Dew turns IPL 2022 into a game of the second half

Dampness makes gripping the ball tough for bowlers later in the game, making toss a huge factor in the outcome of games.

Teams have preferred to chase in the last few seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and if the early matches in the 2022 season are an indication, that trend is set to continue. 

RCB scored over 200 but lost with their bowlers struggling to grip the ball due to excessive dew. (IPL)

One major factor that will force the teams to chase a target is the dew factor. It has played a huge role in the three night matches held so far - two at the Wankhede Stadium and one at DY Patil Stadium - with Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans prevailing over Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants respectively. The early game at the Brabourne Stadium also saw Delhi Capitals beat Mumbai Indians by chasing down the target after opting to bowl. 

At the Wankhede on Monday, chasing 159, Titans were struggling at 78/4 against Super Giants before David Miller (30 off 21b), Rahul Tewatia (40* off 24b) and Abhinav Manohar (15* off 17b) took them over the line. 

Super Giants skipper KL Rahul said dew played a major part. “I don't want to use this as an excuse but we have seen this over the years in IPL. It gets really, really hard for the bowlers to grip the ball in the second innings,” he said. 

CSK skipper Ravindra Jadeja and RCB captain Faf du Plessis also felt dew is a concern for the teams bowling second. 

Another factor that has contributed to teams opting to bowl in this edition is the grass left on the pitch. The reason, the curators say, is to make the pitch last the duration of the tournament as all the four venues (Pune is the other) will be hosting a number of matches over two months. 

To start with, especially in the night games, the pitches are damp before they settle down. Du Plessis said the ball came on to the bat much better in the second innings during their defeat against the Kings, who chased down a target of 205. “It was quite tough in the beginning,” said Du Plessis. Jadeja felt the same after CSK’s defeat against Knight Riders. 

As a result, in the night matches, teams have struggle in the Powerplay while batting first. On Monday, at the Wankhede Stadium, Super Giants were clueless against the guile of Mohammed Shami, reduced to 32/4 in the Powerplay, while Titans were 44/2 at same stage. 

On Sunday at DY Patil, with the ball swinging, RCB had a sedate start, scoring just 41 off the first six overs while Kings raced to 63. In the tournament opener at the Wankhede on Saturday, CSK were struggling at 35/2 in conditions conducive to bowling while Knight Riders put 43 on the board in the second innings. 

Over the years, teams have been practicing with the wet ball but when it comes to match situation, the dew and game pressure have been difficult to deal with. Rahul agrees: “This is something we will have to go back and practice again with the wet ball. We have practiced with the wet ball, but obviously under pressure, in a game situation, it becomes so much harder.” 

According to CricViz, until 2015 teams chose to chase in just over 50% of the matches. That trend started to change since 2016 with chasing teams winning 68% of the matches that season - the highest across all editions. 

According to ESPNricinfo.com, since 2015 teams have chosen to field first in 77.6% games and the win percentage is 57.5. Even when a team is asked to chase, they win 52.5% of the games. 

With teams feeling comfortable chasing, the trend will continue to rise, but the main challenge for them will be overcoming the dew factor. 

IPL 2024