Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field first in their IPL 2022 match against Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday.
When asked about why he chose to field first, KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer said that he wanted to avoid bowling later as the ground “is the swimming pool we’ve seen in the evening.”
Iyer was referring to the dew on the field that makes it easier for the team batting second in the night games.
“We’re going to bowl first. The reason is obviously the swimming pool that’s visible in the evenings,” Shreyas said.
“As I said last game, it’s about giving it your all to defend no matter what score you have on the board. All the players are dedicated and focused to perform their roles for the last two games. We can’t complain (about having three games in a week), we’re all professionals. One change – Shivam Mavi comes in for Sheldon Jackson,” he added.
KKR ended up bowling PBKS out for 137 runs.
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In fact, 6 out of the 7 matches so far have been won by teams bowling first as all captains have decided to bowl first after winning the toss.
Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming compared the dew during his team’s IPL match against Lucknow Super Giants on Thursday to the ‘Niagara Falls’
“If you’d looked earlier on, spinning options were taken out of play because it was like Niagara Falls in terms of the wetness…” Fleming had said at the virtual post-match press conference.
Bowlers have been complaining about the dew in the second half of the evening games.
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