IPL Slowdown:Missing Aussies,Too Much or Too Serious Cricket

The IPL started off with a big bang. The first few matches were full of fireworks, albeit mostly from the batsaman. We saw great innings from McCullum, Hussey, Gilchrist, Symonds, Sehwag and co. These innings set up the stage perfectly for the later half of the tournament when the qualification battle would have been closer and fiercely contested.

Unexpectedly, after the initial Big Bang, the IPL macthes has surprsingly meeked into low scoring and boring affairs. Recent examples of KKR, CSK, DC, MI, DDD, all matches were around 100-150 runs, something no one expected and no one wanted. There are a few factors which seem to have contrived together and serve up the trash that we are witnessing lately.

First and the most obvious reason is the missing Australians, the power players. Players like Mathew Hayden, Symonds and Michael Hussey required no effort in putting the ball past the shortened boundaries. With these guys and the Kiwis off, the power hitters have been greatly reduced and we can witness sedate innings from the likes of the Dravids, the Laxmans and the Uthapas. An anaomoly is Ponting and it is good that he is back else would have soured his reputation further.

The second reason and the one which I believe is the primary reason could be the amount of T20 cricket that is being played. One match per day and two matches on holidays take a heavy toll on the players. The teams are playing every third day and are flying every thrid day. With the table being close, the teams are not even rotating as no places are guaranteed. With this hectic schedule, it is hard to expect the players to maintain the same level of performance for the IPL time frame. Added to the fact that the fitness of Indian players is not exactly world class, the IPL matches are slowly loosing momentum. Overworked and tired players can never provide entertainment but will spread the tiredness to the game itself.

Serious cricket could be another reason. The IPL intially started off with the players not taking the matches seriously. But now with the world media following the players,  the points tables  so close,  the players have started taking the matches seriously.  Losses are hurting  the teams as can be seen by Dravid's emotions after every RCB loss. At the end the players are professionals and no one wants to loose. This might have changed the IPL matches into more serious and tactical battles rather than the initial free flowing games. And tactics  never go hand in hand with entertainment. A big eaxmple is the tactical battle between Manchester United and FC Barcelone in the Champions League semi finals. A battle of the romantics turned into a battle of tactics.

The bowlers are finallay starting to get a foothold in T20 cricket and are getting their act together. A lot of slower ball, slower short pitched off spinners, short balls can be seen. The bowlers have finally worked each batsman out and are targetting their weaknesses than just throwing the ball 22 yards.

And finally how can we forget the pitches. Most of the pitches started as batting beauties. But with so many matches and no time to rebuild, the pitches have started to wear down. This helps the bowlers and ties down the batsman tremendously. Expect more low scoring matches in the second half as the ptiches will detetiorate further. The semis and finals are in Mumbai and we could be in for minefields. Remember how the Wimbledon center court degrades from a full grass lush court to a barren court during the second week.

This is my take on the gradual IPL slowdown which we are witnessing. It could be one of these reasons or a combination or totally different reasons, but no one can deny that the gung ho cricket of the initial stages has gone missing.