‘They don’t practice enough in that area’ – Dale Steyn’s blunt views on modern-day T20 batting on tough pitches

Following Delhi Capitals’ (DC) shocking batting collapse, former South African bowling great Dale Steyn has pointed out a key technical concern in modern-day batting, suggesting that players are not training enough to face the hard lengths. 

The issue came to the forefront during DC’s heavy defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), where the fast bowling duo of Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismantled the batting unit early. The duo picked up six wickets within the first four overs, bundling DC out for just 75 in 16.3 overs.

Reacting to the performance, Steyn took to X (formerly Twitter) and highlighted a growing trend among batters against quality seamers. The erstwhile South African pacer further emphasised that the challenge is more about skill than intimidation. He also referenced bowlers like Kagiso Rabada and Jofra Archer, who consistently exploit this length to trouble batters. 

“Watching Buvi, Hazelwood, throw KG and Archer in there too, there’s a genuine fear from batters not because they scared, but they know exactly where these greats are going to bowl but don’t practice enough in that area to have answers,” he wrote.

“The fear is technical skill, too deep into the tournament to change now, watch these bowlers continue to dominate. Its called a HARD length for a reason,” he added.

Adding to the discussion, former Proteas batter Herschelle Gibbs shared a batting perspective, suggesting a tactical gap in approach.

“No batter keen to run at them to get them off their lengths,” Gibbs replied.

DC’s innings never recovered after the early blows, as they slumped to 8/6 and later crawled to 13/6 at the end of the powerplay – the lowest powerplay total in IPL history. This dramatic collapse came just a game after they had posted a massive 264/2, underlining their inconsistency this season.

It was a completely dominant show by the RCB bowlers at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi. Aussie pacer Hazlewood was named as the Player of the Match for his match-winning bowling spell of 4/12 in just 3.3 overs.