Mumbai, April 29 (IANS) Former India wicketkeeper Kiran More believes the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 has already lived up to expectations, noting that while the tournament has begun on an exciting note, the second half promises even more intensity with multiple teams in strong contention and no clear favourite emerging yet.

"It's a good beginning and an exciting one. The first half of this season has already delivered much more than the expectations. We have seen multiple 200+ scores, which makes it more exciting. IPL is always exciting, and you will see that the second half has started. So I don't know who's going to win, but a lot of teams are doing very well," More told IANS.

One of the key trends of IPL 2026 has been the sharp rise in scoring. This shows a clear change in batting strategy across teams. After 38 completed matches, not counting the washed-out PBKS vs KKR game, the average first-innings score has risen to 186.

This is noticeably higher than the 178 recorded at the same point in IPL 2025. As a result, the average total score per match has also increased from 356 to an impressive 372, showing how teams are consistently pushing for more runs this season.

The most significant sign of this batting surge is the number of 200-plus totals. Once seen as a winning score, the 200-run mark has become the new normal. In the first 39 matches of IPL 2026, teams have surpassed 200 runs 31 times, compared to just 21 times at the same stage last season. This change indicates that batting teams are increasingly ambitious, no longer aiming for 170-180 but instead targeting higher totals as the new standard.

More also talked about the inaugural EUT20 Belgium League as an exciting new step for the game in Europe, expressing enthusiasm about the tournament’s launch and highlighting the presence of top and current players as a major boost to its appeal.

"It's a very good league, the EUT20 Belgium League. This is happening for the first time in Europe, so I think it's a start. I'm very excited about this, and the best part of this league is that we have great players who are going to participate, and a lot of current players are also playing," he said.

--IANS

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