Top 3 iconic shots in modern cricket

The game of cricket started way back in the 16th century somewhere in the southeastern countryside of England and with the expansion of the British Empire, it spread around the globe quite conveniently. By the mid-19th century, the world witnessed the first ever international match, surprisingly between U.S.A and Canada in 1844.

Over the years, cricket has evolved immensely in every aspect. Be it the shape of bats, the types of balls, the rules of the game, the cricket clothing, the protective gears, even the format of the game - every single element has transformed. Lately, the global governing body of cricket, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been tinkering with the game to enhance the popularity of the game around the world and make it even a bigger sport

With the recent advent of ODIs and more recently of T20 Cricket, the gentlemen's game has taken a very aggressive turn. Both the batsmen and the bowlers have been experimenting with their respective skills and subsequently, have successfully come up with innovative ways to master the game of cricket.

Amongst many innovations, the new generations of batsman gifted cricket with three miraculous cricketing shots that completely took the breath away of every cricket fan around the globe.

---

#1 Dilscoop

Australia v Sri Lanka - Twenty20: Game 1

Way back in 2009, the former Sri Lankan right-handed batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan brought about a unique cricketing shot called ‘Dilscoop’ into life during the 2nd season of Indian Premier League.

At a later stage, Dilshan disclosed in an interview the fact that paddle scoops and reverse paddles became quite common and teams had started placing fielders accordingly, he felt the need to invent another scoring shot and he ended up creating a cricketing shot safely flying right above the wicket-keeper’s head.

It was very frequently played with extreme success by Dilshan in the 2009 World T20 and hence, inspired many to imitate it. Only very few international players – the Indian Rohit Sharma and New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum have been able to replicate the shot to some extent and the rest have only enjoyed watching it, just like any other cricket fan.

Ever since Dilshan's retirement in 2016, the cricketing world has not witnessed the 'Dilscoop’ very often. However, without a doubt, it will always to be remembered as one of the most exciting shots ever played in modern cricket.

#2 Switch Hit

England v India: 4th npower Test - Day Two

Over the years, cricket has experienced bowlers being questioned for their delivery action. However, cricket’s only controversial batting shot was brought into existence by none other than one of the most controversial cricketers, Kevin Pietersen. Surprisingly, the shot was not played in the short format against part-time bowler but in a Test match against Sri Lanka in 2006 while playing one of the world’s best off-spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan.

The breathtaking shot is perfectly executed by changing the batting stance from right-hand to left-hand or vice versa while the bowl is bowled and hitting it over the cover region.

While many praised the shot by acknowledging it to be an excellent display of batting skill, many cricket experts stated it to be unfair on the fielding side for a fact that the bowlers set his fielders based on the batsman’s initial stance and therefore, changing the stance changes the entire dynamics without giving any opportunity.

After a long review, in 2012, the ICC eventually declared it to be a legitimate shot and welcomed it graciously in the exciting world of cricket.

Apart from Pietersen, the two mighty Australians, Glenn Maxwell and David Warner seem to have developed the liking for the extravagant shot and hence, have blessed the cricket fans around the world with it every once in a while.

#3 Helicopter Shot

An exhilarating cricket shot that requires a very strong wrist work along with extremely fast bat speed to whack the in-swinging yorkers out of the park for humongous sixes. It is a shot that is by popularity, owned by Mahendra Singh Dhoni primarily for his effortless timing is often utilized effectively to clobber the opposition in the final overs.

It was actually initially attempted by Pakistani all-rounder Abdul Razzaq way back in the year 2000 against England in a Test match, followed by the Master Blaster, Sachin Tendulkar in 2002 in an ODI against the same opposition.

It was not until the widely renowned ‘best finisher of the game’ Dhoni smashed a full-length delivery by James Anderson out of the ground for a six in an ODI match against England back in 2006, that the Helicopter Shot officially came into existence in the world of cricket.

Ever since there have been few players that have attempted to replicate however the closest have been the Afghanistan wicket-keeper Mohammad Shahzad.

The way the game of cricket is moving forward, we can certainly expect many more mind-boggling and completely insane cricketing shots in the very near future. In fact, this cricketing phase can even be termed as ‘the golden era of cricket’ in regards to innovations within the cricketing fraternity. Without a doubt, cricket fans are up for some exciting time ahead.