IPL 2019 | T20 game is heavily tilted in the favour of batsmen, says Ajinkya Rahane

04/09/2019

Rajasthan Royals’ skipper Ajinkya Rahane admits that the shorter format is more suited in favour of batsmen as compared to bowlers after the recent incident involving Chris Lynn and Dhawal Kulkarni. Kulkarni got an inside edge off Lynn and the ball hit the stumps but did not dislodge the bails.

The match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders turned out to be a low-scoring affair which the latter went on to comfortably win by eight wickets. However, things could have been much different if KKR opener Chris Lynn was dismissed earlier in the innings off a Dhawal Kulkarni delivery.

The RR pacer managed to get an inside edge off Lynn’s bat and the ball went on to hit the stumps as well. However, it failed to not dislodge the zing bails and the ball went on past the boundary ropes and was awarded a boundary in favour of the batsman.

RR skipper Ajinkya Rahane mentioned that the T20 format often favours the batsmen more as compared to bowlers. Rahane felt the umpires on the pitch should have declared the delivery a ‘dead-ball’.

"The rules are rules. Having said that, maybe the boundary could have not been counted. I told the umpire, at least don't declare it a boundary. The T20 game is already heavily tilted in the favour of batsmen, and in such a situation, a ball can maybe be declared a dead ball. That was my conversation with the umpire," Rahane told reporters at the post-match press conference.

The loss against Dinesh Karthik & Co. at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Sunday was the home team’s fourth loss in five matches in the ongoing IPL. However, Rahane opined that there is no need to panic just yet.

"I think there's no need for us to panic yet. Out of the five matches that we played, we lost badly in just one game. We played well in our last four matches, out of which we could have won three. When you're losing, you can risk overthinking. But when you're winning, you don't dwell on things that much.

"It's not too late for us. If we can improve and apply ourselves, the desired results will surely follow," Rahane added.