Art of soft hands and swift running between wickets

However, it was not in the case of a few young cricketers like Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad or Ishan Kishan who thought they would get quick runs through some big-hitting only, conveniently forgetting the singles and twos.

Hyderabad: T20 cricket is not all about big-hitting. In the ongoing IPL tournament it is a pleasing sight to see some of the pairs like Virat Kohli-AB de Villiers or David Warner-Jonny Bairstow demonstrating the art of soft hands and running between the wickets. These batsmen collect runs and keep the scoreboard moving, particularly in tight situations with fine exhibition of running between the wickets. Even in searing conditions in the UAE, they were able to steal a march over others with sharp singles or converting singles into twos or threes. It was an object lesson to any young cricketer to know the nuances of the building the innings and accumulating runs.

However, it was not in the case of a few young cricketers like Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad or Ishan Kishan who thought they would get quick runs through some big-hitting only, conveniently forgetting the singles and twos. As a result, whenever they were unable to get runs, they got out. The IPL is a platform where these players can be better players by watching the more experienced cricketers, whether it is in batting, bowling or fielding. It is all about playing smart cricket while getting the runs. For instance, stealing singles in front of swift fielders is always a risky element, particularly when the ball goes in the direction of his throwing arm.

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In recent times, India had batsmen such as Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja who excelled with smart running between the wickets. Batsmen like Kohli value their runs. They believe in unsettling the bowler with quick running between the wickets. Former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin was one of the masters in this art. He would run very fast between the wickets.

According to former Hyderabad swing bowler P Jyothi Prasad, apart from Azharuddin, Abid Ali and MV Narasimha Rao were quick runners between the wickets. “Abid used to run like a hare.

He would tap and dash off for a quick single. The non-striker would have to be on his toes whenever Abid was at the crease. It is an art. Even I admired the way the late ML Jaisimha ran for his singles. He would never call. He would just place the ball and scramble for a single. So was Mumtaz Hussain. Those days in the 70s, Ramnath Parkar was the best runner between the wickets in the country,’’ said Prasad, who himself ran some good singles with MV Narasimha Rao.

Former Test cricketer Narasimha Rao pointed out it is important for the batsman to play with soft hands and place the ball between the fielders. “The understanding with a non-striker is very crucial. A batsman has to keep an eye in which direction the ball is going. If you are good at running between the wickets, you can really upset the bowler by hitting a four and then go for a single or twos. Kohli and de Villiers have shown the art of running between the wickets in the present IPL. They are the best. Warner and Bairstow, too, impressed. They have amazing understanding.

“I remember in a Ranji match against Railways, Jyothi and I had an 80-odd runs partnership and in that we had 40 plus runs in sharp singles. Those days the pair of Asif Iqbal-Javed Miandad of Pakistan or Dean Jones-David Boon of Australia marvelled with their running between the wickets. They would tap and go for a quick single. It was very annoying for any captain or a bowler,’’ said Narasimha Rao.

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