While no single cricket shot has ever decided the result of an entire game, there have been some shots that have gained significantly more significance than others either to the circumstances in which they were played or because of their contribution to the sport’s revolution. In the last ten years, cricket has undergone significant transformation, as evidenced by the way the game’s duration and laws have changed. Many novel methods have resulted from this development, but it has also challenged batsmen to adopt new ways of thinking and perform shots that were previously unimaginable.
With the introduction of T20 cricket, batsmen have begun to execute spectacular shots, much to the chagrin of the bowlers. We present to you a collection of shots that batsmen frequently execute and which thrill onlookers.
1. Brian Lara surpasses Garry Sobers with his record-breaking pull shot
Brian Lara’s record-breaking 375 against England at Antigua in 1994 only served to confirm that this was a player with special abilities from the moment he made his West Indies debut.
On a rather calm pitch on Day 1 of the Test, West Indies won the toss and elected to bat, but lost Stuart Williams early. To the pleasure of the sizable West Indian audience, that drew Lara to the crease. Over the following two days, he put on a batting feast for everyone present. On Day 2, he reached his triple hundred late in the day and concluded the day with 320.
The main focus was on seeing if Lara could exceed Sir Gary Sobers’ world record score of 365, which had been established against Pakistan in 1958. West Indies were comfortably on 502/4 heading into Day 3 and any outcome other than a draw seemed implausible. And Lara didn’t let us down. He rapidly caught up to Sobers on 365 before scoring four runs to pass the great man by pulling a short delivery from Chris Lewis to the midwicket fence. Lara’s efforts were recognised by Sobers, who was in attendance that day, who said at the time, “I don’t think a greater individual could have broken my record.”
2. Kevin Pietersen, Muttiah switch hit-off
Over the years, Kevin Pietersen has developed a reputation as a batsman who plays with abandon. The switch-hit, however, is a very absurd stroke to attempt even by his standards.
For those who are unfamiliar, a switch-hit is a shot when a right-handed batsman reverses his hold on the bat handle and alters his stance just as the bowler is about to deliver the ball.
The shot was originally used by Pietersen in a Test match against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston in May 2006, and while it has since been used frequently by other batters, the challenge of pulling it off cannot be understated.
4. Javed Miandad, last ball wonder at Sharjah
Javed Miandad’s six off the penultimate ball of an ODI between Pakistan and India in Sharjah in April 1986 is undoubtedly the moment that best sums up the rivalry between the two nations in the 1980s. After all, Pakistan dominated for a large portion of the time, and Miandad’s talent played a significant role in that domination.
In this specific case, the AustralAsia Cup final, Pakistan required 246 runs off of their 50 overs and was really playing with the eight-ball for the whole of the game. India was considered the favourite even heading into the final ball of the match, assuming you ignore Miandad’s brilliance, of course.
Miandad, who finished on 116* from 114 deliveries, went on to do two better when he hit a six over mid-wicket off a low full-toss from Chetan Sharma to give his team the championship. Miandad needed 4 off the final delivery. Sharma didn’t actually give the speech very poorly, but you didn’t need to in order to offend the street-smart Pakistani.
3. Sachin’s Shoaib uppercut
Before their Super Six matchup during the 2003 World Cup, the rivalry between Sachin Tendulkar and Shoaib Akhtar was at an all-time high in terms of anticipation. Of course, the two had a well-known history together, with Akhtar having sent Tendulkar out for a golden duck in their very first encounter, a Test match in Kolkata in 1999.
However, Tendulkar was too self-assured of his prowess to permit a repeat of the last meeting. Tendulkar immediately broke the record with a superb upper cut over third man for six in Akhtar’s first over as they chased a challenging goal of 274 from 50 overs.
The ball was precisely the right length, just short enough for Tendulkar to spread his arms freely and take full advantage.
Over the course of his 24-year international career, the Little Master may have made a lot more beautiful shots, but I doubt any of them had the kind of impact that this specific shot did.
In order for India to surpass Pakistan’s total, which they accomplished with 6 wickets and 26 balls to spare, the then 29-year-old Mumbaikar needed to score 98 off just 75 deliveries.
5. MS Dhoni hits a sixer of all times
Indian cricket fans had to endure a long 28-year wait before experiencing World Cup triumph once more following the historic ICC Cricket World Cup victory of 1983. However, the wait was worth it thanks to Indian skipper MS Dhoni, who finished off a match-winning effort of 91* from 79 balls by slamming a breathtakingly high six off the bowling of Nuwan Kulasekara.
When Dhoni came out to bat, India was in trouble at 114/3, needing 275 runs from 50 overs to win. He managed to muster the guts to advance himself ahead of Yuvraj Singh, who in contrast was in the best shape of his life, despite being in bad form and having scored a total of 150 runs from eight matches prior to the final. Fortunately for Dhoni and India, the decision paid off.
He didn’t make any hasty decisions in the beginning of his inning; instead, he batted one and twos, punishing the occasional lost ball in between. At the other end, Gautam Gambhir was in excellent form from the beginning of his innings and appeared poised to lead the side to victory.
After putting together a 109-run partnership with Dhoni, Gambhir was removed on 97. With 52 needed at a run a ball and 6 wickets in hand by that point, though, victory was within reach. With the Punjab left-hander on strike, Dhoni and Yuvraj went about their work calmly and soon only five runs off 12 balls were required.
Yuvraj rotated the strike over, reducing the equation from 11 to 4, possibly feeling Dhoni’s desire to score the winning runs after putting in so much effort. Even one run at a time would have done the trick, but Dhoni frequently pulls off the extraordinary. And he duly did so once more, dispatching hapless Kulasekara over wide long-on for an enormous six that seemed to erupt in exuberant glee among the majority of the 42,000 spectators at the Wankhede that evening (there were a few Sri Lankans in the stadium as well).
Sources:
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