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Assessing well established India-South Africa batsmenEvery time when my 80-year-old Grandma sees Virat Kohli playing a forward defense, she will nudge me, and with a contemptuous smile she will say “Hey, why isn’t he smashing the ball like Sachin does? This guy is such a pathetic batsman”. Though she doesn’t even know the name of this ‘pathetic batsman’, despite half a dozen eye problems, she still can recognize Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar from any crowd.Because for my Grandma, cricket is just about smashing every delivery over the ropes, and she has seen Tendulkar doing it a lot in the past. That’s the layman’s point of view of cricket - It’s simply a test between a batsman’s strength and hand-eye-co-ordination and a bowler’s pace and movement.But for die-hard cricket followers, writers and analysts, cricket is not that simple to digest. They love to go deeper into the intricacies of the gentleman’s game, getting more specific rather than generalizing with popular notions. For them, cricket is a complex web of cause - effect relations.There is no such thing as a perfect crime. Every great innings is aided by a tinge of luck. There’s no perfect batsman, bowler or a fielder. Everybody makes mistakes and have their own weak and strong zones. We appreciate them when they drive the cricket ball elegantly, whereas we denounce them when the same stroke results in an edge.Why Raina - someone with very quick reflexes still can’t pull the short bowl as effectively as some of his teammates? Why is Rahane’s stroke play better in foreign conditions while the talented Rohit Sharma struggles with the moving ball? There’s no shortage of talent, but perhaps there could be a profound reason behind this anomaly.It’s not that easy for the players to change their technique which they have developed over the years, but by bolstering their strong zones they can subdue their weaknesses up to a limit. It’s not fair to criticize the players without knowing their strengths and weak spots.As the T20 series between India and South Africa is progressing, let’s assess the some of the strong points and flaws of a few established batsmen in both squads.
#1 Rohit Sharma
When Rohit Sharma takes the willow, he offers a visual treat for the viewers with an exhibition of classy strokes. The batting looks so easy and spontaneous when hitman plays some of his picturesque shots. Especially in sub-continent conditions, it’s frightfully hard to contain this gifted Mumbaikar.
Strengths: Few drive the cricket ball as gracefully as Rohit does. When he lofts, more often than not, he clears the fence with ease and perfection. He won’t hit it too hard, but his surgical precision and impeccable timing make his stroke play effortless.
A strong front foot player, he is also one of the best players of the pull shot in the Indian squad.
Weaknesses: Rohit’s stroke play is similar to that of Yuvraj Singh. The bat coming down in a rhythmic fashion, presenting its full face to the ball, and then capped by a stylish follow-through.
But this lazy elegance has a minor drawback. Once committed to a stroke, it’s very difficult to alter the bat-speed in the middle, according to the variation in the delivery.
Therefore, Rohit can be snared, by well-disguised slower balls. There are high chances that he will hit it to the mid-off or mid-on fielder attempting an early shot.
With this kind of technique, sideways movement of the kookaburra will also worry his fluent bat-flow as he won’t be able to react rapidly to a ball that swings late. He might play the wrong line when the ball moves after pitching, which will result in thick edges.
A good length out-swinger on the 5th stump line is an ideal delivery to Rohit Sharma.
Trademark shot: Lofted straight-drive.
#2 Hashim Amla
The man for all seasons, Hashim Amla is undoubtedly one of the modern-day greats. Pitch conditions, weather, bowlers, in fact, nothing matters when he is on the charge. He has accrued 5900 runs from 121 ODIs at an average of 54.30 and the same shoots up to a jaw-dropping 60 when he plays against India in India.
The South African opener is chasing down every record set by Virat Kohli and is a highly potential threat to the Men in Blue.
Strengths: Amla is blessed with a lovely pair of hands, which can find gaps even from the tightest of field settings. A class player, he plays almost all the textbook shots to a great extent. His ability to stay focused for longer periods makes him a perfect top order batsman for South Africa.
He scores a century every 5.5 innings and is also the fastest to reach 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000 ODI runs. With 21 tons and 28 fifties from 121 innings, he has converted a whopping 41 % of his innings into milestones.
