Matthew Hayden’s advice to Jos Buttler was not technical in the conventional sense. It wasn’t a change in grip, stance, or trigger movement. It was simpler and more fundamental than any of those things; watch the ball. Not as a general reminder but as the specific correction to the specific problem Buttler had developed through […]
Matthew Hayden’s advice to Jos Buttler was not technical in the conventional sense. It wasn’t a change in grip, stance, or trigger movement. It was simpler and more fundamental than any of those things; watch the ball. Not as a general reminder but as the specific correction to the specific problem Buttler had developed through […]
Most T20 batters produce their best scoring in the powerplay, the phase where field restrictions remove the boundary protection that makes aggressive batting exponentially harder. The moment fielders spread to the boundary in overs seven and eight, the scoring rate drops because the shots that produced fours now need to travel further or find narrower […]
Punjab Kings chased 200 plus. Then they chased 200 plus again. A near-century opening partnership inside seven overs. Priyansh Arya is hitting clean from ball one. Prabhsimran Singh is extending his shot range. Shreyas Iyer is reading variations in the middle overs and targeting specific bowlers rather than rotating strike against everyone. The required rate […]
Abhishek Sharma scored at a strike rate above 250. That number usually means a batter attacking every delivery regardless of line, length, or field placement, the approach that produces spectacular highlights and equally spectacular dismissals. What this innings produced was neither the highlight reel of the reckless version nor the early dismissal that typically follows. […]
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s bowling attack in this campaign has been reduced to a single functioning threat supported by multiple bowling options that batting teams are treating as scoring opportunities rather than genuine problems to solve. Shivang Kumar has delivered impactful spells and taken wickets at important moments. The rest of the unit has consistently failed to […]
Two teams. Both are coming off wins. Neither convincing. Gujarat Titans have won matches without their middle order consistently finishing them; their top order sets platforms that the middle order converts into adequate rather than dominant totals. Lucknow Super Giants have won matches without their big-name batting producing the fear factor that those names are […]
Bowling attacks arrive at Shreyas Iyer with pre-match plans. Short-pitched deliveries above chest height, the plan that worked. Spin in the middle overs, the plan that contained him. Both plans exist because they previously worked. Both plans are now producing different outcomes because Iyer has specifically addressed both. His pull shot against short-pitched pace no […]
Kolkata Knight Riders lost to LSG in the final three overs. The total was in the 180 to 185 range, a score that should have been competitive. The bowling plan collapsed under pressure. Mukul Choudhary exploited the gaps and won LSG the match. It’s the same pattern KKR have produced before, and it cost them […]
Jamie Overton bowled two tight overs in the middle phase. Lines were disciplined. The economy was controlled. He was in rhythm on a batting-friendly Bengaluru surface, where finding rhythm as a pace bowler requires effort rather than arriving automatically. Ruturaj Gaikwad broke that spell and held Overton back for the death overs. When Overton returned […]
128 for 7. LSG needed 54 runs from the final overs. By every statistical measure available in T20 cricket, that match belonged to KKR. The required rate was climbing beyond what any lower-order partnership should produce. The bowling attack had already taken seven wickets. One more wicket and the match was finished. Instead, Vaibhav Arora […]
LSG needed runs. The required rate was climbing. KKR’s bowlers were executing their death over plans, yorkers at the stumps, wide yorkers at the toes, the deliveries that most lower-order batters either dig out for singles or miss entirely. He arrived at six or seven, took guard, and hit the helicopter shot over the boundary. […]