It is a common fact that running between the wickets play a major part in one-day cricket, these days. One crucial run out could turn a match on its head, it would be interesting to note how this important aspect of the game played its part, when we go down memory lane a few years back.
The gaps will always be evident and the need is to exploit them. Sachin Tendulkar was a past master at this and he could push and prod when he targeted them, and he was canny enough to take the first run hard when he saw the possibility of another. The maestro Tendulkar who by then has scored the most number of runs was a wonderful example of a batsman who not only looked for the possibility of a second run but a third as well if the fielding was lackadaisical. In his era too which means reminiscing skin deep, the ‘dot ball’ was acceptable in Test cricket and Tendulkar was a master in pacing his innings with dot balls amongst the many two’s, threes, fours and sixes which studded many of his glorious innings. On the contrary, a dot ball in one day cricket could easily make the difference between winning and losing. The crowds loathe seeing even a batsman fresh to the crease playing down dot balls though he tries to get his eye in.
Even then there was a lot more of hitting on the rise on the one day format due to the fact that pitches were prepared for runs and they were true, all this was done due to crowd entertainment. The absence of too many slips accompanying the wicket keeper, as well as restriction in field settings automatically created the scope for what it could be termed unorthodox shots. One of those was the reverse sweep. It was also common to see batsmen going inside out even to balls pitched on the leg stump and hoicking them over the covers, another productive stroke on the offing was the deliberate open faced flick over the slips and the thinly sliced leg glance. To play all these strokes entailed soft hands and supple wrists.
Rajan Bala in his book “Glances at perfection” stated that it was a matter for speculation as to how many men who played between 1930s and 1970s, would have adapted to the needs of the shorter version of the game. C.K.Naydu, hit a lot of sixes anyway and would have loved this sort of contest. So would have Mushtaq Ali, who played Test cricket like one day cricket, going by what his colleague Rusi Modi had to say. Vijay Merchant for instance employed the late cut which would have been a wonderfully effective stroke. But overall one day cricket is all about power, and here one would have to think of the power players of the past like Nayudu, Lala Amarnath, even Vijay Hazare, Polly Umrigar and Gulbrai Ramchand stated Bala.
Bala noted that batting in this format of the game changed completely after the introduction of the 30-yard semi circles and the stipulation that four fieldsmen, apart from the wicket keeper, have to be within them all the time. In the 1996 World Cup that we won, the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana took one’s breath away by exploiting the 15 over rule when only 2 fieldsmen could be employed outside the circle after 15 overs, the runs just flowed, concluded Bala. In that 1996 World Cup it was stunning to watch ‘Sana’ and ‘Kalu’ completely revolutionised the art of batting by going “hell for leather” in the first 15 overs. It would be interesting to note that if they were playing against the present Indian bowlers who are quite adept at putting the ball in the right areas and getting movement either way could fare. My bet is that either they would have perished or plundered them.
By the way Gurusinha and the boys are riding high in India, ok people might say that the “Kholi factor’ was not there, this could be true as Virat Kholi has had such a bearing on this Indian side and India always ride high when he is there, but unfortunately for India and fortunately for Sri Lanka, Virat Kholi is going to be the ‘The Man of The Match’ in another scenario, his wedding and I wish him all the best.
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