Top 5 bowling variations used by Amit Mishra

Leg-spin bowling is perhaps one of the most difficult arts to master in the game of cricket. What makes the going tougher for leggies is the fact that the batsmen tend to attack them from the very outset in an attempt to gather some quick runs.

Therefore, it becomes imperative for the practitioners of this trade to develop variations which can help them gain an upper hand. Legendary Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne did this exceptionally well and it turned out to be a key reason behind his phenomenal success.

Amit Mishra, the experienced Indian leggie, may be getting limited opportunities in international cricket but he has shown time and again how effective he can be with his variations, particularly in the IPL. A lot of them have also been on display in the ongoing ODI series against New Zealand

Here are the top 5 variations that Mishra has in his armoury:

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#1 Googly

Amit Mishra often uses the ‘ googly’ to bamboozle the batsmen

Just like is the case for any other leg-spinner, the googly is one of Amit Mishra’s primary weapons and has fetched him a lot of wickets so far. It is one variation that Mishra uses quite frequently as he bowls it in almost every over that he delivers, irrespective of the format that he is playing.

The googly or ‘wrong-un’ refers to a delivery which spins into the right-handed batsman as opposed to the conventional leg-spinner which turns away. In a group game against the West Indies in the 2014 World T20, the Haryana leggie bowled a brilliant googly which caught Dwayne Bravo plumb in front for a first-ball duck.

#2 Straighter one

Mishra has left many batsmen clueless with his straighter one

Another fine variation that Amit Mishra possesses is the straighter one that he bowls quite often. This type of delivery generally has no spin on it; it just lands on the surface and straightens so the batsman who is playing for the turn gets beaten as there is none of it.

The straighter one is among the earliest variations that Mishra displayed when he broke into the international cricketing scene. On his Test debut against Australia, the leggie bowled a straighter one from round the wicket to dismiss Michael Clarke lbw at the stroke of stumps on the second day of the 2^nd Test in the 2008 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

#3 Top-spinner

The top-spinner has accounted for many of Mishra’s victims

One of the key weapons in the arsenal of a leg-spin bowler is the top-spinner and Amit Mishra is a fine exponent of this delivery. A top-spinner is delivered in the same action as a conventional leg break; however, the difference is that the former is dropped at a shorter length and generates greater bounce and pace.

While playing international as well as domestic cricket, Mishra has benefitted a lot from this variation that he has mastered. In just his 3^rd Test against Australia at Nagpur, the leggie had used a top-spinner from round the wicket to force an edge off Mike Hussey’s bat, which went straight into the hands of Rahul Dravid at slip.

#4 Quicker one

Amit Mishra has garnered great success with his quicker one

Among the variations that Amit Mishra uses from time to time to deceive the batsmen is the quicker one. This is nothing but a fast-paced version of the conventional leg break and by the time the batsman draws forward to play a shot, the ball has already whizzed past his bat.

Mishra has been very effective over the years in the implementation of this delivery and has reaped rich dividends from it. His most memorable dismissal in recent times courtesy of the quicker one came during the 1^st Test of the India-South Africa series last year when he pierced through AB de Villiers’ defence in the Proteas’ 1^st innings.

#5 Cross-seam delivery

Amit Mishra’s variations make him one of the most dangerous bowlers in IPL cricket

The latest variation that Amit Mishra has added to his armoury is the cross-seam delivery which was seen during the 2016 IPL season. The 33-year old uses it as a surprise ball and bowls it at a brisk speed of 114-115 kph just like a medium-pacer while holding the ball across the seam.

Mishra, who plays for the Delhi Daredevils, unveiled this special variation in a match against eventual champions Sunrisers Hyderabad. The first one was bowled to Shikhar Dhawan who attempted a wild heave and holed out to deep mid-wicket whereas the next one caught the leading edge of Yuvraj Singh’s bat and was caught at short fine leg.