Bengaluru, April 15 (IANS) Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) opener and Australia's T20 captain Mitchell Marsh believes the evolving nature of T20 cricket has made even 200-run totals uncertain as the team clashes against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 23rd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 played at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.
“Look, I think condition-wise, it probably is if you get a good wicket. I think in the past, if you made 200, you'd walk out to bowl, and you'd be feeling extremely confident, whereas now it's probably a different question: do we got enough? So it's exciting to watch, and hopefully there's lots of runs tonight,” Marsh told broadcasters ahead of the match.
The Australian all-rounder also pointed out the rising expectations from opening batters in the powerplay, indicating that aggressive starts are becoming the norm.
“65-70? It's probably more like 90 these days. I must admit, I've watched a few of these young boys, certainly the young Indians, the way they've gone about the power play and sat in my room over the last few weeks and gone, gee, we need to go pretty hard here. So it's a new element to the game. It's certainly exciting, and hopefully Aiden and I can get us off to a flier tonight,” he said.
Marsh also spoke about his growing on-field partnership with fellow opener Aiden Markram, highlighting the importance of camaraderie between batting partners.
“You obviously hear people talk about the relationship that you forge on the field, and it often flows off the field. And I grew up listening to Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden talk about their friendship. And Sauce (Markram) and I are becoming very close. He's a great man, and I certainly love walking out to bat with him,” he added.
Meanwhile, Marsh is struggling for runs in the IPL 2026. He has scored just 75 runs in four matches with a poor average of 18.75 runs, as LSG have lost two out of their four opening matches and are placed at number 7 in the points table.
--IANS
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