No fewer than 14 of the first 15 matches have been won by the team batting second in the latest edition of IPL. The only exception has been the first match played in Bangalore, when Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 227 after batting first and beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 45 runs.
Expressing his views on this trend, talented Delhi Daredevils’ batsman Karun Nair who shared a 134 run partnership with Quinton de Kock against RCB said that the teams have become smarter nowadays and can make strategy to counter any situation.
“You can put it down to teams being smarter over the years,” Nair said on Friday (April 22).
“They have come to a certain strategy that they know how to chase and when to go after which bowler. In the past years, chasing has been a problem for every team. Every team has really worked on that. Probably that’s why teams are winning chasing.”
Where have the teams batting first fallen behind? “Probably the batsmen have gone for too much batting first and have fallen behind. As the tournament progresses, you will see the balance will shift again,” Nair said.
Nair’s team is on a roll as they scripted two superb victories in a row after a nightmare start against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Delhi Daredevils will play Mumbai Indians in their next encounter. Mumbai Indians have started the tournament slowly and have won only 2 games out of 5. Speaking about them, the right hander said that while Daredevils have the momentum, taking the two-time champions lightly could be a mistake.
“We have momentum on our side but Mumbai Indians are a good side – they are the defending champions. Whichever team plays well on the day will win. We are just concentrating on our process. We’ll give it our best on the ground and the result will take care of itself.”
Speaking about his preparation against a strong bowling line up of Mumbai Indians, the batsman said that his team-mates are not preparing differently for this game.
“The preparations are the same for every game, I don’t think we prepare thinking about the opponent. We just prepare on what we need and what we need to be concentrating on.”
The Delhi franchise have built a team around youngsters this year and Nair feels that it would help them.
“The good thing is all of us are young and we want to improve every day. Everyone is looking forward to make the most of the opportunity and are very hungry to do well for the team. The intensity is also very high when we are fielding. Being a young team, that is going to help (us).”
Nair also emphasized the importance of having great Rahul Dravid and Paddy Upton in the coaching staff.
Praising them, he said,”Honestly speaking, they haven’t tried to change me much at all. They have just told me ‘whatever you’re doing, just keep doing the same way and don’t try to change anything. Just be who you are and play your natural game,.”