Muralidaran attributes IPL runfests to league's "business" and "entertainment" side

Another day, another run-fest. The Men in Orange, powered by half-centuries from Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen, made a mockery of a massive 244 run-chase against the five-time champions. Almost every bowler was taken to the cleaners, particularly the likes of Praful Hinge and Harsh Dubey for SRH, who gave away 54 and 50 runs respectively in their four-over spells and from MI, Jasprit Bumrah and Allah Ghazanfar, who also gave away 54 and 51 runs respectively in their full quota of overs. Ashwani Kumar also got taken down for 41 in two.

Speaking during the pre-match presser, the Sri Lankan spin icon said, "It is very difficult for a bowler because these days, because of every team, not only us [SRH], has an opening [pair] that does not care about in or out, they just go after the bowling. When we used to play, about 40 to 50 runs was a good score with one wicket losing in six overs, now the average is 70 to 80."

Murali pointed out that some of the best in the business, including Bumrah, are prone to being hit. Bumrah was absolutely mauled during the match, smashed for five towering sixes, including a stunning no-look six by uncapped batter Salil Arora. The spin legend said that this is all about a change in mindset, shifting from focus on survival to hitting sixes.

"Even a good bowler goes for a six, [even] Bumrah goes for one or two balls. Abhishek [Sharma], the way he hits, it is unbelievable, but when a new boy, Salil hits a six, it is unbelievable - you do not think someone with the calibre of Bumrah comes and a young boy will hit a six off him because he will think about how am I going to survive Bumrah," he said.

"But nowadays, no, it is about how am I going to hit a six - that is their approach. Confidence levels have gone up because people have shown this is the way to play the modern game, and youngsters are following that," the spin legend added.

For a more equal contest between bat and ball, Muralidaran does not think pushing the boundary ropes closer is a solution, and said that a fair contest during a tournament as lucrative business-wise as the IPL would not bring the right amount of money and fans.

"I do not think pushing the boundary [ropes], when the ball is flying over the ropes everywhere, will change things. I think if we give fair wickets, the spectators will say it is becoming boring because the T20 followers want entertainment, so they want to see the fours and sixes. That is why the tournament is built like that - an extra player to come and bat [impact player]. It is a big business at the moment, sponsors and everything, so you will lose the sponsors and interest of the people if you change it," he said.

The spin legend said that the batters will continue to torment the bowlers, but over a period of time, bowlers will try to adapt, and batters will figure out that as well to keep their dominance going.

"I think this will continue, but over a period, bowlers will try to adapt, it will take some time. Sunrisers started this [power-hitting] and now everyone is adapting, so now the bowlers will go back [from] this tournament, and figure out how we can contain. They will come up with something, and the batsmen will find something else - this is the way the modern cricketers are going," he added.

Coming to the match, MI opted to bat first, with Will Jacks (46 in 22 balls, with five fours and three sixes) and Ryan Rickelton putting on an explosive 93-run stand. Rickelton stayed till the end, bringing his maiden IPL century and the fastest one for MI, stitching valuable partnerships with Naman Dhir (22 in 17 balls, with three fours) and skipper Hardik Pandya (31 in 15 balls, with two fours and two sixes). Ricketon carried his bat for 123* in 55 balls, with 10 fours and eight sixes, making sure that MI reached 243/5.

Praful Hinge (2/54) and Eshan Malinga (1/29) were standout bowlers for SRH.

During the chase, Travis Head roared back to form, scoring a 30-ball 76 (with four boundaries and eight sixes) and stitching a 129 run stand with Abhishek Sharma (45 in 24 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes). Despite slipping to 133/3 in 9.4 overs courtesy of Allah Ghazanfar (2/51) and Hardik Pandya (1/39), SRH chased down the target with Heinrich Klaasen (65* in 30 balls, with seven fours and four sixes) laying down the anchor with Nitish Kumar Reddy (21 in 17 balls, with three fours) for a 80-run stand and Salil Arora (30* in 10 balls, with two fours and three sixes) playing a fiery cameo.

SRH made a light work of the chase with six wickets and eight balls in hand, registering their sixth win of the season in nine matches and staying at third position with 12 points. MI is at the ninth spot and desperately needs to win its remaining matches to stay in the playoff hunt. (ANI)