IPL 2020 | Bowlers will still mean business if they bowl in good areas in Sharjah, admits Anil Kumble

Just after one game, it has become evident that Sharjah Cricket Stadium would ulimately be the showstopper ground for the batsmen, with short boundaries. In just the first game, 416 runs were scored in between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals while 33 of those deliveries were found out of the boundary rope.

However, ahead of Kings XI Punjab’s clash against Rajasthan Royals, KXIP’s head coach Anil Kumble admitted that bowlers will still mean business if they bowl in good areas. 

"All the players are aware of the boundaries, we have practiced here a few times in Sharjah. At the end of it, you need to bowl in good areas, if you bowl in good areas you still mean business" said Kumble, reported Cricketnmore. 

The margin of errors, however, for the bowlers would remain minimal, given that the first encounter was a huge pointing factor. Barring Jofra Archer, none of the bowlers in the entire game managed to keep the run-rate under 7, which showcased the difficulty of the bowlers in such conditions. For CSK, only Deepak Chahar managed to keep the scoring rate below 7.75, which shows the amount of skill required to deliver in such conditions. 

For the batsmen, however, the pitches and the size of the boundaries would come as a blessing in disguise, in stark comparison to the other grounds in the country. Despite the long boundaries in Dubai, KL Rahul-led Punjab side scored 206 runs, which only shows their batting strength. Kumble added that the batsmen would love playing in such conditions. 

"It is something where batsmen will enjoy batting, so in bowling, the margin of error is very minimal, hopefully, we will be able to do that."