Opinion What’s an ideal T20 total?
Sandeep Dwivedi<br> Trust the captain of Indias Twenty20 World Cup-winning team,MS Dhoni,to make some pertinent points about the games shortest version.
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Trust the captain of Indias Twenty20 World Cup-winning team,MS Dhoni,to make some pertinent points about the games shortest version. Minutes after losing the tour opener to New Zealand,he spoke about how it isnt always advisable to a team to aim for a 200-plus score in the 20-over game. His argument was simple: if a team batting first scores heavily,the victory margin is usually so big that the winning captain ends up feeling a few less runs would’ve made no difference.
On the other hand,as was the case with the Indians on Wednesday,the risks involved in an all-out attack are too huge.
In the initial part of that game,India seemed all set to average 10 runs per over but ended up with a run-rate of eight. That leads to a vital question that players of this new format need to urgently answer — what is a safe,winning T20 score?
All through the Indian Premier League last year,it was seen that teams with competent bowling attacks were capable of defending 180 easily. Even in New Zealand,where the boundaries are short,a team can be expected to win if they reach around that mark.
As the shortest format is becoming more popular,it’s starting to seem that 180 is an ideal total — your batsmen don’t need to be suicidal to score it; at the same time,it gives the bowlers enough cushion to overcome a few bad overs. Of course,if the bowlers are having a collective bad day,even 200-plus can be surpassed,but that team doesnt deserve to win anyway.
So,while 200 is tempting,aiming for 180 seems to be a good plan — at least in the early part of the innings. Keep wickets in hand,and then,15 overs down,if you find yourself coasting at 135 for two,go for it.
(The author is a senior cricket writer who is currently on tour with the Indian team in New Zealand)
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