Can pace ace it? – W V Raman

The CSK fans are excited with the latest signing of their favourite team. Dewald Brevis, the exciting young batter from South Africa will join CSK in the second half of the IPL. While Brevis might add some firepower to the CSK batting unit, the Super Kings are a bit short of firepower in their fast-bowling unit. Generally, it is in this facet the foreigners add great value to the franchisees. Of course, a lot of fast bowlers have come through in India in recent times. However, it is the pacers from abroad who crank up speeds in the mid 140’s and around 150 kmph consistently. But Bhuvi, Siraj, Harshal, Khaleel and Prasidh, have shown that you can pick up wickets if you are crafty enough. It is great to watch a genuine fast bowler generate pace and disconcert batters with extra bounce. Of course, this is the perception when one is 100 yards away and not out there in the middle.   

It is interesting to see how the bowling line ups stack up around the halfway mark of the tournament. Mumbai Indians have Boom & Boult, and their efficacy will ameliorate now that they will bowl in tandem. Bumrah’s return to playing cricket could not have come at a better time as far as MI is concerned. Their arch-rivals Super Kings have depended on spin to do the trick, but things have not gone according to plan. Khaleel has done a wonderful job for them this year, but Pathirana has not lived up to the expectations.

The Royal Challengers pacers have been brilliant. Hazlewood has bowled fast and has made the new ball dart off the surface quite a bit. The extra bounce that he generates along with the seam movement has made him a delight to watch. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has complimented Hazlewood’s pace and seam well with his trademark swing and variations in pace. But their spinners have been off and on, which has proved to be the problem for the Royal Challengers.

Delhi Capitals, have a great weapon in Starc who uses the new ball to great effect. His yorkers at the tail end of the innings have been extremely effective and their spinners support him tremendously. Their neighbours, the Punjab Kings have Arshadeep and Jansen, who have the wherewithal to rattle the best of batters. Two left armers seamers bowling in tandem is very rare and the Punjab Kings are maximizing that advantage. The will miss out on the services of Lockie Ferguson, but their spinners have proved to be a handful and have supported their seamers well.

The Rajasthan Royals had to wait for a while for Archer to find his rhythm after an indifferent start. Archer needs better support from Sandeep Sharma and Deshpande for them to become a potent bowling unit. Sandeep Sharma is experienced enough and has to deliver during the clutch moments. Deshpande has been expensive, and the RR think tank needs to work out where to use him. The Sri Lankan spin twins have been effective enough, but they need to find a solid fifth bowling option.

Gujarat Titans have Rabada in their squad but his return to South Africa put the onus on the Indian seamers. Mohd. Siraj and Prasidh Krishna have stepped up nicely and their ability to pick up wickets has been invaluable. The spinners have been excellent, especially the left arm spinner Sai Kishore. Rashid Khan is in the process of finding newer methods to assert his authority, because the batters are a lot more assured against him these days.  

There are three teams that depend on spinners or the pace off kind of bowlers for different reasons. KKR is at the top of the pile when it comes to going all in with the spinners. It is almost a given when a side has Chakravarthy, Narine and Ali in its line up. But the likes of Nortje and Russell can work up some pace when the conditions are suitable. However, Chakravarthy and Narine can manage even on highways given the bag of tricks they have in their armory.

Sunrisers Hyderabad have Cummins and Shami but the surfaces they get at home forces them to take off the pace. Cummins is adept at varying his speeds and lengths, but Shami is still stuck to doing what he does best, making the ball seam. While Cummins can keep the batters guessing because of his variations, Shami has become too predictive. Shami needs some help from the pitch, if he has to make the ball deviate from the surface. LSG have pacers who can take the pace off on the tacky surfaces they get at home. Thakur has been their top-notch performer while Akash Deep has been struggling for form this year. Avesh Khan has a key role to play to make up for the below par performance of Akash Deep, something he did with aplomb against the Royals. Pant will also need his spinners to be on top of their game and support the pacers, if they have to get to the knock out phase.

Generally the IPL pitches are flat or spinner friendly, and hence, having genuine fast bowlers in a team is a boon. The sides that have done well so far have the benefit of a genuine quick or even two in their ranks. With the race hotting up, Mumbai Indians will be hoping that their quicks step up and deliver the goods. The quicks are needed for two reasons, firstly to manage the powerplay and secondly to peg back those who can’t smash pace. And then finally, to reverse the ball and provide sheer joy to those watching the game.