For all those who had inundated their Fantasy teams with as many batsmen as they could accommodate, just because the game was being played in Sharjah, there's the reality check. As it turned out, the bowlers were the torchbearers on Friday (October 9) as the Delhi Capitals not just successfully defended 185, but did so convincingly with a 46-run win over Rajasthan Royals.
The arrangement deployed at venues is moving to a different wicket on the square every two games. In Sharjah, there are only two pitches at the centre. Each has hosted two games already, and this wicket was the one that the Rajasthan Royals used in the two games they played in Sharjah earlier. While those two were belter of wickets possessing tons of runs, assisting the batsmen, this one wasn't as good for the stroke-makers. It was a bit "stoppy" and slowed down considerably in the second innings.
"The wicket did slow down a bit," said Steve Smith after the game." It wasn't as good as the first couple of games we played here. It did slow up a bit. There was a bit hold for the spinners and the seamers once the new ball sort of wore off, it started sitting in the wicket a bit."
Delhi were kept to 149 after 17 overs, but a 22-run over from debutant Andrew Tye turned the tables and propelled them to a total in excess of 180. They were just the second team to have finished with a total below 200; albeit below-par for Sharjah's standards, but enough owing to an astute bowling unit.
The Capitals' bowlers varied their pace and persisted with the slower balls. Jofra Archer, in one of the previous games here, had said the dew didn't allow him to use his cutters and other variations, but there was enough on this wicket for the cutters, the full ones and back-of-a-length ones. The spinners toyed with the uncertainty with change of pace. And with the ball offering some grip, hitting through the line became a challenge, not allowing Rajasthan's batsmen to settle while chasing 185.
"We thought it was an under par score, but it was stopping on the wicket and the bowlers executed their plans really well," said Shreyas Iyer after the game, and conceded that he too was taken aback by the pitch. "The wicket did surprise us a little bit because we thought it would quicken up with the dew. We were also going to bowl first with the dew factor, but thankfully it went in our favour," he added.
Delhi had played the Kolkata Knight Riders last week in Sharjah. They had amassed 228 in their 20 overs that night, but those weren't the targets set on this pitch. When Harshal Patel and Shimron Hetmyer were in the middle towards the end of DC's innings, they felt even getting to 165-170 would have been a competitive total.
"I think it's all about changing the lengths and pace; you can't allow the batsmen to settle and line up with one pace and one length," said Harshal Patel. "It's all about mixing it up. It was not easy on today's track with variable bounce too. Sharjah is usually a batting venue, so we needed to mix it up and vary the lengths. We did well as a bowling unit."
The wicket was tougher than what Sharjah had offered so far, but by no means was it a 138 all out wicket, highlighting further Rajasthan's growing predicaments this season.
Sharjah threw in a surprise after the ridiculous high-scorers at the start of the tournament. The bowlers then were on the receiving end of some universal sympathy with the sheer number of runs being scored across innings. As calls grew for a more even contest between bat and ball, they may have got what they wished for.
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