Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai
How did he enhance your viewing experience? This was the question that kept reverberating in the mind while watching Abhishek Sharma bat against Pakistan in Sunday’s Asia Cup encounter.
If you’re a nerd, you might think on the following lines – Abhishek’s flurry of shots were akin to a masterful mathematician breaking down the angles of the field with precision. If you’re into the technicalities of the sport, you might end up analysing the massive arc of his swing-path and how it invariably comes down on the ball for him to essay lofts, slog-sweeps, pulls and hoicks.
If you’re a statistician, your inference could be as follows – Abhishek’s pyrotechnics are like a butterfly flapping its wings in the Congo Basin forest, and you get sunshine instead of rain. Basically, we are looking at chaos theory, where a small shift in circumstances could result in a massive change in the outcome. In this context, Abhishek’s whirlwind half-century had more or less sealed the deal in a mere eight overs while chasing down a target of 172.
As a cricket connoisseur, you would want to sit back at the Dubai International Stadium and marvel at the unbridled joy associated with Abhishek’s hitting prowess. At the same time, what could be the thoughts of Pakistan’s bowlers? When the likes of Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Afridi, Saim Ayub and co. take a nap, they may get a nightmare or two about Abhishek’s bravado.
Just consider the ball that Abrar bowled to Abhishek in the fourth over. It was a very decent delivery that was tossed up. The ball sailed into the deep-midwicket stand. When some of your better deliveries are being smashed for sixes, then the opponent can become a nightmarish prospect. No wonder Abrar was perplexed after that ball was tonked.
In the post-match press conference, Suryakumar Yadav said this about Abhishek’s batting template: “He’s very selfless when it comes to his batting style. As he passes the powerplay, he can still bat the same way as he bats in the powerplay. But the way he analyses the situation post-powerplay, that’s a plus point for him and he’s learning every game. It’s very important for him to understand what his role is.”
Incidentally, Shubman Gill, his longtime friend and opening partner, also played with a fair amount of fearlessness. All the hard work of perfecting the shape on his shots in the nets before the game seemed to have worked. But Gill himself might agree that it was Abhishek’s day out. After all, amongst all of us, he had the best vantage point to witness the explosion of fireworks from Abhishek’s bat – At the non-striker’s end.
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