The changing Pitch conditions after continuous use of the same in IPL 2022

However, all the league stage matches for this season are played in India. Four grounds from Maharashtra- Wankhede Stadium, Brabourne Stadium, DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai and MCA stadium from Pune- are hosting all the league matches. It was a big task for the BCCI and the curators to carry out these matches, but they have managed their job brilliantly till now. However, due to the continuous use of these pitches, they have started to show an effect now. 

The pitches at three venues in and around Mumbai, Wankhede Stadium, Brabourne Stadium, and Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, are all made of red soil. The Wankhede is traditionally a chasing ground with teams using the dew to their advantage to chase down totals. In contrast, the fourth venue, the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, is a black-soil surface. It has been a long time since the Brabourne stadium hosted a competitive T20 match, but like the Wankhede, it remains a high-scoring surface. The MCA Stadium has only hosted one T20 international game in the last four years, but there has been a tremendous shift from slow turning tracks to a high scoring venue with pace on offer.

These pitches were initially considered bowling friendly as we saw some low scoring matches and bowlers spinning their webs effectively in the initial phase of the tournament. These pitches benefited the fast bowlers significantly by offering a discomforting bounce and plenty of paces. In the initial phase of the league, many fast bowlers shined significantly. The batters had a tough time facing the pacers. Consequently, we saw several fast bowlers bowling in the powerplay overs, restricting the run flow from the beginning itself. 

However, as the tournament progressed, the pitches gradually became flat and slow, helping the batters rather than the pacers. The pacers are now turning less effective compared to their earlier performance. Bowlers like Umran Malik have gone wicketless in the past three matches. Mohammed Shami has also seen leaking runs in the last three games with a disappointing economy rate of around 10 in the three games. This clearly shows how significantly the pitch conditions have affected the fast bowlers as the tournament moved forward. Although these pitch conditions are less helpful for pacers, they are beneficial for the spin bowlers. The pitches on these four grounds have gradually developed a good turn threatening the batters to attack against spin. There are three spinners in the Top 5 of the Purple cap holder list.

However, in the era of continuous cricket, nobody wants to witness regular high-scoring or low-scoring matches. Instead, they want an equal contest between bat and ball, the hallmark of the ongoing IPL 2022. The sporting pitches have played a pivotal role in bringing that exciting duel between teams. However, quality players like Jos Buttler (499 runs) and Yuzvendra Chahal (18 wickets) have shown that different pitches don't matter that much for them, and they have the skill to perform well in any condition throughout the IPL. No player or team can say they have lost or won due to the pitch conditions, which they used to do in the previous seasons of IPL.