Picture Credit: Hotstar/BCCI/IPL
IPL 2021 has gone off to a brilliant start as the fans have witnessed some really exciting matches in the first few days. Most of the contests have been extremely competitive and have gone down the wire. In such close contests, there are a lot of crucial things that take place on the field that often go unnoticed. One such thing happened during the first innings of the match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings on Wednesday.
"One bounce, One bounce," says Jonny Bairstow to the fielder
After Punjab won the toss and opted to bat first, the SRH bowlers put them on the backfoot as they utilised the hot conditions in Chennai to perfection. It was in the 8th over when something happened that left the fans in a bit of confusion. As Chris Gayle played a shot towards fine leg, SRH wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow was heard saying, "One bounce, one bounce," as the ball went to the fielder. Khaleel Ahmed followed the instructions and threw the ball towards the striker's end in one bounce.
What was the reason behind the same?
We have often heard keepers asking the fielders to throw the ball directly to avoid the dew on the field. However, with match number 14 being an afternoon game, it was a completely different case. The conditions in Chennai were very hot and the plan behind bouncing the ball on ground was to get the ball old as soon as possible. Notably, the older the ball gets, the more assistance it gives to the spinners as it starts gripping more on the pitch, increasing the challenge for the batsmen. Meanwhile, an old ball is soft so it becomes hard to hit such a ball while comparing it to the newer ones or a ball in better condition.
Here is the video of the incident:
With SRH are playing the contest with two spinners in form of Abhishek Sharma and Rashid Khan, their plan was quite clear. The strategy did reap benefits as both the spinners started to bamboozle the Punjab Kings batters, leaving them clueless. While Rashid Khan dismissed Chris Gayle in the very next over, Abhishek went on to take the wickets of Deepak Hooda and Moises Henriques.
With David Warner's side nailing their tactics to perfection, it will be really interesting to see if KL Rahul will follow the same strategy when they come to defend the total. Notably, Punjab Kings are also playing this contest with two spinners in form of Murugan Ashwin and Fabian Allen.