Former India cricketer offers a masterclass to Indian batters on how to bat on turning pitches
India got a jolt at Indore when Australia hammered India by nine wickets and got their first win in the four match Test series at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia batted better than India in both innings at Indore and so they were able to churn out a win. For India, it has been a poor show especially from the top-order batters in this series.
Sunil Gavaskar speaking on the Indian batters poor show offered some valuable advice and guidance on how to bat on turning pitches in India. “The top hand guides the bat and the bottom hand decides the speed. So if you want to dead bat then the bottom hand has to have the slightest of holds on the handle. The top hand will bring the bat down as you want it, either straight or across the pads,” Gavaskar told the Indian Express on Sunday.
The batter should crouch a little bat like a keeper – Sunil Gavaskar
India’s faults with the bat have been that they have pressed on the back foot a lot of times when they have not been able to judge the length of the ball properly, which has led to the bat going across the line and far to square which has been the cause of a lot of dismissals. The second error that the Indians have committed is that They have taken a long stride forward.
The long stride has been of no help to the Indians as they haven’t been able to get the bat around the pad when it was needed which has led to a lot of lbw dismissals to the Indian batters. Examples have been KS Bharat, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravindra Jadeja.
“Bending a bit helps you as you are closer to the ball, so to speak,” Gavaskar had explained. “Just like a great wicketkeeper who gets up with the bounce, a batsman, if he crouches just a little bit – not too low – where his head is more in line with the delivery angle, he would get to know which one to play. How far to go forward or is it better to go on the backfoot. Standing upright does not give that advantage on turners. They would be able to meet the deviation and bounce better if you crouch a little like a ’keeper.” Gavaskar added.
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