POWER HITTERS AND SEHWAG

Power hitters have become an important part of an ODI team. These players have the ability to clear the park, raise the run rate and also provide thrills for the crowds along the way. However, one moment they may thrill you but the next they may make you tear your hair out.

Hitters have been a regular feature of each team since the 1992 World Cup. The New Zealand captain Martin Crowe popularized the concept of the pinch hitter by promoting Mark Greatbach to number three and giving him the license to go after the bowling. The concept of the pinch hitter then evolved into allrounders who had the ability to hit the ball miles when Lance Klusner displayed his skills during the 1999 Cricket World Cup.

In this post I want to discuss three allround power hitters who thrill crowds with their batting but are not that consistent as they should be. I would also compare them to Virender Sehwag and find out why he is more successful and effective than them despite people thinking that he would go down the same line when he made his debut.

Shahid Afridi, Keiron Pollard and Yusuf Pathan are hosehold names when it comes to power hitting and thrilling batting. They are in the side because they can bowl as well. The biggest difference between the three is that Afridi is a much more useful bowler than the other two and off late has been concentrating a lot more on his bowling.

When any of these three walk out to bat the crowd is full of anticipation and always expects some big hits. These players can destroy any bowling attacks when on song but they can also disappoint their own fans and the team by playing some rash shots to throw their wickets away. Right since their respective debuts they have been the key hitters for their teams.

Shahid Afridi burst on to the scene as a 16 year old and smashed the fastest ODI century in just his second ODI game. He came in as a leg spinner who could bat a bit but was promoted up the order after the Pakistan team management spotted his extraordinary skills to clear the park. Over the years he gained fame for his batting and thrilled crowds world over. However, recently his batting has lost a bit of touch and he is more effective as a bowler. He gets out in ways that can frustrate any Pakistan supporter. Even as a captain he hasn’t shown a lot of responsibility with the bat. When he scored two centuries in the Asia Cup last year in his first ODI series as captain, it looked like he had matured but since then he hasn’t performed well with the bat.

Keiron Pollard is another young cricketer who has been a find due to the T20 format. He was a surprise selection for the West Indies squad for the 2007 World Cup. However, he rose to instant fame only during the 2009 Champions League when he powered Trinidad and Tobago to a surprise win over the New South Wales Blues. This made him a sensation which led him to being picked by the Mumbai Indians for a huge sum. He has been a T20 sensation World Over but is yet to live up to his talent at the international level. Many a times he has disappointed for the West Indies as he has lost his wicket at crucial stages playing the big shot. He is a real talent and a cricket fan would hope that he doesn’t waste it to the T20 format.

Yusuf Pathan was discovered when he was smashing bowlers during the inaugural Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the year 2007. He was a part of the Indian Team that lifted the ICC World T20 2007 but he rose to fame during the IPL 2008 due to his consistent performances for Rajasthan Royals. Since then he was in and out of the Indian side but cemented his place when he scored two match winning centuries in the ODI’s in the months preceding the World Cup. In the World Cup he has been quite and has had only one good knock that too against Ireland.

The problem with the three of them is that they try to play too many shots. The other team always has a chance to get them out when they are in. On most occasions they get out playing a rash shot when the ball isnt in the zone to hit. This causes a lot of frustration to the fans and the tem alike. If you look each of their last dismissals you would see that they got out playing a rash shot when it was required that they stayed at the crease a little while longer.

When Sehwag first played for India it was thought that he would develop into such an inconsistent power hitter but today he is one of the most feared batsmen in the world because of his ability to be destructive for a longer time period when compared to the likes of Pollard, Afridi and Pathan. The biggest factor is his attitude. He is cool and no pressure burdens him. Technically, he is more sound as his bat comes down straighter than the others. He also has the ability to choose which balls to put away. He doesn’t go after almost every delivery like the other but puts away those that are in his zone. The threatening deliveries are often blocked and the bad balls are put away.

Thus, these are the main differences between the other power hitters and Sehwag. He is as destructive as them but is more consistent and also has the ability to play longer innings simply because he is very good with his shot selection.