It’s evident that, once he gets going, he becomes a tough nut to crack.
Weaknesses: But God is kind, even the greatest is not absolutely perfect. The key lies in Amla’s batting stance. Before the ball is delivered he makes a forward stride across the crease to set himself up for the incoming delivery. His bat points towards the 4th or 5th slip and it takes a loop just before it hits the Kookaburra.
And that’s where the loophole is! Bowl a good length delivery at the 4th stump line which swings into the right-hander. Since his bat tip has to come a long way, arching down to face the ball, a gap is left between his bat and pad for a very short interval of time. Chances are there that the ball might find its way to the stumps through this space.
Though he has had overcome this minor technical hiccup with his outstanding bat-speed, someone who can consistently pitch the ball over that same spot, seaming in, can make things uncomfortable for the Protea.
Trademark shot: Cover-drive.
#3 Shikar Dhawan
When Shikar Dhawan is in form, he will make every given opportunity count. The fact that India has won all the ODIs whenever Dhawan scored a century vindicates his importance in the team. A belligerent batsman, he plays his game in his style no matter whether it is a test, ODI or T20.
Strengths: Dhawan is particularly strong on the off-side as he frequently cuts the gap between the point and gully with zero trouble. His cover-drives, though not as elegant as his partner Rohit, are quite good enough to pierce the infield.
Early in his career, he had had the habit of charging down the track to play most of his shots, but now he has also developed a strong back foot to play the shots, staying there at the crease itself.
Weaknesses: Loses control while attempting the pull shot. He plays with an angled bat while pulling the short pitched deliveries, which causes the ball to go higher in the air rather than the expected distance. If the boundaries are short, he will clear them, but large grounds pose a threat to this Delhite.
Swinging deliveries are also an area of concern for him as his feet movement is limited when he drives the cricket ball. James Anderson made a mockery of his technique with high-quality swing bowling during India’s England tour in 2014.
Trademark shot: Down the track cut shot.
#4 Faf du Plessis
AB De Villiers and Faf Du Plessis have been playing together from their primary schools and they maintain a healthy competition in the professional cricket too. Though the T20I skipper is not as destructive as his ODI counterpart, his wonderful skill to stay calm and composed under pressure makes him a priceless possession of the Proteas.
Strengths: Just like the Indian captain MS Dhoni, taking quick singles and doubles through the gaps is his forte. Besides a strong a front foot, he also plays the back-foot strokes very effectively against fast bowlers.
Unlike many other South African players, he is adept at playing spin. A raised bat with its tip pointing straight to the keeper shows his special liking to the straight-batted shots.
Weaknesses: A very high back-lift can be an issue while tackling yorkers and slower balls. Lack of hard hitting skills towards the back end of the innings.
Trademark shot: Lofted off-drive.
#5 Virat Kohli
This precociously talented youngster is the new face of Indian cricket. Equally good in all three formats of the game, he is one of the best in the business when it comes to chasing targets. Scaringly aggressive, his perpetual hunger for runs has made this confident young gun the backbone of the Indian cricket team.
Strengths: Virat Kohli uses a strong bottom hand and a light-weighted willow for lashing the cricket ball. Bowling to the pads of Kohli is like asking for a whipping. He generates extreme bat-speed and power by flicking his wrists while striking the ball and is predominantly strong over the mid-wicket region.
Kohli also has a strong penchant for front-foot drives. He plays with soft hands and is also well-known for his quick running between the wickets.
Weaknesses: Kohli was someone who hadn’t had any visible weakness hitherto his England tour in 2014. But Anderson exposed his inefficacy to the world when he began to poke at swinging deliveries wide outside off-stump. Throughout the series, he kept on giving catching practice to England’s slip fielders by pushing at the balls which otherwise he could have left alone.
His wide batting stance is the main reason behind his strong favour of the front foot shots. When the legs are too wide apart, it’s quite difficult to go to the back foot if the ball is bowled over 135kph and thus making the cut-shots and back-foot punches a rare sight.
A back of length delivery wide outside off-stump can tempt him to drive on the front foot, whereas other players having a strong back foot would have sliced it through the point region. If the same delivery is a bit closer to the stumps, it should be driven on the back foot or left alone.
