Think before blaming the pitches in UAE for a team’s defeat and their inability to post a big score

 By K.R. Nayar

Blaming the pitch for a team's defeat is always an easy way out.  When a team is unable to adapt to the pitch and score, this is a common excuse they resort to. If a pitch holds the key to victories, then there would hardly be any excitement in watching a batsman’s skill or a bowler’s technique.  Be it setting a small total or a batsman thrashing the bowler for sixes, pitches have always been the punching bag.

Jason Holder in full flow. Photo BCCI/IPL

There have been numerous comments floating around saying pitches for the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) in the UAE aren’t lively. When teams fail to rise to their potential, very often we blame it on the pitches. If pitches are made so that teams are able to score comfortably, how would we then enjoy the battle between the bat and ball?  

One of the common predictions has been that teams must score over 200 runs in Sharjah to win matches. On Saturday (September 25, 2021) Punjab Kings won a match there after posting a total of just 125 runs. This has been the lowest score successfully defended in the IPL at Sharjah. Over the years, this stadium has proved people wrong on many occasions. One look at the stadium and people predict that there will be a shower of sixes since the ground is not very big. But history has time and again proved that only batsmen with the ability to adapt can hit sixes here.

Punjab Kings after their splendid victory. Photo: Punjab Kings Twitter 

While reporting the last two matches from Sharjah, some of the comments from the crowd were interesting. When Royal Challengers Bangalore openers Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal thrashed Chennai Super Kings’ attack, fans were quick to point out that Bangalore must be feeling good playing in Sharjah after getting all out for 92 against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on September 20, 2021. They felt that Bangalore would gain some confidence by getting a big score in Sharjah. Unfortunately, in the last ten overs of that match, except for Kohli and Padikal, none of their batsmen were able to adapt and score. Halfway through that match, some said that the character of the pitch had changed after ten overs! So when Chennai’s Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf Du Plessis, and Ambati Rayudu batted beautifully, I wonder whether the character of the pitch suddenly changed again!

Shreyas Iyer... determined knock. Photo: IPL/BCCI

If pitches are made only to help score runs freely, how then can one witness a batsman's skills to adapt to the conditions and score? Let's look at the two matches on Saturday in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Delhi posted a challenging 154 for 6. Shreyas Iyer once again played a good knock through his sheer determination. Chasing the score, Rajasthan Royals batsmen failed one after another but their captain Sanju Samson hit an unbeaten 70. Had one or two more of the Rajasthan batsmen too batted like Samson, they could have won the match.

A cricket fans holds up a Sanju Samson poster in Abu Dhabi. Photo Delhi Capitals Twitter  

In Sharjah, Punjab managed only 125 runs, and Hyderabad’s Jason Holder almost pulled off a victory through his batting. He remained unbeaten on 47 to produce a thriller till the very last ball. All these only go to prove that batsmen who are determined and willing to adapt will be among the runs.

When Twenty20 cricket began, many had remarked that in this format bowlers were being paid to get hit. Intelligent and accurate bowlers with the ability to adapt to the wickets have proved this wrong. For a long time, there were remarks that spinners would struggle in the T20 format. Spinners like Hyderabad’s Rashid Khan and Punjab’s young Ravi Bishnoi proved they don’t bowl to be hit but take wickets. 

If runs were flowing freely from all pitches in the UAE, we may well have heard that the wickets this time are a graveyard for the bowlers!

Cricket turns exciting only when critics are repeatedly proven wrong. It is these debates over pitches, batsmen, bowlers, and mistakes made by captains that make cricket lively.