IPL 2019 | Krishnamachari Srikkanth believes teams batting first to have major advantage this time

It is a common trend in the IPL that chasing teams have always had the advantage and this could be explained by the fact that teams batting first often misread the pitch and failed to score a total which would be a par total on the surface. Dew has played its part in this IPL, which makes batting slightly easier in the second half of the match, with most of the games starting at 8 PM. However, Srikkanth stated that it would be different this time around with the teams batting first will have a major advantage in this season. 

"The team batting first will have a definite advantage. Ultimately it should boil down to what the all-rounders have to offer. Reading conditions will also be vital and even home team skippers might take a game or two to understand what the strip is likely to offer. The current edition also looks the most open, with all eight teams looking quite strong," Srikkanth wrote in his column for the Times of India.

The league will commence with the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings, and looking at the head-to-head record, which stands at 14-7 in the defending champions’ favour, it is natural for a CSK fan to celebrate early, but Srikkanth wrote that no team should be taken lightly in a format as fragile as T20. 

"Cricket aficionados across the country could not have asked for a better match up to kick start IPL 2019. The two superstars, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli have expectedly hogged a lot of air time, but one must not forget that CSK and RCB are two quality sides and the game could witness a keen contest. Recent record suggests that the home team starts with a definite advantage, but there is nothing much to choose in this format. One good performance can turn the form book upside down."

CSK specialise in back-from-the-dead acts with their batting, as was the case last year, but their major strength lies with their potent spin bowling unit, which has the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Santner, Imran Tahir and Karn Sharma, that holds the key to Chepauk success. The 1983 World Cup winner believes that it is the same reason which will propel the MS Dhoni-led franchise to ask for a spin-friendly track in Chennai for their home matches.

"With three good spinners in their ranks, I expect the Chepauk track to assist the slow bowlers. And this is where the defending champions are also most dangerous. They have the batsmen to tackle good spinners and know how to stifle opposing batsmen with nagging accuracy," Srikkanth added.