Kane Williamson and KL Rahul show technique trumps slogging even in T20

Kane Williamson is serenity personified, one cannot quite fit him into the trigger-happy, slog-friendly atmosphere of the Indian Premier League. KL Rahul's funky hairstyles hide a gritty batsman with a technique that traditionalists love. Yet, these two top the race for the Orange Cap in the IPL with Rahul just ahead of his Kiwi rival, as the league heads towards the business end.

On Thursday, Williamson produced another characteristic knock to nearly upset the Royal Challengers Bangalore's apple-cart. Bangalore had reached an imperious 218/6, riding high on some delectable cameos. However, when it was the Sunrisers Hyderabad's turn to bat, their captain turned on the style in a manner very different from the blitzkrieg knocks of AB de Villiers and Colin de Grandomme that set the tone for RCB's ascent.

The SRH captain went about his business in typically unhurried fashion, playing strokes that are very much part of the batting grammar-book; yet he notched up a 42-ball 81 and nearly took his team home.

No one gave him a chance

When Williamson took over the mantle of the SRH captaincy from the swashbuckling David Warner, who had to sit out this edition of the IPL because of the infamous ball-tampering scandal, the prevalent opinion was that it was too big a task for the New Zealander.

Yes, of course, he is one of the premier batsmen in the global game and would be one of the first names in any world Test XI. But IPL? T20? Surely that is a different kettle of fish.

Williamson's cause was also not helped by the fact that Warner is one of the most devastating batsmen in the shortest format of the game with an astonishing average of 40.54 in the IPL and a strike-rate northward of 142. To maintain that kind of a record over 114 matches is a huge deal.

He is also one of the most innovative batsmen around, experimenting with a variety of sweeps and scoops to frustrate bowlers; in comparison, Williamson appeared staid, one can expect a classic cover drive from him, but a towering slog-swept six? Not quite.

In fact, one of the most oft-repeated criticisms of the Kiwi's batting in the initial stages of his career was that he was too slow, fit to play the sheet anchor's role but not someone who can accelerate at will.

Williamson 2.0

This IPL, though, the bearded, soft-spoken stroke-maker has thrown all those criticisms out of the window. Not only has he captained with aplomb, taking Sunrisers to the top of the table with relative ease, he has scored 625 runs in 13 matches and is second in the run-getter's list.

And he has done it without changing anything fundamental about his technique. He has played proper cricketing shots, cutting the pacers and lofting the spinners with ease. He seems to have a lot of time on his hands, an asset engendered by his ability to pick up the length of the ball early.

KL Rahul's improbable comeback

The one topping the list is, however, a more astonishing story. With 652 runs from 13 matches, Rahul has finally started doing justice to his immense reserves of talent. Often, he has been the lone man standing for Kings XI Punjab, carrying his bat to the end of the innings, or almost to the end. His 94 against Mumbai Indians in a narrow defeat was the stuff of legends.

Rahul has also been the tragic hero on more than one occasion this season, scoring humongous amounts of runs but failing to carry his team home as wickets toppled all around him.

Indifferent form and a lack of patience has made him irregular in the Indian team but in this IPL he has battled with a lot of composure and has been canny with his shot selection. Yet, the Test opener has not done anything out of character; his proven technique has stood him in good stead and he has utilized the unconventional field placements to his advantage, lifting the ball over short fine-leg but also using his great footwork to hit straight down the ground.

Punjab, however, are not out of the woods and may as yet fail to qualify for the playoffs, that will be a sad ending to Rahul's personal quest this IPL. Yet, a man seemingly short of confidence has come into this tournament and shown he can take responsibility which would have been noticed by the India selectors.

Neither have sacrificed their fundamentals

What is common between these two? They are both old-school in terms of their technique and temperament, a purists' favorite, with perhaps Rahul being the more adventurous stroke-maker between the two. However, they cannot be compared with the typical IPL big-hitters like Chris Gayle or Chris Lynn, the ones whom we expect will take centre-stage in a tournament such as this.

Rahul and Williamson have, however, left the T20 specialists in their wake, proving slogging isn't the only way to succeed in the slam-bang format. They have also established that there is still no substitute for correct fundamentals, however much the game has evolved since its inception.