IPL 2021: Is 7.30 PM start giving edge to bowling sides? MS Dhoni reacts
The ongoing Indian Premier League 2021 is the 14th edition of the fruitful Twenty20 tournament. Although the evening matches of the competition were held traditionally held at 8 PM (Indian Standard Time), it has been brought to 7.30 PM for the past two seasons.
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FollowThe 14th edition of the Indian Premier League is off to a thrilling and entertaining start. Furthermore, in the two matches held so far, it is the bowling team that has triumphed.
Notably, the evening matches of the tournament are being played at 7.30 PM (Indian Standard Time), moving away from its traditional 8 PM start. While the IPL governing council decided to do so, keeping in mind the slow over-rate the teams tend to produce; it has somewhat aided the bowling sides, feels Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni.
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"You have to look ahead. When you have dew in your mind and are batting first, you want to get those extra 10-15 runs - that was normally in 8 PM start games. A 7.30 start means the opposition will have at least half an hour when there will be a very little amount of dew on the field, which means it will not come on as nicely as it will in the second innings. So, you have to score those 15-20 extra runs to make it even, and after that, also you have to get early wickets to make a big mark on the game," said Dhoni after CSK's opening game loss to Delhi Capitals in Mumbai on Saturday.
"Dew was one factor that was playing on our minds right from the start. That is the reason why we wanted to get as many runs as possible. Looking at the wicket, our batters did a very good job to reach 188 because the first few overs, the wicket was a bit tacky, till the dew set in, which was a good 45 to 50 minutes after the start of the game," he added.
Dhoni also reckons that if the dew is persistent, a target of 200 would be a winning total, batting first. Also, he feels that the teams batting first should eye a good start in the opening half an hour.
Although the teams bowling first have won so far, the opening game between defending champion Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore went down to the wire, with the latter chasing it down off the final delivery. Nonetheless, CSK was outplayed by DC in the batting department, as despite a 180-plus target set by the former, DC's limitless batting chased the total down with ease and winning by seven wickets.
