The IPL 2024 edition has seen stunning shows from the batters as this season has crossed 200-run mark many a times in these 31 matches. And, Head coach of the Delhi Capitals, Ricky Ponting, in a press conference before their game against the Gujarat Titans acknowledged the Sunrisers Hyderabad to be the trendsetters, with SRH breaking their own record of highest total and registered in the history of the marquee tournament in the current edition as well.
He also opined on the rule of the Impact Player which is something that has brought about this phenomenon. He also talked about the way Travis Head of SRH batted a few days back against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, stating that unless batters have full confidence in their batting order going deep and the batters to follow, none of this could be seen first-hand as well,
“Looks like that’s where the game is going to go. Sunrisers [SRH] are obviously responsible for a couple of those [big scores]. KKR got 260-odd [272/7] against us. I think the Impact Player is having a big effect on the way teams are batting. You watched the way Travis [Head] batted last night. You can’t bat that way unless you’ve got confidence in the players underneath you and you bat deep in your batting order as well,” Ponting was quoted as saying by NDTV Sports.
However, considering the peculiar regulations of the IPL unlike the Big Bash League and the previous editions of the IPL (pre-2023), he felt the teams are more rely on the batting, and the ones having the most aggressive mode would be more likely to win this edition’s IPL.
“Quite often, big tournaments like the IPL and the Big Bash back in Australia have been won by the best defensive bowling teams. But the way this IPL is going, and [with] the different rules in the IPL, it looks like it will be won by the team that’s most willing to take on the bowling and try and post some really big scores. I think it’s potentially more attacking batting that’s going to win this IPL than defensive bowling,” he again added.
However, he also gave an update on opener David Warner, who is yet to recover fully from an injury.
“David did have an X-ray after the last game. That X-ray came back all clear. But he’s got a lot of swelling around the knuckle on his left hand. We’ll give him a fitness test tomorrow morning, and keeping our fingers crossed that he’s okay,” he added while giving an update on Warner’s fitness.
“The overriding message from me to the players over the last six games is how close we’ve been. We could easily be sitting here with five wins and one loss. So, we understand how close we are and how close the tournament is, but you can’t afford to be close to being good in the IPL. You’ve got to turn up and be very good every day. We know we’ve got to get better in certain areas of our cricket. And trust me, we’re working really hard every day to make sure that we’re as well prepared as we can be,” he concluded.
