You might think that the game of cricket revolves around the batsmen, bowlers, and wicket keepers. But, a lot is going on that is not visible to the naked eye. For instance, the blood and sweat of the coach, the long hours of arguments between selectors, and of course, the cricket pitch.
In reality, if there’s one thing that truly has the power to control the outcome of a cricket match is the cricket pitch. It may come as a surprise to you, but a flattish strip mown and rolled right in the middle of the ground is extremely important to the game of cricket and is a major influence on the entire batting and bowling line up. Take a very dry and dusty pitch, for example. Such a pitch favors spin bowling because, on a dusty pitch, the ball will grip more. So, the team that has superior spin bowlers will clearly have an advantage when playing on such a pitch.
The importance of knowing the pitch conditions is not only crucial for real-life cricket matches, but also fantasy cricket leagues and matches. Why? Because fantasy cricket aims to give cricket lovers a real-life experience of cricket. The interface of the game is designed in a way that allows players to feel the thrill, excitement, and pressure as if they’re playing on an actual field. Just as being the owner of a fantasy cricket team means that you have to keep a tab on the current and real-life performances of the players before selecting them for your team, you also have to know the playing conditions or the pitch report. Simply put, when you play fantasy cricket on MPL App, you have to genuinely don the hat of being a team owner.
Obviously, you would want your fantasy cricket team to perform better than the rest and for that, you need to:
To know the real-life pitch condition of the ground where your fantasy cricket team will be playing, you can do a quick online search and get the pitch report. Simply search with the name of the cricket ground that has been assigned for your upcoming match.
Now, take a look at the three types of pitches that you will typically come across during your fantasy cricket leagues. The different type of pitch surface that can impact a game of cricket are:
These are complete flat pitches and don’t have any moisture and grass. These pitches are batting-friendly and don’t favor bowlers. Therefore, matches played in dead pitches are high scoring ones.
For dead pitches, you need to select 3 batsmen who are performing well and are in good shape. If you have top-order batsmen in your team, they will face more bowls and give you high fantasy points. Instead of picking more bowlers, you can consider getting all-rounders as they can help get more points in dead pitches. Some of the players who are dangerous for such pitches and you can consider them for your team (if they’re currently in good shape) are Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, Hardik Pandya, and Jos Buttler.
Dusty pitches have a soft, unrolled surface and this hugely favors spin bowlers. In these pitches, spinners with great skill can pick up a host of wickets.
When you’re selecting your fantasy team players to play in dusty pitches, you must have top-order batsmen in your team who can handle the fast bowlers. Without top-order batsmen, you’ll lose out on the chances of scoring runs. Also, your team needs to have medium-order batsmen whose record against spinners is extraordinarily good. Most importantly, your team needs more spin bowlers instead of fast bowlers. In these pitches, Kuldeep Yadav, Imran Tahir, and Sunil Narine are some of the players who are deadly and worth considering.
As you can understand from the name, green pitches have a lot of grass and they favor the seam bowlers. These pitches allow the seam bowlers to showcase their class by both swing and pace deliveries.
In these kinds of pitches, you need to avoid picking openers, but select middle-order batsmen. Your fantasy team must have more fast bowlers than spin bowlers if you want your team to win in green pitches. You can have 2 fast bowlers, but you need to have more all-rounders in your fantasy team who can bowl and bat. These players will help you score runs and maybe even help you win the league. For green pitches, some of the must-have players are Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, and Dale Steyn.
Fantasy cricket is a lot like playing actual cricket but on your laptop or other mobile devices. Hence, the rules of the game remain the same. Even factors affecting player selection for your team remain the same. You have to stay up-to-date with the current form of the players and accordingly select them for your team. If you select players for your fantasy team who are not performing well at the moment, you will not be scoring high fantasy points. Moreover, the conditions of the pitch is another vital factor to keep in mind when deciding on your player line up for the upcoming fantasy cricket leagues.
Keep in mind the above-mentioned pitch condition tips and do your diligence when you’re playing a fantasy cricket game.