Three Indian batters under the age of 23 thrived in a high-pressure game against high-quality bowling
Alagappan Muthu03-May-20242:30
Rapid Fire Review: Rating Nitish Kumar Reddy’s innings
As the ball disappeared into the night sky, the bowler looked at his captain, extending both of his arms out – palms up, fingers half curled – and finally with a little twist of his wrists, he conveyed what didn’t need saying out loud. “Come on, how is that fair?” If Nitish Kumar Reddy does nothing else for the rest of his life, he will still have this. The moment where he was too much for R Ashwin in Hyderabad.Very few batters have had this kind of effect on a man who prides himself on being ahead of the curve; that even though he is a fingerspinner, he remains relevant in T20 cricket. All night long Ashwin was having success targeting the outside edge. He even tinkered with his run-up to ensure a steep angle into the batter and trick them into playing either inside the line or against the turn. Ashwin produced three wicket-taking opportunities in his second over alone. But back then, he was bowling to two left-handers.Reddy doesn’t suffer from that predicament, which is why he felt confident enough to go again. This time Ashwin had wised up. He didn’t give the ball any air. It was fired into the pitch.Related
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There is a Sunrisers Hyderabad six-hitter who specialises in thumping these kinds of deliveries out of the park and it was fitting that he was standing at the other end. Heinrich Klaasen plays the pull shot with almost a straight bat because he has seen through the deception.Spinners go flat and into the wicket because it can be a trigger for horizontal bat shots. Some of them are clever enough to exploit this by making sure even though the trajectory might be right for such audacious strokeplay the length is all wrong. This creates the chance to cramp the batter for room or even sneak underneath their swing. That is why Klaasen brings his bat down at a 45-degree angle and it looks like he has been sharing his secrets.Reddy got into the same position, shifting his weight back, clearing his front leg, opening up his hips and crucially, ditching the orthodox pull shot. As a result, instead of falling straight into the trap of a flatter ball that pitched slightly further up, he helped himself to six runs over midwicket. From being 5 off 10, he was suddenly 62 off 32.This is how good Reddy is. And he’s just 20. His aggression – he faced 18 balls of spin and tried to send 12 of them to the boundary – played a big part in Ashwin being hit for four sixes in his spell, only once has he given up more in his entire IPL career, and Yuzvendra Chahal recording his second-most expensive figures in all T20s.
****
Yashasvi Jaiswal subjected Marco Jansen to the worst feeling a bowler can have out there on the field.It was the fourth over of the chase. And it was a long one. Eight balls. By that time, all you want to do is find a way to get out of it without causing even more damage. Jansen thought he could do that by going yorker. And considering his comes down from about 15 feet high, it was a pretty decent option.In an IPL where run rates have hit never-seen-before highs, and where the ball keeps wanting to travel to outer space, and where Ashwin, tongue in cheek, tweeted out “save the bowlers someone, plsss”, this felt colder. This one shot that Jaiswal played. It broke the illusion. There might be no such thing as a good delivery in T20 cricket.There is no guarantee that blockhole balls will keep Yashasvi Jaiswal down•BCCIJansen targeted the blockhole. He found it. He might even have felt a smidge of relief as he looked up from his followthrough. But Jaiswal was there. Watching the flight of the ball all the way down to where it pitched right beside him, around fifth stump, and just plonked an open bat face in its path. That was it. He bisected the gap between two fielders in the inner ring and condemned the very best ball that the bowler could come up to the damn boundary. At least when you miss your mark, you get to have a little bit of solace.This is how good Jaiswal is. He is 22. And he brushed off the fact that he and his team had lost Jos Butter and Sanju Samson for nothing like it was nothing.
****
Riyan Parag gambled as he came down the pitch, making room for himself. Bhuvneshwar Kumar had seen it and made two key adjustments to his original plan. First, he took pace off. And second, he shifted his line wide outside off stump.Parag was denied the option of just hitting through the line. He was being challenged. Let’s see if you can keep your shape. And even if you can, do you have enough skill and strength to find the fence like you were so obviously trying to do.Earlier in the season, against Kolkata Knight Riders, in another 200-plus chase where Rajasthan Royals were two down early, Parag made a complete mockery of the match situation. His arrival at the crease triggered a period of play where ten balls of pace produced four fours and three sixes.Riyan Parag’s control was a characteristic that stood out•AFP/Getty ImagesThen he got out. Sometimes batting seems so easy you get carried away.On Thursday, the one thing that stood out above all else about Parag was how much he wanted to be in control. Like with this Bhuvneshwar slower ball, that was designed to one-up him, he was in the kind of headspace where he knew exactly how long he had to wait for it and that at the point of impact, if he rolled his wrists just right on top of it, he would be able to get the gap between point and cover, and have enough power to reach the fence.This is how good Parag has become. He is 22. Coming into this season, he averaged 15.48 against fast bowling, having hit 20 sixes in 42 IPL innings. In IPL 2024, across a mere nine innings, he has hit 17 sixes and averages 44.66.
****
This was the first IPL game – in over 1000 – where three under-23 players produced half-centuries. Two of them were lined up against the third here but perhaps there will come a time – is 2026 too early? – that they will all step forward together wearing bright radiant blue.