In their bid to restrict big hits, young Indian spinners are gradually losing the art of getting drift in the air and turning off the pitch, feels Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan, who is also a strategic coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
Analysing the disappointing trend of spinners not spinning the ball, he felt that young tweakers had been bowling somewhat quicker, leading to the ball coming straight and making the batters go after them.
“The problem in India is that most spinners are not spinning the ball because they are bowling a little quicker. If there is no spin, there is no deviation (drift),” said Muralitharan during the pre-match press conference ahead of SRH’s Sunday meet against defending champion Chennai Super Kings here.
“The batters face throwdowns at the nets, and most of the balls come in straight. So, the batters have made up their mind accordingly, and they look to hit it. But, when the ball deviates, the batters’ brains don’t know how to react. So, the spinners need to learn how to spin the ball to have a better chance.” CSK has lost two successive matches and will be hungry for a win at home, while SRH, too, went down to Royal Challengers Bangalore in its last game.
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While dew played a heavy factor in CSK’s last home fixture, Murali feels another high-scoring contest is on the cards, while they will be aiming to play a good brand of cricket.
“It’s going to be a high-scoring contest because the game has changed and scored over 200 being chased. The coaches and players are also using the Impact Player rule very well,” he reckoned.
Murali said if Chepauk is on drier side then there will be turn on offer.
“Haven’t seen the wicket yet. If it’s dry, there’s more chance for spin, and it will be a different ball game.
“It is an ever-changing deal. This pitch has a huge bearing on it, and the teams have been preparing rather flat wickets. Teams are also looking into strike rates a lot as they want to maximize the 120 deliveries available.” Murali said he is happy with the brand of cricket that his team is playing in this edition.
“We are looking to play a particular brand of cricket. We have lost a couple of games along the way, but despite the results, if the team plays according to the style of cricket we want to, the coaches will be happy.
“A team can’t win all the games, and there are going to be defeats. If we can win 60% of our games, we have a great chance to make the playoffs.” IPL 2024 has seen 200-plus total being posted quite frequently, while some of them are also being chased down.
With the Impact Player rule having made a significant impact this season compared to the last one, Murali felt that the bowlers, too, will come up with a counter-attack plan shortly.
“For any new rule, it takes one or two years to fully understand it. This year, the teams have adapted to the Impact Player rule well, resulting in an extra 20-30 runs,” he explained.
“It’s more advantageous for the batter than the bowler because they are not afraid to get out, as they have an extra man to make up for it.
“Also this year, the wickets have been very flat, and the outfields are very fast, which has also been resulting in those extra runs. As a result, once a good total of 170-180 is now 220-230.
“But, the bowlers will come up with something. We don’t know when and what, but they will as they won’t stand back and accept it as the batters’ game.” While SRH has used five pacers in the event so far, Umran Malik is yet to be introduced this season.
When asked about him, Murali admitted that the batters had gotten used to his raw pace and that he had been working on counter-attacking them.
“Umran is doing well. He is still young and is not that experienced. He had a great season with us when nobody knew him. When bowlers come in fresh to bowl at that pace, it is a challenge for the batters before they get used to it. That’s what happened to him.
“He has to change his bowling and learn how to counter-attack them, and that’s what he is learning and training with us. When he is ready, he will have his chances,” he signed off.
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