The Indian batsmen came back with a handful of super shots to keep the fans in the memory forever in the historic Kariyavattam ODI with India’s world record win. The Indian players were able to try all their trademark shots on a pitch that supported the batting. 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 in full swing after the break, not only class but also mass would yield to him. Here are five of the varied shots that Kohli and Gill sported in ‘Karyavattam Kalari’…
∙ Gill’s short arm jab
A short arm jab is a stroke similar to a pull shot. But the short arm jab doesn’t require as much back lift (moving the bat back before the shot) or follow through (the movement of the bat after the shot) as the pull shot. Bottom hand power is mainly required. The short arm jab is mainly played towards mid on and long on. This shot can be played on both front foot and back foot. The first ball of the 25th over bowled by Dasun Shanaka at Kariyavattu, Gill crossed the boundary with a beautiful short arm jab.
∙ 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 fielders’ heads in the 30 yard circle and into the boundary. On the second ball of the 45th over, Virat Kohli scored a six against Chamika Karunaratna through a check drive.
Half slog sweep by Gill
In the second ball of the 21st over, Shubman Gill hit a six off Geoffrey Vandersay with a half-slog sweep. Played towards mid-on and long-on, this shot does not have as much follow through as a slog sweep. Another variation of the short arm jab is the half slog sweep.
Kohli’s chip shot
The chip shot is similar to the helicopter shot made famous by Dhoni and Hardik. In the match at Kariyavatta, Kohli used a chip shot to fly the fourth ball of the 44th over by Kasun Rajitha over the long on boundary to the gallery. The method of chip shot is to use the strength of the bottom hand (the hand that holds below the handle of the bat) to time the ball accurately. It doesn’t require as much hand power as a helicopter shot.
Back foot punch by Kohli
With his trademark back foot punch, Kohli took the fifth ball of the 45th over off Chamika Karunaratne for a boundary through the covers. The back foot punch is used to drive short pitched balls coming back off the side with the bottom hand through the cover and extra cover areas for a boundary with maximum weight on the back foot.
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