After months of agonizing and waiting around, the Indian Premier League, the marquee cricket tournament by the Indian cricket board and perhaps the biggest cricket event in the world, save the Ashes and the World Cup, finally kicked off this week in the UAE. Due to the surging number of COVID cases in India, it was impossible to conduct the tournament as usual, and so the UAE stepped in to provide a host for this year’s edition, just as it had done back in 2014 for part of the tournament while general elections took place in India. This year’s IPL is taking place in just three venues – Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, with the pitches expected to deteriorate and favour the spinners as the tournament progresses.
However, the first few matches have seen quite a few surprises being thrown up. Some of the teams have had disrupted preparations, with players pulling out due to injury or concerns around the virus, while others have only just arrived in the country after having finished playing for their countries. Thus, the early stages of the IPL are expected to be quite fluid, as teams work out the conditions as well as their own best XIs. This is one of the best times to be betting on the tournament as well, on esportbetting.net and other sites, with the potential for upset wins high on the cards.
Dew is already proving to be a very important factor at the toss, with teams choosing to bowl first simply to avoid having to take the ball in the second innings when the dew comes down and the ball becomes akin to a bar of soap. However, we have seen the side batting first win five out of the six matches that have taken place so far, which then raises the question of whether dew is really that important a factor. Chasing has been a lot more difficult than usual, partly due to the large boundaries but also because pace is proving to be more influential than first expected. The pitches may well deteriorate and help spinners later on in the tournament, but at the moment, the grass cover means that fast bowlers are being difficult to hit if they stick to their lines and lengths. At the same time, quality spinners are showing their class, both picking up wickets and being very difficult to score off.
In terms of the batting, we have seen some superb displays already. KL Rahul, captain of the Kings XI Punjab, smashed the first century of this year’s IPL in a huge win over the Royal Challengers Bangalore, while another Indian player, Sanju Samson, absolutely decimated the Chennai Super Kings attack in their match. Rohit Sharma was imperious while opening the batting for the Mumbai Indians against the Kolkata Knight Riders, while Rahul’s India and KXIP teammate Mayank Agarwal also put in a superlative innings in their first game against the Delhi Capitals. If the first week is any indication, it seems as though pace can cause trouble, quality spinners will be crucial, and the top Indian batsmen can still thrive. This year’s IPL, held in strange circumstances, promises to be no less thrilling and exciting for viewers.