Sourav Ganguly makes earnest request to BCCI after R Ashwin's SOS post adds to 'worst IPL' furore

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly urged the BCCI to find ways to strike a balance between the bat and ball, with the existing toil of bowlers on flat pitches combined with the arrival of an extra hitter thanks to the impact player rule. Delhi Capitals's mentor Sourav Ganguly reacts during the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match(AFP)

The Chapter 17 of the Indian Premier League has been a memorable one for the batting firmament. Not only has the season set some astonishingly high standards with batting totals averaging past 200 runs in almost every match but has witnessed 250+ scores a record seven times. However, the bowlers may call it a nightmare. With no help from the ‘flat’ pitches, the bowling grind has been inflicting a whole lot of psychological scars.

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Ganguly expressed his concern over the difficulties faced by the bowlers this season, highlighting how the batsmen have towed them in every match

"Not easy for the bowlers. They are being carted all over and that's one area that needs to be looked at in the future, the balance between bat and ball," he said.

The first half of the season has already produced some jaw-dropping records with the bat. Former champions Sunrisers Hyderabad have gone past 250 runs three times this season and broke their own record of 277 runs by notching 287 runs on the board. The Orange Army is joined by other leading luminaries like the Lucknow Super Giants, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Punjab Kings who have achieved this milestone in the same season.

On Friday, the PBKS captured the record for chasing down the highest total in the history of the IPL against KKR where they managed to score 262 runs in just 18.4 overs.

Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had a satirical reaction to the match as he took to X posting, “Save the bowlers, someone plsss (please).”

As the 2014 runner-up closed the match with 8 balls remaining, he topped it up with another tweet,” It’s run a ball for the last 2 overs of a T20 game in a chase of 260 +. Let that sink in.”

Before Sourav Ganguly and Ravichandran Ashwin, Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar had also mentioned about the grueling bowling environment in the tournament.

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