Delhi Capitals prove the proverbial banana peel for Punjab Kings

For the second time in 24 hours, the captain who opted to field in a must-win match found out that chasing isn’t always the best way to approach a match on a pitch you don’t know what to expect from. Unlike the previous day’s match, however, the team defending a big total was extremely sloppy and did not deserve to win the match. But that is T20 cricket, and all that matters is the result and in this case, it was Delhi Capitals who emerged victorious to leave Punjab Kings staring at elimination from the IPL 2023 playoffs.

On Wednesday in Dharamsala, Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and, uncertain of how a fresh surface would play, decided to field. Licking their lips, Delhi racked up 213 for the loss of just two wickets and defeated Punjab by 15 runs to prove the proverbial banana skin that teams in the tight race for the IPL playoffs desperately want to avoid. Handing the advantage to a team with nothing to lose proved Dhawan’s low point of the match, and for the record he was out first ball during a massive chase.

A day before, Rohit Sharma won the toss in Lucknow and immediately chose to chase, stating that he was not sure how the surface at the Ekana Stadium would play or what a good total was on that strip. As it panned out, Rohit’s decision proved the wrong one, as did his odd choice to not bowl out his two spinners, and Mumbai Indians jeopardized their IPL 2023 playoff chances by losing by five runs to Lucknow Super Giants.

As the tournament moved to its northernmost point of Dharamsala, it was the turn of Rohit’s storied opening partner Dhawan to err at the toss. The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium has hosted no competitive cricket since the outfield there was re-laid this year – the reason India and Australia could not play a Test match at the venue – and for the IPL’s 64^th match the pitch was a brand new one.

Now, while the rule of thumb in T20 cricket has become to chase, there are enough instances of this backfiring, particularly in must-win matches. And yet captains are not learning. They keep sticking to trends and blundering.

Earlier this week, in a match Sunrisers Hyderabad had to win, Aiden Markram opted to field. Shubman Gill scored his first IPL century, Gujarat Titans confirmed themselves a top-two finish and SRH were out of the playoffs. A couple days before, David Warner chose to field and PBKS smashed DC by 31 runs. On May 12, Hardik Pandya gave MI first use of the best batting strip in the country, the Wankhede Stadium, and the home team smashed 218/5 to beat GT by 27 runs. On May 7, Krunal Pandya won the toss, put GT into bat in Ahmedabad and looked on as the hosts posted 227/2. Lucknow were hammered by 56 runs.

There is a school of thought that says that if you are not sure of how a pitch will play, just bat on it. This has never been truer in the IPL than the last 24 hours, during which Rohit and Dhawan opted to chase and saw their teams lose.

Of course, given their poor bowling attack, Mumbai have preferred to chase but this has been largely successful at their home ground, which is the best place to bat in India. Rohit, well aware that the Lucknow track would get slower as the evening wore on in very warm and dry north Indian conditions, made the mistake of putting himself and MI under the pressure of chasing 178.

The next evening, Dhawan made the same mistake. His decision was based on not knowing what kind of total was gettable, but Dhawan effectively handed the match to DC by saying go have a bat. This may have been a new batting strip, but given the ground’s history and the high altitude of Dharamsala, you knew runs were up for grabs.

As it panned out, Punjab’s bowlers had a bad day and the relegated DC stormed their way to 213 for the loss of two wickets. That was a gettable target on the day, given how Liam Livingstone kept hopes flickering with 98 off 48 deliveries, complete with nine sixes. And Delhi were awful in the field, dropping three catches and missing two run-outs.

But in a must-win game, putting your batsmen under pressure makes little sense. In T20s, the moment the target exceeds 180, the chasing team is under the kosh. In 120 balls, getting 200 is very tough. It is doable, no doubt, but in this edition of the IPL, where dew has not been a factor as it was in past seasons, this routine of chasing has proven the downfall on several occasions.

The Dharamsala track was one which Delhi’s struggling batsmen would have loved to have played on earlier in the season. Warner belted 46 from 31 deliveries; his opening partner Prithvi Shaw, back in the 11 after a month only because Mitchell Marsh was unfit, made it out of the Powerplay for the first time in eight inning on his way to 54 off 38; Rilee Roussow earned promotion to one-down and reminded his critics of what he can actually do, larruping six fours and six sixes in a rousing innings of 82* from just 37 balls. And Phil Salt, pushed down to No 4, hit 26* from 14 deliveries.

What was Punjab’s response to a target of 214 in a match they had to win to stay in the playoffs race? Face out a maiden over to start the chase, followed by a golden duck to Dhawan who edged straight to slip. Set an asking rate of 10.7 before a ball was bowled, PBKS found themselves needing 11.50 an over after two overs, which escalated to 12 after three. A flurry of boundaries from Prabhsimran Singh and Atharva Taide revived the score to 47/1 after six overs, but by then the asking was 167 from 84 balls.

Axar Patel removed Prabhsimran just after the timeout, by which time PBKS needed 12.30 per over. The match had slipped out of the grasp of a team with a misfiring batting lineup. Even giving Livingstone a life on 3 and Taide on 35, both chances put down off the bowling of the very unlucky Kuldeep Yadav, did not prove a big difference to DC given how it was their day from the toss. And for this, they have a note of gratitude to give to Dhawan for his decision to chase, for bowling Harpreet Brar for the 20^th over of their innings and for the odd decision to bring in Taide for Sikandar Raza, all so PBKS could play Kagiso Rabada who conceded 36 runs in three overs.