What goes through a batsman's mind while batting on 99?

Batsman often face a lot of stress while on the crease. But it’s not Mitchell Starc’s pace or Dale Steyn’s aggression which causes their stress. It’s the stress of converting their score of 99 into a century.

The amount of pressure a batsman faces while batting on 99 is much more than a bowler bowling a last over of a match or a fielding coming under the ball to take a catch.

Here are the top 5 things on a batsman’s mind while batting on 99.

#5 Do I look nervous?

A batsman batting on 99 is probably would probably be more nervous than the whole world when they when they found out that Donald Trump became the President of the United States of America.

The “nervous nineties” is so real that there’s a Wikipedia page on the same with a 400-word article.

According to them, the term refers to a specific form of analysis paralysis, felt by a batsman when he has scored more than 90 runs in an innings, and is nervous because of the pressure and desire to convert this into a century (100 runs), which is considered to be a milestone of success in the game.

Not every batsman faces this issue but there are times when the nervousness shows on the batsman’s face which is why he often gets dismissed. *cough* Sachin Tendulkar *cough*

#4 Be like Sehwag

The former Indian cricketer was known for his carefree style of batting and the ease with which he approached any situation. He was well known for approaching his milestones with a big shot. Many a time, he has hit one over the fence to reach his century, double century, or even a triple century for that matter.

Cricketers like him, often like to take the pressure off themselves while batting by singing to themselves or humming a tune. He was often heard doing so by the opposition and yet he continued to smash the bowlers all around the park.

A batsman batting on 99 should surely think of Virender Sehwag while on strike. If he happens to hit a four or a six, who knows? Sehwag might just praise him on Twitter in his own special style!

#3 Don’t be like Tendulkar

If there is a time when a batsman would be telling himself not to be like Sachin Tendulkar, it is when he is batting in the nineties. As we all know, Tendulkar has an unfortunate record of getting out on multiple occasions in the “nervous nineties.”

Despite having the most number of centuries in international cricket, we can only imagine how many more centuries he would have notched up if he had a “Sehwagesque” attitude.

Hopefully, Sachin Tendulkar is in the stands tomorrow and blesses Moeen Ali so that he gets out before he reaches his century.

#2 How to celebrate

Celebrating a milestons is probably very underrated in cricket. While footballers come up with very extravagant ways of celebrating every time they score a goal, cricketers still come up with the same old way to celebrate.

Open their helmet. Raise their bat. Punch the air. *Sigh*

Although there are a few players who have started to bring out news ways of celebrating, it is not enough. We need to see more extravagant celebrations in cricket! Hmmm. Maybe Moeen Ali has a whole night to come up with a celebration. Who knows? Maybe, he purposely did not score his 100 today just so that he could think of a new way of celebrating. We’re waiting, Moeen!

#1 Do NOT get run out

A batsman batting on 99 is as careful about taking as a person trying to cross a busy road. The number of balls wasted by a batsman while batting on 99 are way too much.

The reason for the extra precaution taken by batsman while batting on 99 is: If they get run out at 99, they would probably be so depressed that they would go into hiding and not come out for a long, long time.

Rather than the batsman being careful, it’s his partner at the other end who would be extra cautious to ensure that he is not at the receiving end of verbal abuse if he gets his partner run-out.