Gujarat Titans' assistant coach Parthiv Patel on Friday said 'fearlessness' among batters was the reason for the huge powerplay scores in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).
Recalling that 45 was the ideal powerplay score for IPL teams during his playing days, the former India keeper-stumper said sidearm throw specialists have also helped the batters adjust to the pace.
“In the first year when I started opening, our plan was to score 45 runs in six overs, If we get 45 for one, it was considered to be a good powerplay score,” Patel told the media ahead of GT's clash against Mumbai Indians on Saturday.
“In the following editions, there was a gradual improvement; from 50 to 55, and then to 60. Having said that, we still have to look at the conditions. If you're playing in Chennai, 150 was good enough. That's why you don't expect a team to score 70 or 80 in the powerplay there," he added.
“When you're looking at all the games, generally you tend to think that 70 is the benchmark. What kind of conditions we are playing in, that matters the most, but that benchmark has definitely gone higher than 45 for sure,” he said.
Patel opined training against side-arm throw specialists has also helped the batters.
“The fear factor is not there. The batters are definitely playing with less fear and that's where they are very clear and they have been practicing those.
"There are certain specialists for the job and that's what is happening with all the teams. Everyone is capable enough to hit those boundaries,” he said.
Patel said such training programmes have helped Indian domestic cricketers to play more bravely.
"Sidearm specialists have definitely helped Indian domestic players because usually you don't get to see bowlers with 140-kmph speed. You see a lot of our young Indian batters playing hook and pull shots really well. I think that's where sidearm specialists have played a big role,” he added.
Patel said Gujarat Titans did not lack in planning in their opening match against Punjab Kings but praised Shreyas Iyer and Shashank Singh for their performance.
Iyer's unbeaten 97 and Shashank's quickfire unbeaten 44 powered PBKS to 243/5 and despite their strong fightback, Gujarat Titans fell short by 11 runs.
“The result didn't go our way, but if you look at chasing 244, we were just an over away from winning the game,” Patel said.
“There were quite a few positives from the game. I don't think there was any lack of planning. We've spent enough time preparing against every batter.”
“You've got to give credit (to) someone like Shashank, who did really well last year, who knows how to finish those games. Also, we've seen how well Iyer has batted in the last year or so."
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