IPL 2020: Teams adopt this new strategy while batting on the UAE pitches

Bengaluru, October 11: The Indian Premier League (IPL) template over the years has been big hits, breezy knocks and bowlers save a few being reduced to sobbing school kids on flat tracks. The beginning of the IPL 2020 too told us a similar story.

Rajasthan Royals started the IPL 2020 with a bang once posting a total in excess of 200, and once chasing down a 200+ total, the highest chase in IPL history. Brace your seat belt as the IPL caravan was headed to the cemented highway!

However, as the tournament has entered its second leg, the IPL 2020 has slowed down a bit with teams redesigning their strategy either while batting first or chasing a target.

The match between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday (October 11) offered a case in point, along with Saturday's match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings. We will take a look at the RCB match first.

The Royal Challengers were 117 for 4 at the end of 17th over. Hardly T20 stuff. But in the last three over Virat Kohli took risks as RCB posted a 160+ total, a frenetic period that started with Kohli and Shivam Dube hammering Sam Curran for 24 runs in the 18th over.

The aim of Royal Challengers, as revealed by skipper Kohli later, was to reach a 150+ total as the RCB camp felt it was enough on a slowing down Dubai pitch. It proved right too as Chennai Super Kings struggled to force pace on a sluggish trampoline as RCB bagged two points.

A similar story unfolded on Sunday. Sunrisers Hyderabad paced their innings well to reach 158 for 4 and Rajasthan Royals were behind the eight ball till the 17th over losing five wickets in the process. But Rahul Tewatia and Riyan Parag played calculated innings to take the Royals home after four defeats in as many matches.

It was not the slam bang chase by Tewatia and Parag but they selected their bowlers, assessed the field placing and then took the risks. Rashid Khan is certainly the MVP in white ball format and Tewatia neutralised his threat with wonderful hitting, hammering three fours in a row off a full toss and two deliveries that drifted to his zone.

It was not eye-catching innings but rather well thought out moves like in a game of chess. Take Kohli's unbeaten 90 off 52 balls on Saturday against Chennai. It had contained no less than 50 singles and that is totally ante-T20.

Of course, the matches are being played across just three venues in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai and the pitches are feeling the wear and tear of constant matches. Singles and well-run doubles are gaining importance in this IPL 2020 along with those beefy hits as the ball are gripping more and coming on to the bat that bit slow.

It has also made bowlers a bit more relevant in the IPL 2020 with matches are being played on an increasingly level playing field. It may not be a thrilling sight for many but at times even a slow-paced thrillers can be charming.