Kolkata Knight Riders v Deccan Chargers at Kolkata - Apr 20, 2008
Deccan Chargers were all out cheaply for 110 and failed to even complete their quota of 20 overs. The pitch was breaking apart and the ball was turning and seaming. It is obviously difficult for a team batting first on such a track, as most teams would like to set targets of at least 150-160 runs in any T20.
Kolkata struggled as well with wickets tumbling and not much impetus in the strike rate either. But since the total was low, the side batting second can phase the innings and keep wickets intact. Then it would just be a matter of getting a good over or two to scrape home...
Well that is exactly what happened. It just took one over for the match to turn on its head. Deccan Chargers had done well to keep the pressure despite the low score. Vaas (bowling with a shortened run up), Ojha the left arm off spinner was turning it square and so was Scott Styris with off-cutters! Kolkata needed about 64 odd runs from 54 balls, when Symonds the star all-rounder came in to bowl.
He began banging the ball and it flew over Gilchrist's head or darted around for byes/wides. He gave away nearly a dozen odd runs as extras. Perhaps seeing the purchase Styris got, he could have stuck to off-spin or slow off-cutters....
But the bigger question here is that, even on a lively bowler friendly track - does T20 as a format do justice to bolwers? Perhaps not as much, since the wide ball rules are too stringent- and it could be double edged for bowlers as well- if they seam or spin it too much....
Bowling is a sparse scoring format (wickets happen after many balls and not with an exact science) and T20 is perhaps just too tight on bowlers- as getting the better of a batsman - even a few times in an over - does not guarantee reward, and may in fact result in runs- as in inside edges, top edges and as in this match- hurt by extras as well.
T20 has a long way to go to get the balance between bat and ball even reasonably right.
Saumil
Mumbai,
Apr 23, 2008
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