Beyond the headlines: MI's opener gambit, GG's opener gambit, & an academy tussle!
Beyond the headlines; MI v/s GG, Game 19 of the WPL
MI beat GG by 9 runs, ensuring at least a top 2 finish. After Harmanpreet Kaur (54 off 33) & Amanjot Kaur (27 off 15) gave MI a slightly above par total of 179/6, GG seemed to collapse while chasing. They were at 92-6 after 13.1 overs, but a battling performance from Bharti Fulmali (61 off 25) almost pulled off a miracle.
But, what happened beyond the headlines?
MI needs to stop trying to force fit Amelia Kerr as an opener, GG should try a new opener but not Kashvee Gautam, & the titanic Gautam v Amanjot 5-ball tussle came straight out of a nine-year battle on the training ground!
MI’s Kerr gambit is asking for a miracle
Written by Ritwika Dhar. You can follow her on Twitter.
After Yastika Bhatia’s struggles at the top (38 runs in 5 innings, at a strike rate of 84.44) MI have tried Amelia Kerr as an opener in the last 2 games. Kerr’s form, which is pretty bad even at No. 5 this season (47 runs in 4 innings, at a SR of 88.7), hasn’t changed. Across 2 games as an opener, she’s managed just 15 off 22.
Before this WPL stint as an opener, Kerr had opened just 18 times in T20s, scoring 546 runs at a SR of 107.48 (versus a career SR of 115.50). Her most efficient career position has been No. 5, where she scores at 127.68 (the only slot above 115). At all other positions, except No. 6 (114.01), she has a strike rate below 110 in T20s.
Kerr’s numbers in the powerplay also raise concerns. Across 57 T20 innings (irrespective of batting position), she has scored at just 89.7 in the first 6 overs, at a dot-ball percentage of 50.2%.
In the WPL, this struggle is particularly evident against pace, where she has managed 149 runs at a SR of just 108 and an average of 18.6. In contrast, she has been far more effective against spin, scoring 251 runs at a strike rate of 126.1 and an average of 31.4.
Additionally, at the Brabourne Stadium, where MI will play their remaining games, Kerr has had success at No. 5. She’s scored 33 runs in 2 innings at a strike rate of 157.14.
Meanwhile, Bhatia, despite her recent struggles, has scored 113 runs in 4 opener innings at a SR of 131.29 and an average of 28.25 at this venue. Given these numbers, MI might want to revert to their traditional batting order.
Data from ESPNcricinfo.
GG’s opener experiment could use another tweak
Written by Shayan Ahmad Khan. You can follow him on Twitter.
In an interesting move, GG promoted Kashvee Gautam to open the batting with Beth Mooney. Earlier in the tournament, Kashvee had scores of 20 off 15 (coming in at 43/5 in the 9th over), 0 off 1 and 9* off 3 (which included a six when the required rate was 13 off 7) at number seven, five and seven respectively. So there is some batting talent there.
Why did they have to make the move? GG had already tried three opening partners for Mooney – Laura Woolvardt, Dayalan Hemalatha and Harleen Deol. They combined to score just 51 runs off 76 balls in 7 innings. Unsurprisingly, GG were comfortably the worst batting side in the powerplay overs before tonight.
Kashvee Gautam had a control percentage of only 40% in her first ten deliveries against MI’s opening bowlers - Shabnim Ismail and Nat Sciver-Brunt - tonight. She did manage to score a couple of 4s on the legside off full deliveries on the stumps, but there were a few swings and misses too.
Against the left-arm finger spin of Parunika Sisodia, she looked uncomfortable, and nearly got out off a caught & bowled. Finally, against off spinner Sanskriti Gupta, the pressure told as she was stumped via a quicker delivery (97 kph, versus an over average of closer to 80 kph) after stepping out to try and hit it.
After the match, GG captain Ash Gardner made a point of saying that her team needed to improve their powerplay scoring, and that Gautam had shown promise in the nets and previous games. But, is the young pacer really the best option in the GG XI?
