Last-over finishers are always stressful: Albie Morkel – Cricket News Update
Chennai Super Kings all-rounder, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JA-Morkel-c1613, is of the view that matches that end with last-over finishes are stressful for batsmen, whose attitude grows increasingly panicked as the run-rate rises.
“Batting towards the end of a T20 game can be very stressful when the team is trying to win a match from a difficult situation,” Morkel pointed out. “You can see the run-rate going up all the time and when it reaches a stage where you have nothing to lose
you hit out at everything. Games against RR and RCB were like that. You have no time to think about the outcome, you just have to try and hit boundaries from ball one.”
He also went on to explain that in order to deal with the pressure, it was vital to keep calm, lower the heart rate, and avoid looking at the scorecard too often.
The current 5th edition of the Indian Premier League has witnessed 13 matches that have ended on thrilling last-over finishes, out of which 11 matches got decided on the very last delivery.
Morkel himself has played a vital role in two of his team’s last over victories. He scored 18 off 6 deliveries in his team’s recent match against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rajasthan-c837 Royals on May 10 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur when his side required 47 off 24, and
also played a vital role in a match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, when smashed 28 off 7 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, Chennai on April 12, to bring his team up to par with the requirement of 43 off 12.
The 30-year-old also went on to comment on how the lack of consistency had let his side down. The Super Kings have been IPL favourites, having won the tournament twice, but their performances in the current season have been fairly erratic.
“You can't always win, but the lack of consistency in the earlier games has not helped our cause,” Morkel admitted.
The MS Dhoni-led side are currently at number 4 on the points table, having won 8 of the 16 matches they have played so far (with 3 victories out of their last 5 matches), but their spot on the playoffs now depends on the performances of other teams.
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