Who is Daryl Mitchell? Perhaps he is that batting all-rounder who cracked his maiden first-class hundred for Northern Districts with a single to mid-on off Scott Kuggeleijn, somewhere in February 2013. It took him six more years to earn his Test cap. Curiously, it was more for his seam-bowling skills. He ended up replacing the injured Colin de Grandhomme, known for his niggardly bowling, alongside big-hitting traits.
Now add another six years and you will find that Mitchell has metamorphosed into one of the finest players of spin going around in the 50-over format. To gauge Mitchell’s modus operandi, Kuldeep Yadav is the right person to ask questions. With different types of sweeps, lofts and nudges to midwicket, Mitchell has continued to systematically dismantle his formidable opponent.
Over a period of time, the left-arm wrist spinner has gained a reputation of befuddling a slew of fine batters. But when Mitchell is at the crease, the contest seems like a one-way traffic. One of the keynotes for a spinner is to do enough spot bowling. And that is basically to locate a good length area more often than not. However, while bowling to Mitchell, Kuldeep’s nemesis is able to dance down the track and target the downtown territories against good-length bowling.
On expected lines, the spinner then falls into a trap of ushering it quicker through the air. An astute Mitchell duly provides the coup de grace with either of the following strokes – the paddle sweep, or nudging one around the corner. If the length is shorter, Mitchell uses the depth of the crease to go right back.
The crucial third and final India-New Zealand ODI further capsulised the point that the Indian spinners, including Kuldeep, don’t have much of a plan while being up against Mitchell. Kuldeep’s first offering of the match itself was deposited into the downtown territories. Two deliveries later, he hit one through midwicket. At the fag end of the over, Mitchell was back to easing it to long-on.
During the slog overs, Mitchell’s strategy hadn’t changed one bit while facing Kuldeep – The loft down the ground was followed by a single towards midwicket. His cat and mouse game also ensured that by the 19th over itself the fielder stationed at short square leg was pushed towards short fine leg. Shubman Gill, the India skipper, was clearly aiming to reduce Mitchell’s run-scoring areas behind square on the on-side.
For a few seconds also glance through his ODI record – Six of his tons in that format have come in India and Pakistan. Now one can envisage why the spinners fear Mitchell as much as they do in the shorter formats. Here is one batter who has the sweeps and reverse sweeps in his armour. Mitchell is also ready to skip down the track even to someone like Varun Chakaravarthy; renowned for bowling quick through the air.
The affable cricketer averages a whopping 58.47 in ODIs and 43.5 in Tests. In an imaginary sense, if you wake up from deep sleep after 10 years and chart Mitchell’s progress as a batter, it could turn out to be a head-scratching moment. You might end thinking – How did this happen? Wasn’t he supposed to be more of a batting all-rounder? Those two questions are more than enough to narrate the story of Mitchell Version 2.0.
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