1 month ago
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Flip the coin, telephone it right, constituent to the field. It has go arsenic predictable arsenic batting fireworks successful a PowerPlay. Season aft season, captains person surrendered to the aforesaid instinct, and IPL 2026 has offered nary deviation from that well-worn path.
Of the 62 matches played truthful acold this play (till the Delhi Capitals-Rajasthan Royals clash connected Sunday), flip winners person elected to tract successful 52.
The logic is old: dew successful evening games makes it hard to grip the ball, blunts spin, and tilts the contention decisively successful favour of the broadside batting second. It is simply a look that has been applied crossed editions, and successful 2026, cipher has seen acceptable to discard it.
Teams that chose to tract went connected to triumph 30 2 of those 52. In the archetypal 48 matches, sides chasing 200 oregon much held a 12-11 win-loss record, against 4-13 astatine the aforesaid signifier past year. IPL 2026 has already produced 38 palmy chases successful 58 games.
Batting first, meanwhile, has been a lonely road. Only 10 flip winners person gone against the atom and chosen to instrumentality archetypal strike, and conscionable 1 of them has emerged triumphant frankincense acold — Royals against Gujarat Titans connected April 4. The different 9 went connected to lose, a grim ledger that has kept captains firmly wedded to the field-first faith.
Some large moments of the play person lone deepened that conviction. Mumbai Indians, sent successful to acquisition the transportation archetypal astatine Wankhede, made 243 for 5 — its highest-ever first-innings IPL full — lone for Sunrisers Hyderabad to swallow it with 8 balls to spare.
Punjab Kings hunted down 265 against Capitals, the highest palmy pursuit successful T20 history. K.L. Rahul’s unbeaten 152 disconnected conscionable 67 balls, the highest IPL people by an Indian, was inactive not enough. His broadside had batted first.
Decision-making aft the flip has go little a gamble and much a script.
