From Mahendra Singh Dhoni to Virat Kohli, every captain in the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League used the same strategy for the first 15 matches. How successful were they? Read on to find out!
T20 is a game of unpredictability. With the length of the contest being so short, the course of a match can change in a matter of few deliveries. And in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the sheer quality of players involved means any result is possible even from dire situations.
Case in point - the opening match of IPL 2018. Chennai Super Kings' chances of making a winning return to the tournament were all but over, before Dwayne Bravo decided to hit a barrage of sixes right at the end and tilt the match in his team's favour.
All eight franchises have hired A-grade former cricketers and analysts to maximise their chances of producing a winning formula. Every team has at least one legend in its coaching ranks - Ricky Ponting (Delhi Daredevils), Shane Warne (Rajasthan Royals), Mahela Jayawardene (Mumbai Indians), Jacques Kallis (Kolkata Knight Riders), Muttiah Muralitharan (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Daniel Vettori (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Stephen Fleming (Chennai Super Kings), and Virender Sehwag (Kings XI Punjab).
While there can never be a foolproof plan to win, the first 15 matches of the 11th edition of IPL have followed a distinct pattern. Each team has tried tweaking their playing XIs, batting orders and bowling combinations for the winning strategy, but there is one pivotal plan followed across the board. In the first 15 matches, every captain who has won the toss has elected to bowl first.
For a tournament with such uncertainties, this is surely the most definitive game-plan to emerge so far.
Here are summaries of the first 15 matches of IPL 2018
Match 1: MI vs CSK - CSK won the toss - CSK won the match
Match 2: KXIP vs DD - KXIP won the toss - KXIP won the match
Match 3: KKR vs RCB - KKR won the toss - KKR won the match
Match 4: SRH vs RR - SRH won the toss - SRH won the match
Match 5: CSK vs KKR - CSK won the toss - CSK won the match
Match 6: RR vs DD - DD won the toss - RR won the match
Match 7: SRH vs MI - SRH won the toss - SRH won the match
Match 8: RCB vs KXIP - RCB won the toss - RCB won the match
Match 9: MI vs DD - DD won the toss - DD won the match
Match 10: KKR vs SRH - SRH won the toss - SRH won the match
Match 11: RCB vs RR - RCB won the toss - RR won the match
Match 12: KXIP vs CSK - CSK won the toss - KXIP won the match
Match 13: KKR vs DD - DD won the toss - KKR won the match
Match 14: MI vs RCB - RCB won the toss - MI won the match
Match 15: RR vs KKR - KKR won the toss - KKR won the match
This streak of winning the toss and electing to bowl first was broken in the 16th match by KXIP skipper Ravichandran Ashwin. However in the 17th and 18th matches, normal service resumed as Ajinkya Rahane (RR) and Ashwin elected to bowl.
As you can see in the aforementioned table, the strategy of opting to bowl first has been quite effective. Ten of the 15 matches were won by choosing to chase. While CSK, RCB, SRH and DD won the toss thrice in this period, KKR won it twice, KXIP once, with MI and RR not having any luck with the coin.
But why this obsession with chasing? Two possible reasons are likely to be behind it.
Firstly, franchises seem to be convinced that the wicket will remain true through the course of the match. One would surely like to believe that a captain has a good look at the 22 yards before taking a call, but the same decision taken in 15 straight games cannot be a coincidence. With smallish grounds, lightning fast outfields and a flat track, teams back their batters to chase any score.
Another crucial factor could be the absence of premier international bowlers. Mitchell Starc (KKR), Kagiso Rabada (DD), Mitchell Santner (CSK), Pat Cummins (MI), Nathan Coulter-Nile (RCB) and Lungi Ngidi (CSK) are some of the big names missing from this year's tournament. With teams being batting heavy, having a target to chase seems the right way to go.
Whether or not this trend will continue through the tournament remains to be seen, but one thing is certain, the fact that teams elected to chase in the first 17 out of 18 matches is an indicator of the gulf between bat and ball in T20 format.
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 "(L - R) MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in action during IPL 2018")
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