‘Roads’, rule change and record-shattering batters

The Indian Premier League has turned into a boundary-hitting exhibition in recent years with fielders becoming spectators and spectators becoming fielders.

Flat surfaces, which are often described as ‘roads’ in this part of the world, short boundaries across venues and use of the much-debated Impact Player rule are allowing the batters to be uber-aggressive from the get-go.

Since the pitches are largely demon-free for the willow-wielders and offer little hope for the bowlers, the fielding teams are forced to look to the heavens to avoid being sent on a leather hunt. But their prayers were hardly answered in the 2025 and 2024 IPL seasons as the 200-run mark was breached 52 and 41 times respectively.

The trend of high-scoring matches could well continue in the upcoming edition if glimpses from the intra-squad games are anything to go by.

Certain factors help us understand why teams are inclined towards beefing up their batting units and outbatting their opponents.

There is a depletion of top-quality bowling resources in sides like Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants, who have been hamstrung by injuries and unavailability of some key players.

But veteran South African batter Faf du Plessis opined that over-reliance on one wing to win games could prove to be “dangerous” in a closely-contested tournament.

While analysing the SRH squad on ESPNCricinfo, du Plessis said: “There was one season when Sunrisers shot the lights out (2024). Last year was not the same, in terms of batting returns. It tried the same template, but the pitches were not as flat [as the previous season]. It did not do well as a batting department. I get that you should make one thing your strength, but it would be too many eggs in one basket. You are asking a lot from the batters.”

The fearlessness of next-gen batters is also permitting the teams to operate at full throttle. Form and reputation go out of the window when they are in the thick of things.

Punjab Kings opener Priyansh Arya’s approach is a case in point – in IPL 2025, the uncapped southpaw did not shy away from taking the aerial route against CSK left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed off the very first ball, despite being dismissed for a golden duck in the previous game. More such bold calls that lead to run fests may be in store.