Bengaluru, April 16 Amidst a spate of scores in excess of 200 in Indian Premier League (IPL), Sunrisers Hyderabad posted a record-breaking 287/3 on their way to a 25-run victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru -- and ignited the age-old debate of one-sided matches in which bowlers become cannon fodder in white-ball cricket.
With big hits galore, Sunrisers Hyderabad reached 287/3 in 20 overs, the highest-ever score in IPL history and the fact that RCB lost by just 25 runs proves how much things were against the bowlers at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
South African spinner Tabraiz Shamsi triggered the debate online with a post on X, formerly Twitter, as he questioned the rationale behind having such one-sided matches for batters.
Asking the fans where they enjoyed the one-sided contest, Shamsi wrote in his social media post whether there was a need to have pitches and boundaries that would allow for more of an even contest between bat and ball.
"As a bowler obviously I'm going to be biased but I'm just curious.
"Do people enjoy games like these where bowlers are just getting smashed out of the park almost every ball or is it better to have pitches and boundaries that allow for an even contest between bat and ball?" wrote Shamsi in his post.
Shamsi got a lot of support from fans on social media with one fan asking authorities to "have mercy" on the bowlers.
"I hate these games where there is no contest at all. I prefer 70-metre boundaries and 160-180 runs target," wrote a fan in response to Shamsi.
Another fan supported him. "Absolutely not. This is not cricket ICC and BCCI are destroying cricket. The charm of one's and two's is just different. There should be a balance b/w bat and the ball otherwise it will be hard to save this beautiful game," said the fan in his post.
With many other cricket experts supporting Shamsi, it is clear that people feel there should be an equal battle between the ball and bat. But with big scores getting a lot of attention from sponsors, it does not look like such thoughts will get enough traction among administrators.
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