EXPERT COLUMN
Follow UsIn the last few years in the Indian Premier League, one thing that I have come to love is how the spinners have taken the centre stage during the Powerplay. This has become a story of insane regularity. The mindset of the players as well as the tactics of the skipper have played a huge role in that regard. Looking at someone like Rashid Khan or Harbhajan Singh or Washington Sundar, you can clearly sense the changing dynamics of modern-day cricket.
Even if a bowler goes at eight-an-over, it's 50 runs. Let’s say, 50 for three. Then it’s an even-Steven game. They have to rebuild the innings. You’re spreading out the field, which means you're cutting out the boundaries after six overs. If the bowlers bowl well, pressure is created on the batsmen to hit it over the fielder. In such a scenario where even your faster bowlers, who did not bowl in the powerplay, will have the luxury of setting a field where they do not concede many boundaries. That establishes the control of the fielding side over the game.
If a spinner has to bowl in the powerplay, he has to be very accurate and have a big heart. It would be well worth it if the bowler can go and take a look at the pitch. Assess what kind of a pitch it is going to be and decide what is going to be a strong delivery — i.e., the delivery that you’re going to bowl 80% of the time. You can set a field only if you know what deliveries you're going to bowl 80% of the time. It plays a huge part in deciding the entire course of the game.
If I were to bowl as a leg spinner, I would probably bowl a lot of leg breaks. I'm going to have a predominantly offside field. And if I have the captain’s support, then I would have a slip, backward point and cover point inside the ring, fourth would be extra cover, and five would be long off. My deep fielders will be long off and deep cover because I'm going to go leg breaks. And I'm going to be bowling a drivable length. If the ball turns, it will go to slip. Otherwise, if the batsman drives and finds the gap, it will go too deep cover.
If he drives straighter, it will go to long off. The men on the leg side would be inside the ring. If he wants to hit against the spin or turn, then let them take the risk. My mid-on and Mid-wicket will be very straight. The most important thing I will do is to try to be as accurate as I can be and change the pace. And whenever I come to bowl the first ball of any over, I'll be concentrating more than 100%, because modern-day batsmen, if they want to make a big over, they like to charge the first or second ball of the over and try to hit a boundary.
Mindset is important
In sports, how a player approaches his game is the real determinant factor. Somebody like Imran Tahir will be much happier spreading the field out and bowling, because he knows that, even if he bowls a bad ball, there is a fielder to protect the boundary. There are a lot of bowlers out there with that kind of mindset. Somebody like Ashwin would be saying that ‘even if I go for a boundary, I’ll look for a wicket’. The thing is, whether you're looking to contain or whether you're looking to take a wicket. That instruction has to come from the captain. Even if I'm bowling three overs in the first six, there has to be clear communication between the captain and the bowler and how many overs he is going to bowl. Or, are they going to take one over at a time?
The curious case of two overs
There have been occasions where the bowler has bowled a really good first over, taken a wicket, and is removed from the attack. That's quite understandable. If a bowler is settled into a rhythm from ball number one, I think you should — if he's a spinner, especially — finish him off. Because then, you have the liberty to spread out the field if the fast bowler is used. But a lot of data analytics have gone into play. Now teams have identified, for example, over number one and seven, don't cost too many runs.
How Kookaburra impacts T20 cricket
On the Kookaburra new ball, the seam is much more pronounced and better to grip. As the ball gets older, the seam gets embedded in the ball. And it gets a little more difficult to grip. Kookaburra balls are machine-made balls. Every ball is pretty similar. When it is a handmade ball, there would be a slight difference between each ball. Even in 1985, when we played the World Chairmanship of Cricket, we were using the Kookaburra ball, and one ball on each end — like they're doing now.
The seam used to be far more pronounced in the earlier stages of the game than the later stages. Only when you grip the ball properly, can you release it properly. In most teams, the spinners select the ball. It's important for a spinner to be able to get a good turn. For the seamer, he must have two fingers over the seam and they can do whatever they want. But for the spinner, all the fingers are used on the ball, with the thumb as support. It's very difficult to get going against the spinners right away because the batsman might be stiff to play straight away.
If I was told that I was going to bowl in the powerplay, I would probably bowl at least 12 to 15 balls before I take the field. When I take the field, it should feel as though I'm bowling the third over. In longer versions of the game, you give yourself two overs to settle down. In the T20s, I don't have that luxury.
