SRH seamers go pace-off to reap minor gains on batting paradise

SRH seamers went pace-off to reap minor gains on a batting paradise.

Take out Mohammed Shami, who had an indifferent day and went on to concede 75 runs, and the trio of Harshal Patel, Ehsan Malinga, and Pat Cummins combined 12 overs for figures of 6/127 at 10.58/over.

The visiting seamers, hamstrung by Lockie Ferguson's untimely injury, conceded 145 runs in 11.4 overs at 12.42/over in return for a solitary wicket.

The match was played on the 'notorious' pitch #2 – a strip where totals of 277 and 286 were posted, and a 160+ target was gunned down in fewer than ten overs.

SRH went on death bowling mode right from that point onwards. In the three subsequent overs Cummins bowled, he either went pace on and attacked the blockhole or went pace off into the pitch with nothing in between.

Harshal was introduced as early as the fourth over and bowled two overs upfront in the Powerplay – a first for him in IPL since the start of 2019.

He went pace off for all but two balls in his first spell and scalped the prize wicket of in-form Priyansh Arya, only the second wicket for him in Powerplay in IPL since 2022, the other one coming in the corresponding fixture last season.

Malinga, on his debut, scalped Prabhsimran Singh's wicket in his first over digging on into the middle of the wicket off pace.

With his slingy action, he later got the older ball to reverse significantly and pinned Nehal Wadhera in front with one that swung 2.46 degrees.

Shami, on the other hand, in his last over, bowled pace on-length balls and missed his yorkers as Marcus Stoinis carted him for four sixes off the final four balls of the innings.

In all, while SRH seamers took the pace off for 35% of their deliveries and returned with four wickets going at 11.67/over compared to 26% pace off by Punjab seamers who failed to pick a wicket with their slower ones and conceded at 13.33/over.