Cricket as a sport has evolved a
lot especially since last 30 odd years. The evolution of ODI cricket and the meteoric rise of T-20 cricket
has brought the much needed diversity in to the game. The taste of the
audiences has changed over these years drastically. Even in a cricket fanatic
country like india people no longer want
to come to the ground to see test cricket. But for a T-20 match, despite the
exorbitant ticket rates the stadiums are choc a block with spectators. the game
is becoming increasingly batsman oriented . if there is one aspect of the game
which has evolved by leaps and bounds is the different kind of shots played by
the modern day batsman. The kind of
shots which a modern day cricketer displays is simply astounding and jaw
dropping to say the least.
During the early 70’s and
80’s cricketers like Viv Richards, Ian
Bothom and Kapil Dev scored runs at a brisk pace even in test cricket. These
batsmen also played orthodox cricket shots . batsmen rarely played the sweep or
even less the reverse sweep. With the onset of ODI cricket in mid 70’s batsman
started scoring runs at a strike rate of 70 and some exceptional players like
Richards and Bothom scored at around 80 plus. Shots like the sweep and reverse
sweep came into prominence during the 90’s and early decade of the 2000. These shots were employed to score quick runs
against spinners. Every upcoming generation of batsmen have put to use some of
the innovative shots but with the advent of T-20 cricket the range of shots and
the power with which today’s modern day batsman pulls off these shots is mind
blowing.
Some experts attribute the
success of these shots to the quality of the bats which are yielded by the
batsman and some might say that the pitches are so true and in favour of
batsmen that it becomes easy to execute these innovative shots. I believe that
although these are some contributing reasons but the major change has come in terms of the
sheer mindset of these players. I have no doubt that a modern day batsman is
able to execute the innovative shots mainly due to absence of fear of getting out. The T-20 game
has done a lot to change this mindset. The batsmen have become fearless and
their audacity to play some of the shots which were never thought of some years
ago is simply fabulous and exciting to witness. Due to the sheer nature of this
shortest format of the game the batsmen do not feel the pressure even if they
have to chase down more than 10 runs in an over.
What these innovative shots like
the Dilscoop or the switch hit have done is provide headaches to the fielding
captain in terms of the fielding adjustments which needs to be done in
accordance with these shots. There is certain amount of risk factor associated
with these shots but that does not stop the batsman from playing them. We can
have a look at some of the shots which were never played until some years ago.
DIilscoop--- this shot is played when the ball is mostly short of
length outside off stump where the batsman either moves to the off stump and
scoops the ball over the keeper especially if the fine leg is not present or
else he plays this shot with a bent knee just ramping it over the keeper The
dilscoop is a shot made famous by the flamboyant Sri Lankan opener Tilekaratne
Dilshan and the shot derives its name from Dilshan. Although this shot was
played with some success by Douglas Marrilier against Australia and India in
2002-03. Clearly even an experienced bowler like Glenn Mcgrath was perplexed
and upset by the shot. Marrilier won a match against India in 2002 in Faridabad
pulling off a near impossible chase under hopeless circumstances. The batsman
is taking a huge risk while playing this shot. If he fails to make proper
contact the ball could be headed for the helmet or worse his face could be in
for some repair. There are some variants
of this shot and Dilshan does not shuffle outside off but just plays this shot
on his knees and scoops it over the keeper. It is a very effective shot
especially in the death overs where the batsman is trying to play mind games
with the bowler. The most difficult aspect of this shot is that the fielding captain
is virtually helpless if he does not
keep a fine leg for this shot as it is difficult to pre-empt as to when the
batsmen will deploy the shot.
The switch hit---- This shot was used frequently by the flamboyant England
batsman Kevin Pieterson where he used to change the grip of the bat and play a
powerful reverse hit as if he were batting left handed against spinners. Many experts
have criticised this shot and their criticism is not entirely unjustified as
the right handed batsman is virtually
batting left handed without informing the umpire of his change of stance as in
the case of a bowler who has to inform the umpire when he is coming over the wicket / round the
wicket. The fielding captains have often questioned the legality of this shot
as the fielding positions are designed for a right hander and when the batsman
instantly changes from a right hander to a left hander or vice versa then it
makes a mockery of the rules of the game as well as the fielding positions. Despite
the legalities of the shot one cannot deny the fact that the batsman requires
tremendous skill and reflexes with a quick hand eye co ordination to execute
this shot. Apart from Pieterson, David Warner is also one batsman who has used
this innovative shot to a great deal in the shorter format . the batsman is at
considerable risk as he can get leg before if he fails to connect with the
shot.
Upper cut/ ramp shot----Ssachin Tendulkar was the first batsman who
used this shot with great success against South Africa in the Blomfontein test in 2001. This shot is played usually to a
ball which is rising short and wide outside off stump especially if there is no third man. Virender
Sehwag, Mahela Jaywerdene and many other batsman have used this shot as a go to
option if the ball is rising outside off stump.
All these and many other
innovative shots have added charm and excitement among the cricket fans. Batsman
are increasingly expressing themselves a lot more and experimenting with
innovative shots in order to break the shackles and disturb the fielding alignment
per se. There is complete absence of fear or so it seems as no target seems daunting to chase and also
the quality of bats and pitches being increasingly batsmen friendly have
contributed to the success of these new and audacious shots.
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