Team Analyses, T20 bowlers & Karthik talks RCB fans
Best Cricket Stories of the Week, 6th to 12th April 2024
“The IPL started in 2008, yet RCB have continually chosen (via their recruitment) to have a top-heavy, batting-strong roster. They either haven’t worked out that this doesn’t work in T20 cricket, or are more focused on the commercials which the likes of Kohli generate”; Dan Weston had a couple of fantastic IPL team analyses, including this one on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and another on the Delhi Capitals.
“In an IPL where two bouncers an over was supposed to be game changer and empower fast bowlers, it is these slower deliveries – especially the cutters, which are banged into the pitch – that are making it challenging for batsmen to fetch boundaries”; Indian Express’ Venkata Krishna B has a great piece on why pacers have had success with the slower balls this year.
“This duo has developed a bond akin to that of a father and daughter. He wears his affection for the pacer on his sleeve and that perhaps explains why he has been her confidante when life took her to difficult places”; Sportstar’s Lavanya Lakshmi Narayanan writes about the relationship between Arundhati Reddy and former India coach Biju George, and how the latter has helped the former from changing state teams, to her WPL team, to support as she’s found herself in and out of the national team.
“The salient question facing Test cricket today is really less of quantity than quality. Far from being an anomaly, the three-month gap between Tests should actually be viewed as a model for how the five-day game and T20 leagues can co-exist”: The Telegraph’s Tim Wigmore writes about why the 98-day gap in Test cricket this year could be an early proof for a new way to schedule the cricket calendar. [Paywall]
“The pitches would need to be grown in the US, and it became immediately obvious to Hough the lack of understanding about cricket in a country that boasts no discernible pedigree in the British colonial game could prove problematic”; Cricket Australia’s Andrew Ramsey writes about the Adelaide Oval’s “pitch doctor” who was roped in to build pitches for a T20 World Cup halfway across the world.
The 81 All Out crew discuss what impact bowlers can have in the T20 format, and how to judge their performances in a game where there job is to be hit for entertainment. [Apple Podcasts]
SportifyWithPRG’s Pranav Gandhi sits down with India chief selector Ajit Agarkar to discuss how Virat Kohli proved to be a fitness benchmark for Indian players, how Dhoni’s brain is better than the fantastic data-led modelling that exists for cricket decision-making, and some of the dilemma’s facing the selection committee ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Dinesh Karthik & Ravichandran Ashwin have a lovely chat going back to their early days in the Indian team. My particular highlight was hearing them rave about Yuvraj Singh and that over against Stuart Broad where he hit six 6s.
Strike Rate’s Dan Weston & Jack Hope talk to former international and successful coach Paul Nixon about how cricket analytics can be an asset to coaches in the modern era, and how the two expertises can mesh for the betterment of a team.
Jarrod Kimber has a great look at how different batters perform when it comes to seeing through long IPL innings. Who goes from ball one, who sticks it out as anchor, who fluctuates between the two depending on the phase. KL Rahul’s numbers a particularly interesting.
Editor’s Note
If you would like to receive this newsletter to you on WhatsApp when it is published, please message me here (or, on WhatsApp at +91 9972009893, if that link isn’t working).
If you have friends, colleagues, or anyone else that would like to receive this roundup every day, please share this Substack with them! Every extra reader matters.