Phoebe Litchfield is an Australia international that has opened the batting 19 times (Ave: 19.05, SR: 108.88) and played at first drop in 57 innings (Ave: 26.15, SR: 125.23) in T20 cricket. Although she’s struggled in the WPL (168 runs at an average of 14 in 13 innings, at No. 3 or lower) and has a better record against spin than pace in the powerplay, she has more experience for the opener role GG are looking to fill.
Additionally, if GG are looking for a pinch-hitter, Gardner could consider Bharati Fulmali. She played a brilliant innings of 61 (25) tonight, including 14 off 6 balls, hitting three fours – a cut shot, lofted drive on the offside and a pull shot – against Sciver-Brunt. However, she only faced one ball by Ismail.
Before today’s innings, Fulmali had played a similar innings against DC, putting up 40 (29) in another death overs innings. She has not batted in the WPL powerplay yet, but the same could have been said of Gautam before tonight. Fulmali has proven that she can handle all comers and hit them out of the ground from ball one though, and that could be the solution to GG’s powerplay woes.
Litchfield is the conventional choice, while Fulmali has proven to be more disruptive against the best bowlers on both MI and DC - GG’s potential opponents in the playoffs. Either would probably be a better option than Gautam.
Data from Cricmetric & ESPNcricinfo.
Amanjot v Kashvee was off the training ground
Written by Krithika Venkatesan, who works as a talent scout with RCB. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
In 2016, Amanjot Kaur and Kashvee Gautam joined Coach Nagesh Gupta’s academy in Chandigarh as his first two Women cricketers. Initially, they played on the same team, rarely competing against each other. Soon though, as the academy introduced match simulations, they often bowled and batted against each other.
Although Kaur moved switched from the Chandigarh team to Punjab, both continued to train at the same academy and continued to have rigorous routines against each other. Nine years later, on the WPL stage, they faced off in a contest that their coach would have enjoyed.
Before Gautam came on in the 17th over, Kaur was on 13 (10) with just one 4. But, she knew what to expect from the GG pacer, and knew she could charge down the pitch to get herself some quick runs.
Kaur knew Gautam would target the outside off pitch line, and try to bowl it fuller to her. Kaur moved from the middle to the off stump to give herself some room to swing the bat. While Gautam bowled as expected, Kaur’s attempt at a reverse lap fell short.
On the 2nd delivery, Amanjot anticipated a similar line and length and was ready for it. When Gautam marginally missed her length, Amanjot made full use of it, muscling the ball to deep mid-wicket for a boundary.
On the 3rd delivery, their years at the academy came to Kaur’s experience. She knew that Gautam starts her run-up slightly away from the non striker's stumps when planning a slower ball. Kaur was ready for the 82 kph delivery (down from an average of around 106 kph in the over), and put it away for another boundary behind point.
On the 4th delivery, Gautam made a simple mistake, pitching in the slot on the leg stump. Kaur took full advantage, dispatching the ball over deep square leg for 6. Suddenly, the MI total had ballooned from a weak 124/3 in 16 overs, to a much healthier 138/3 in 16.4, with two set batters at the crease.
However, Coach Nagesh’s academy didn’t just benefit the MI all-rounder. Gautam knew that Kaur preferred the cover, square and mid-wicket regions, and that she tends to avoid going over a pacer’s head. Kaur struggles to get under the ball, and often doesn’t get the proper elevation.
But Gautam knew how to tempt her. The GG pacer angled a cross-seam delivery in from outside off at a good length. Theoretically, Kaur had the option to play through mid-wicket, but she couldn’t resist the straighter shot.
But the longer 68 metre boundary - compared to the side-on boundaries that top out at 58 metres - was just a little too far. Kaur couldn’t generate enough power, and Gautam had the last laugh as the ball fell neatly into Ash Gardner’s hands at long on.
Data from Krithika’s own tracking.
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