TACTICAL ANALYSIS
Follow UsAfter finishing third and fourth in the table, Lucknow Super Giants will face Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator. The winner of this match will face the loser of Qualifier-1 - Rajasthan Royals - on Friday. Here are a few tactical plots that could go against a few key batters from both teams:
Du Plessis up against the best left-arm pacer
In this edition, Faf du Plessis has an average of 20.2 against left-arm pacers with five dismissals, his biggest nemesis. Interestingly, he had averaged 111 with two dismissals against the bowling type in the last edition and was striking at over 150.
Coming back to IPL 2022, only Ruturaj Gaikwad of Chennai Super Kings has got out to left-arm pacers on more occasions (6). Mohsin on the other hand has picked up 13 wickets at a strike rate of 13.4 and an average of 13.2. Among bowlers who have picked up 10+ wickets, his average is the best and his strike rate is the fourth-best for a pacer.
Fourth stump and wide outside off lines in PP against de Kock
In the powerplay, de Kock’s strength is when bowlers have bowled on the stumps. He has been dismissed only once against pacers and has struck at 171.8.
However, when bowled on the fourth-sixth stump line, he strikes at 113, and against wide outside off deliveries, he has a strike rate of 117.2. His five out of the six dismissals inside the powerplay have come when bowlers have bowled these lines.
Who better than Josh Hazlewood to exploit this particular weakness of de Kock. In T20s, Hazlewood has the upper hand against de Kock. In six innings against the bowler, de Kock has an average of 12.7 with three dismissals. Adding to the fact, Hazlewood has conceded at an economy of 6.9 and has two wickets of left-handers when bowled on the fourth or fifth stump line this edition.
Krunal Pandya holds the key against Maxwell
One of the reasons behind Glenn Maxwell’s success in IPL 2021 was his game against spin. He had an average of 52.8 and a strike rate of 154.4 against spin in the 2021 IPL. He has been even more effective in terms of strike rate (190.9) than last year. But, his average has dropped down and that has been because of his age-old problem against left-arm orthodox bowlers.
In this edition, Maxwell has averaged 10 in six innings with three dismissals against left-arm orthodox bowlers. In addition, against Lucknow’s only left-arm spinner Krunal, his numbers aren’t great. In 13 innings against Krunal, he has an average of 28.3 with four dismissals.
Plenty of spinners in Lucknow’s armory to exploit Kohli
In the most crucial last match of Bangalore, Virat Kohli showed no signs of his rustiness. However, his 2022 IPL season has seen no consistency, the biggest problem for Kohli. In the eliminator, he will be up against a team that has a plethora of spinners, his biggest weakness this season.
This weakness is something that has been ailing Kohli for the past three seasons. In IPL since 2020, among batters who have faced 150+ balls against spin, only MS Dhoni (85.3) has a lower strike rate than Kohli’s 105.8. To worsen it more, his balls/boundary ratio of 12.9 against spinners is the worst in this category. In this edition, among batters with 75+ balls against spin, his average of 24.5 and strike rate of 107.7 is the second-lowest.
Saving Bishnoi at the slog overs, a ploy against Karthik
Dinesh Karthik in the last five overs has scored over 200 runs at a strike rate of 215.2 and has been dismissed only twice in this phase.
In the slog overs, apart from the Yorkers, Karthik has scored over 190 on all lengths against pacers. To be precise, there is no weakness for Karthik against pacers in this phase. However, one of the ways to keep him at bay is the wrist spin of Ravi Bishnoi. It is a huge gamble, but worth risking. The reason is that Karthik in IPL since 2020, averages 4.3 in 17 innings against legspinners with eight dismissals.
Can Hooda overcome the challenges of Hasaranga?
Deepak Hooda has had a memorable season of IPL. The 406 runs scored are the most for him in a season and the four 50+ scores are also the most.
In this season, Hooda has an average of 54.3 against spinners with three dismissals in 10 innings. All his dismissals to spin have been against legspinners and he averages 24.7. This means Wanindu Hasaranga will be his biggest challenge. With 24 wickets this season, the Sri Lankan spinner is the second-highest wicket-taker. More to Hooda’s agony, Hasaranga has picked up 14 wickets at a balls/wicket ratio of 11.9 against right-handers.
Test match lines against KL Rahul in powerplay
Yet another season of IPL with 500 runs for Rahul, fifth in succession. Post his explosive season of 2018, Rahul has changed his approach in the powerplay. He takes a bit of time before he goes on attack mode. In this phase, pacers have managed to keep him silent by attacking the stumps.
In this edition, when pacers have bowled around the off-stump channel, he has a strike rate of 80 inside the powerplay. The strike rates (68.2) are even lower when bowled on the stumps. However, when bowled wide outside off, he has a staggering strike rate of 191.3.
