Leg spinners in fashion at the IPL | Cricket

Leg-spinners are a prized commodity in T20 cricket and they are proving that again in this Indian Premier League (IPL). It’s early days yet, but teams with good leggies are cashing in.

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Be it seasoned leg spinners or youngsters, they are all effective —orthodox, unorthodox, those bowling quicker through the air, ones looking to bamboozle with flight.

Rajasthan Royals’ Yuzvendra Chahal, who likes to beat the batter in the air, and Gujarat Titans’ Rashid Khan, who is relentless with flattish deliveries, are among the top wicket-takers this IPL (No 2 and No 3 respectively) with eight wickets each. LSG’s Ravi Bishnoi, who like Rashid is quicker through the air, is at No 4 with six wickets. KKR’s Sunil Narine has six wickets in three games (No 6 overall) while teammate Varun Chakravarthy is at No 9 (5 wickets in 3 games).

Their young teammate, Suyash Sharma, 20, also made a bright start with 3/30 on debut.

LSG are on top of the table with Bishnoi and Amit Mishra forming a good pair. RR are second and KKR third while GT, with the irrepressible Rashid, are fourth.

In their only win, leg-spinners played a big role for Mumbai Indians (Piyush Chawla) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (Mayank Markande).

After a dismal start losing the first two games, MI beat hosts Delhi Capitals on Tuesday. It is no coincidence leg-spinner Piyush Chawla had his best outing of the tournament. He bowled an impactful spell to return 4-0-22-3. From 76/1 after 8.2 overs, Chawla struck thrice, reducing DC to 98/5 in 12.3 overs.

Chawla, who has played 168 IPL games, explains the value of his tribe in T20s. “160-170 used to be a good score, now it is 190-odd. Every bowler is getting hit but leg-spinners are wicket-taking options. In this format, to stop the runs you have to take wickets, or even a run-rate of 14-15 gets chased. Because of that most teams prefer wicket-taking bowlers. Leg-spinners have that ability, because even if you change your wrist position a little bit, automatically it is a natural variation.

“You can bowl them at any stage of the game. Mostly I have seen in powerplay captains don’t use leg-spinners, but I have done that job for a number of seasons.”

After losing to LSG and RR, Sunrisers brought in Markande against PBKS. He took four wickets to help restrict Kings to 143/9, having reduced them to 74/6 in 10.4 overs by removing Sam Curran and Shahrukh Khan, both done in by the googly.

The wrong ’un also worked for Chawla against DC, nailing Rovman Powell and Lalit Yadav.

Chawla said the googly is the most effective weapon. “I don’t watch much cricket (to prepare against batters) because I feel a good ball is a good ball in any format for any batter. I just prepare, make sure I hone my skill that has helped me in my career. Everyone knows PC is going to come and bowl a wrong ’un but I still end up getting wickets. So, I am more than happy doing that,” said the former India spinner.

TOP GUNS

Chahal set the tone for leggies in this tournament, starting with a match-winning 4/17 against SRH. He backed it up with 3/27 against Capitals. SRH were choked to 131/8 and Capitals to 142/9, RR winning both games.

The best example of the effectiveness of leg-spinners was seen in the game between GT and KKR. Amid the spectacle of Rinku Singh’s six-hitting, in a game where 400-plus runs were scored, Narine and Rashid stood out. Narine took 3/33 with the wickets of GT’s top three, including Shubman Gill. Rashid was magical with a hat-trick. Bowling the 17th over, the Afghanistan ace send back Andre Russell, Narine and Shardul Thakur with the first three balls as KKR went from 155/4 to 155/7.

Rashid later modestly said it was just about “keeping it simple”. “I hit the right areas consistently. In T20 you can’t miss your line and length. That is what T20 is all about. As a bowler, I try my best to hit the right area as much as possible.”

LSG’S DUO

LSG’s bowling plan has centered around playing Bishnoi, 22, and 40-year-old Amit Mishra together. Mishra, a veteran of 156 matches, says they complement each other. Mishra has three wickets in two games at an impressive economy (6.80).

“Bishnoi is bowling well. We are different types of bowlers. He is quick in the air, so (we discuss) how and where he can bowl and against which batter,” Mishra said in an interview to the official broadcaster.

“Bishnoi’s bowling is (more of a) waiting game. I try and induce mistakes from the batters. In his bowling, when the batter makes a mistake, he will get out.

“When the ball is new, it skids more and that’s why Bishnoi is brought on early. As for me, after the ball gets old, it will spin more. I can use my variations, googly etc,” Mishra added.

RCB’s Karn Sharma, 35, has also started well. He has taken five wickets in three games. The 35-year-old took 2/26 against KKR and 2/32 against MI. Among his key scalps were big-hitters Russell and Tim David.