However, Kohli pushes it on the front foot producing a leading edge to the 1st or 2nd slip.
Trademark shot: Punch flick through mid-wicket
#6 Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane is the unluckiest player yet one of the most talented guys in the Indian team. He enjoys batting in foreign conditions and has scored hundreds all around the world. But his performances remained underrated most of the time because of the phenomenal rise of Virat Kohli.
Strengths: Rahane is one of the rare Indian players who excels in playing the back-foot cover drive - a shot which is very difficult to execute. He plays his shots as late as possible and is exceptionally proficient in playing swing and pace.
His good bat speed and reflexes coupled with a sound technique makes his shot selection natural and apt. He also plays the pull shot to perfection, by rolling the wrists and keeping the bat over the top of the ball at the time of its contact with the bat.
Weaknesses: He loves pace on the ball as he lacks power and slogging skills. Towards the back end of an innings, when sometimes you have to play the shots blindly, Rahane struggles big time. Despite being exceptionally talented, he is specialized only in opening the innings, and that’s why he got replaced by Ambati Rayudu in the limited over format.
Trademark shot: Pull shot in front of mid-wicket.
#7 AB de Villiers
If there is someone who is close to absoluteness in cricket that’s AB de Villiers. He took batting to new dimensions with a bunch of innovative shots and gave new meaning to the word destruction. He is undoubtedly the most talented cricketer in the world, if not the most successful.
Strengths: This dynamic batsman has no peculiar strong zone as he scores all around the park and has the most number of variety shots in the armoury. Fast hands and with a free flowing blade like Virat Kohli, De Villiers is a momentum player, who becomes virtually impossible to stop, once he find his niche.
To unravel the mystery behind this audacious hitting, one has to know about the acrobatics of the enigmatic body of De Villiers. Before the bowler delivers the ball, De Villiers takes an initial trigger movement and crouches a bit taking a 2nd stance.
This crouching helps to bring some tension into his elastic muscle fibers which generate a huge amount of energy when released (like a rubber-band).
It also helps him to keep his eyes closer to the ball. Once he is ready, his astonishingly stable head maintains his body balance while playing the stroke. Along with extreme agility and incredible reflexes this also helps in shuffling swiftly across the crease without losing his footing.
The interesting part is that all these technicalities are inherent in him and he needs no special practice for such improvisation. Besides outstanding athleticism, his hockey skills also have a profound influence in his inimitable batting style, which is potent against anything and everything in cricket.
Weaknesses: Virtually nothing, but it seems that recently, De Villiers has been bitten by the bug of impatience. He has made a habit of getting out to off-spin while trying to come down and attack the slower bowlers. Ravichandran Ashwin and Nathan Lyon have trapped the world’s best batsman quite a few times, with some clever variations in pace.
Besides off-spinners, quick bowlers can also trouble him by unleashing a fast bouncer when he charges down the track. He will go on with his shot, even if he is in no position to play the stroke, to find himself in the hands of the mid-wicket or deep fine leg fielder.
A picture-perfect leg stump yorker is good enough to put an end to his insane creativity. But beware, if you miss by an inch, then be ready to get smothered.
Trademark shot: Sweeping the fast bowlers over the fine leg and square leg boundaries.
#8 Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina is tailor-made for T20s. Though he is one of the most loved cricketers in India by virtue of his exemplary sportsmanship, he is exceedingly aggressive when it comes to batting. He can be a true match winner on his day.
Strengths: Though he loves to play the lofted shots, his ability to find the gaps with ease makes him different from other aggressive players such as Glenn Maxwell and Chris Gayle. He has got powerful arms, and he uses his feet well against spinners while going for the big shots.
He plays almost all the front foot shots on the off-side and he throws his bat at everything that drifts to the leg-side. His lusty blows are mainly over the region between mid-wicket and square leg and more often than not they clear the ropes comfortably.
Weaknesses: A short-pitched delivery is a well-known nemesis of Raina. Though he has got sound reflexes, which is quite essential for playing the pull shot, his indecisiveness and lack of confidence aggravate his miseries.
