Most popular shots in Modern day cricket

Cricket is seeing a transition from a game played, watched and followed by a handful of countries which were either ruled by United Kingdom or a part of the Common Wealth Nations to a game popular in countries which never knew its existence. Even in a nation as cricket crazy as India had only the male population following the tests and the ODI’s since the inception and introduction of the T20 format and later the IPL. The fan following has grown many folds and now children, elders and females never like to miss a game now.

All this, excitement, action, buzz, a complete extravaganza cricket has become is due to the innovation that are made and used in the game these days in the modern era. Bowlers look to contain the run flow than take wickets, reluctant to pitch it up fearing to get hit do not avail the swing that is available initially. Credit this to the innovative, manipulative shots the batsmen have invented which guarantee them maximum reward along with equal amount of risk though.

Here we try to bring together all those interesting, run fetching, cheeky shots with which batsmen have revolutionised batting

The Upper Cut:

The shot basically associated with Sachin Tendulkar who used it with perfection, not letting his short stature and taking advantage of the pace and bounce of the delivery it is just a tickle to the ball above shoulder height and is pushed to fly above the wicket-keeper’s head yields a six on most occasions and a boundary sometimes. The answer to a short-pitch delivery or bouncer aimed almost at the body.

The Switch hit:

Defining this one is tough now, umm.. a switch hit happens when a right-hand or left-hand batsmen suddenly decides to bat the other way, changes grip position and plays the other side. Most effectively used by two batsmen who also get the credit of making this shot a hit, Kevin Petersen and David Warner. The obvious outcome is a six more times and the ball bounces inside the ropes when it is miss timed or top-edged.

The Dil scoop:

Named after its inventor the shot was first played and popularized by the Sri Lankan Tilakratne Dilshan. It is basically a scoop that is hit behind the wicket above the batsmen and over the wicket-keeper for a six. Effective in conditions when the ball is pitched up and both third man and fine leg are deep gets you maximum runs even then.

The Helicopter Shot:

Invented by a friend but used most effectively and efficiently by MS Dhoni, a few say Sachin Tendulkar played it years ago so never mind if you contradict we are here to talk about the shot not to raise a controversy. It is a counter-attack for the ball in the block hole called a Yorker or a toe crusher and the ball lands directly into the stands if miss-hit may run away for a four. But risky, if you miss it the bowler has a clear chance of getting you LBW or bowled.

The Reverse Sweep:
A sweep was the traditional, orthodox approach towards tackling spin bowling but modern-day cricket is more about attacking than neutralizing. So was the reverse sweep born, batsmen either change position to play it in the opposite direction of the sweep or switch grip and make the most of it by hitting the ball for a six. This is totally opposite to the sweep hence called reverse sweep, the modern warfare usually used by the South African AB Devilliers and Australian Glen Maxwell.