The Indian batsmen came back with a handful of brilliant shots to leave the fans in the memory forever in the historic Kariyavattam ODI with India winning a world record. The Indian players managed to try all their trademark shots on a pitch that supported the innings. Virat Kohli and Subhman Gill, who scored a century, played the most in it.
Gill’s was an innings that proved that if Kohli was seen playing at his peak after the break, not only the class but also the masses would yield to him. Here are five of the various shots that Kohli and Gill played in ‘Karyavattam Kalari’…
∙ Gill’s short arm jab
A short arm jab is a stroke similar to a pull shot. But the short arm swing doesn’t require as much back lift (movement of the bat back before the shot) or follow through (movement of the bat after the shot) as the pull shot. It requires mostly bottom hand power. The short arm jab is played mostly mid forward and forward. This shot can be played on both the front foot and the back foot. First ball of the 25th over bowled by Dasun Shanaka at Kariyavattu, Gill crossed the boundary with a beautiful short arm shot.
∙ Kohli’s check drive
Check drives are incomplete drive shots that are completed halfway through. Drive shots played with the top hand (the hand that holds the top of the bat handle) go down the ground while check drives played with the bottom hand go over the heads of the fielders in the 30 circle yard and into the boundary. In the second ball of the 45th over, Virat Kohli hit a six against Chamika Karunaratna by driving a check.
Half a slog sweep by Gill
In the second ball of the 21st over, Shubman Gill hit a six off Geoffrey Vandersay with a shot of half an over. Played towards the middle and long-on, this shot lacks follow through as much as a sweep. Another variation of the short arm sweep is the half slog sweep.
Kohli’s chip shot
The chip shot is similar to the helicopter shot made famous by Dhoni and Hardik. Kohli used a chip shot to send the fourth ball of the 44 overs bowled by Kasun Rajitha over long-on to the gallery in the match at Kariyavatta. The technique of the chip shot is to use the power of the bottom hand (the hand that holds the bottom of the bat handle) to time the ball correctly. It doesn’t require as much hand power as a helicopter shot.
Back foot punch from Kohli
With his trademark back foot punch, Kohli took the fifth ball of the 45th over off Chamika Karunaratne for a boundary through covers. The back foot punch is used to drive short pitched balls coming back off the side with the bottom hand through cover and extra cover areas for a boundary with maximum pressure on the back foot.
English Summary: Five Trademark Cricket Shots From India Vs Sri Lanka 3rd ODI