If playing the short pitched deliveries is an art, Ricky Ponting is the Picasso of it. According to him, the shoulder height deliveries are there to be pulled and hooking comes into play when the ball is over the shoulder. Leave the balls that are going above the helmet and the most important thing is to watch the ball closely.
Unfortunately for Raina, these things don’t come out naturally. He takes his eyes off the ball and the fickleness in his shot selection add to his woes. No qualms, a well-directed bouncer from a bowler like Johnson will get the better of Raina.
Trademark shot: Inside out lofted extra-cover-drive.
#9 JP Duminy
JP Duminy is the highest run-getter for South Africa in T20Is, and he does the job of Raina for the Proteas. Both left-handers are specialized in the limited over format, and besides being fantastic fielders, both of them also bowls decent off-spin when needed.
Strengths: A well-distinguished middle order batsman with fine slogging skills. Though Duminy prefers the leg-side, he is equally destructive against pacers on the off-side. His ability to capitalize on loose deliveries makes this flamboyant batsman a tough customer on the field.
Weaknesses: Typical South African southpaw who suffers high levels of hardship with quality off-spin. Ashwin troubled him for quite some time in the first T20I against India.
Just like Suresh Raina, he too detests short deliveries and is an awkward puller of the cricket ball. He likes to have pace on the ball and therefore variations in pace is also an issue for this all-rounder.
Trademark shot: Slog sweep over mid-wicket and square leg.
#10 M.S. Dhoni
Despite his pronounced technical frailties, the way MS Dhoni transformed himself to suit all formats of the game is nothing short of amazing. Dhoni has his own way of playing each and every delivery and has reaped considerable amount of success in all 3 formats.
When many players leave the job of wicket-keeping to focus more on batting, this man has been leading his side, donning the gloves in all three formats and that too with a phenomenal batting record.
Strengths: One of the hardest hitters of the cricket ball, Dhoni relies on nothing but brute power of his bottom hand to find the fence at will. Even after using a comparatively heavy bat, the bat-speed he generates is something enviable. His muscular wrists compensate for the technical issues associated with his batting.
If the ball makes contact with his bat it is guaranteed to go a long way. He also has a ‘helicopter shot’ (though it is now on the verge of extinction) to tackle yorkers. Besides being an exceptional runner between the wickets, Dhoni also knows how to pace an innings and changes his stroke play according to the conditions.
He is a staunch back foot player and he dominates the square leg region. His defences are almost impervious and unbreachable against conventional off-spin. Regarded as the greatest finisher of the modern era, along with a steely mind and a shrewd brain, he is also someone who thrives under extreme pressure.
Weaknesses: Sound technical glitches and his batting lacks fluency. Finds difficulty in dealing with good length deliveries accounted by less elbow movement. Legs get rooted in the crease when he tries to drive the ball which in turn resulting in healthy edges.
Lacks diversity of shots as he depends too much on his wrists for his stroke play. His batsmanship gives no answer to wide yorkers and struggles big time against good length deliveries in the later part of the innings.
He consumes some balls initially to settle down, and in T20s where you have to start hitting from the very first ball, that’s a major issue considering the fact that he comes lower down the order.
Trademark shot: A wild heave over long on.
#11 David Miller
This quintessential hard hitter is almost similar to JP Duminy when it comes to batting, but he does the same piece of work a bit more aggressively. In fact, he becomes exceedingly dangerous in the final overs of the game. He has played an instrumental role in Kings XI Punjab’s numerous victories in the IPL.
Strengths: Great slogging skills with mind-boggling hand-eye-co-ordination. A clean hitter of the cricket ball, his ability to play freely under pressure makes him one of the best finishers of modern time.
Weaknesses: Spin is his arch enemy because of his inability to read the turn. Sharp turn has bamboozled him on various occasions before, and the series in India against the likes of R Ashwin and Amit Mishra is going to be a litmus test for the southpaw.
Since most of the time when he comes to bat, it will be a do or die situation and this has also undermined his back foot defence.
Trademark shot: Slog sweep over mid-wicket.
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