler approach the ruthless nature of the format, when the batter is ready to hit him/her for a six? R Ashwin draws parallel to baseball to explain it. “You have to look at it like a baseball pitcher. He wants to hit a home run every ball,” he says. “Sometimes I do (feel like a baseball pitcher). Sometimes I wish I can run an extra yard and bowl, like how a batter leaves the crease,” he adds with a laugh in a select media interaction on Tuesday.</p> <p>For Ashwin, it is about the four overs, the batter in front and what score is on board if the team is bowling second and adapting to different surfaces and conditions. “Recently, in the PSL, every score was ticking towards 240-250. You will have such games also coming into the fore. How much are we going to be able to handle dew? How controllable is it? I mean, you can say a lot of things, you can practice with wet balls, but still a wet ball is a wet ball. It’s going to present its own challenges. So, I think it’s about how you can adapt and get through on that particular day. I think that day, then and there, is very important.”</p> <p>However, if teams are going to constantly put on big totals, surpassing the 200-run mark regularly, what is a good day at the office for a bowler. The ace off-spinner said that the role of a bowler is defined by the team management, and he believes it is getting better with good captains. “Tushar Deshpande, how he got backed by MS Dhoni after that first game. In a game where 200 is scored somebody will go for 45-50 runs, right?,”asks Ashwin.</p> <p>In the past, several bowlers have been mocked and made fun of for going for runs especially in the death. However, the trend seems to be slowly changing. Dayal, who went for 31 runs in the last over against KKR, was receiving a lot of support from social media including the opponent. “(It) needs to change. It’s a mental trauma for someone. I keep thinking a batter will go make an 8-ball four and he won’t be spoken about. It’s kind of crazy, but that’s how the game is taught to us. It’s tilted so much in favour of the batters that even an ordinary day for a batter is not magnified but for a bowler it is. A bowler bowls 4 overs, goes for 25 runs, he is not given credit. So, that’s how it is. The lens is like that. We need to turn the lens around and slowly, it will. It’s going to get better.”<br />