IPL 2020 | Dew will play a huge factor as tournament progresses, notes Aaron Finch
Aaron Finch has noted that dew will start playing a huge factor during the course of the tournament, with the conditions becoming slower favouring spin bowlers. He also noted that Josh Phillippe might develop into an excellent batsman even lower down the order, with his immense talent.
The fate of the tournament has been pretty much pre-decided by sides, with the weather conditions only going to get tougher and tougher for the teams. The first few days of the competition has painted a clear picture of what to expect - slow tracks assisting spinners with heavy dew in the second half. While a few sides, including Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, have struggled to get themselves on pace with the conditions, Royal Challengers Bangalore have brilliantly adapted themselves to such a playing field.
In their first encounter against Sunrisers Hyderbad, the RCB bowlers led by Yuzvendra Chahal picked up seven wickets during the last four overs to send the Sunrisers packing from a commanding position. However, RCB’s opener Aaron Finch noted that dew will start playing a huge factor as the tournament progresses, making it tough for spinners and pacers to grip the ball.
"The dew will play a big part in the tournament. The last three games, the game at Sharjah (yesterday) and our game here, there was more dew than expected," said Finch, reported TOI.
"I think as the games go on and there will be lots of games played over and over on the same wickets, the wickets will get slower and the dew factor will become even more. You still have to play at our best. You can't use that as an excuse. If you happen to bat first on a slow wicket, you have to adjust to that and come up with plans to give yourself every opportunity to be successful in all conditions,” he added.
While RCB made a big statement with their win, their lower middle-order’s form is still a concern. Barring the likes of AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli, Josh Philippe and Shivam Dube failed to capitalize on the chances to take the Bangalore side to a big total. In narrow circumstances, those late efforts did not affect the side but in the future, it might come back to haunt them.
However, Finch was absolutely unfazed about Philippe’s performance and admitted that he will only get better by the time. The Australian also reckoned that the Sydney batsman’s skills and temperament will help him immensely during the tournament, having being slotted into the middle order for the first time in his career.
"He is someone who has got so much talent. He can play a number of roles. We have seen how successful he can be at the top of the order (in Big Bash). He has got a lot of talent, lot of skill. If he is given enough time, he will start to develop into his (current role) beautifully," said Finch.