Against a batsman who had hit 10 sixes already this season and has a strike-rate of 212.96, that Mustafizur would rely on slower deliveries was a given.
Yet, despite the predictability, the left-arm seamer walked away giving just 9 runs in the over.
In an IPL where two bouncers an over was supposed to be game changer and empower fast bowlers, it is these slower deliveries-especially the cutters, which are banged into the pitch — that are making it challenging for batsmen to fetch boundaries.
"The off-cutters with the older ball in the middle and end overs are very handy," Lakshmipathy Balaji, who was the bowling coach of Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings in the past, tells The Indian Express.
"Against left-handers, it becomes an attacking delivery because you are not just taking pace off the ball, but it is going away from their reach. You have more chances of getting a wicket.
"Against right-handers, it is a very good defensive option. Although it will come in the hitting arc, the lack of pace has given the batsman less time to adjust; unless he uses the muscles, middling it is difficult," Balaji reasons.
In that over, Mustafizur delivered seven balls to Russell (one no-ball and one wide) and out of those, four were on the fuller length.
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