Deconstructing Rohit

[Bleed-Blue]

 

I really like watching Rohit Sharma bat. When he's in full flow there are few who come close to him in the sheer ability to play strokes, and when he bats that way, it's worth paying for a ticket and withstanding the elements in the stands.

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When a batsman reaches the desired position to execute a shot before the ball arrives, it creates the illusion of him having more time to play. 

Rohit does this by not moving too much in the crease. He has a trigger movement of a slight forward press, and that's where he stays most of the time. From there he is able to play attacking or defensive shots. He also possesses the rare ability to play strokes off both feet from the same position. So if the bowler pitches it full, he's already in the right position to execute the shot, but even when the bowler digs it in short, he just transfers the weight to the back foot (without actually moving the back leg) and plays cuts and pulls.

Rohit, like most modern batsmen, has wonderful hands. When he's not able to reach the ball with the feet - and this happens often because of the lack of foot movement - he gets to the ball with his hands. Since batsmen these days look for room to free their arms, bowlers have started bowling a lot straighter to deny them width. That's why Rohit's method of always staying not just inside the line of the ball but also a little away from it has worked for him, especially in the shorter formats.

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There is, though, a slight issue with this technique while playing Test cricket, where the lines of attack are different. Since bowlers aren't too worried about wide deliveries and leaking runs, they are happy to bowl a fifth-or-sixth-stump line, with a packed off-side field, for longer stretches. Also, the slip cordon takes care of the edges that fly off the bat if the batsman decides to flash, unlike in limited-overs cricket. Test cricket, especially in slightly bowler-friendly conditions, demands the batsman use his feet - both front and back. You can't simply stand in one position for all kinds of deliveries and shots, for the ball is constantly doing something in the air and off the surface.

There's another little thing about Rohit's weight transference, which is likely to get him into trouble when the ball is moving sideways and he's playing shots off the front foot. Ideally, while playing off the front foot the head should be above that foot; that ensures the body weight is going forward. Rohit's head is rarely in that position. Instead, his head is always somewhere over the middle of the body, and that's why the ball sneaks through his defence every now and then. The next time you watch India play, look at this difference between Virat Kohli and Rohit; Kohli's head is always over the front foot, and that's why he is able to hit shots down the ground to balls on the up, while Rohit prefers to go square of the pitch to identical deliveries.

Full Article: http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/924791.html

[Adi_91]

Very good analysis. To me, Rohit is breathtaking when he plays some of the shots like the one 6 he hit last night. Just effortless. But then, when he gets out, he looks a little silly.

[Adi_91]

Most un reliable good batsmen in the Indian history.. I just can't phrase it better 

And to add to that, a much safer bet with the bat in LOIs. 

[maniac]

the most mercurial cricketer of the last 2 decades.

the guy in full flow is like poetry.... This is why we love crixket because of players like this