Every third innings this IPL season has produced a total in excess of 200; every third 200-plus target, including 264, has been hunted down. A six or four has been struck every eighth ball. A 300-plus score does not appear distant, and a batsman could crack the format’s first 200. The primacy of bat over the ball has never been as pronounced.
The stands have been filled to the rafters, and the audience has been entertained. But in the middle, there’s an imbalance — between bowler and batsman. Bowlers are confronted with an existential crisis that requires them to come up with variations, lest one evening they be replaced by bowling machines. Even the most successful bowler in the sport (in Tests and ODIs), Muttiah Muralitharan, believes in the absolute supremacy of the willow.
Whether T20s in extreme batting-friendly conditions are killing the sport is debatable, but they are taking several skills out of the game. One game on slightly seaming conditions exposed the susceptibility of batsmen to the moving ball. Teams could face a similar fate on turning tracks. It’s not surprising that several batsmen freeze in longer formats. That’s why the tribe of all-format cricketers is dwindling. The argument that people flock to watch sixes and fours more than a wicket is not without merit, but spare a thought for the bowler. A semblance of parity between bat and ball will make the more watchable and enduring.
