“You don’t play for the crowd; you play for the country.” – Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Arguably the most famous captain of the 21st century, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has defined the gentleman’s game is probably the best way. In India, cricket is arguably the second-most followed religion. Every second family has an aspirant, irrespective of location, religion, caste, social status, economic status, and other such variables. The game has several stories that have picked people from the last step and has made given them demi-god status.
The competition, though, is getting tougher by the day. More players, better technicians, better coaching facilities, and more stress on fitness and drive have pushed players to a different level. They know much more about the game and its intricacies, are taking care of their physicality better and know what’s good for them and what’s not.
Strategies, these days, play a very important role in the same. International players pull off unprecedented tricks time and again to out-think their opponents to win the game of cricket. A great example of this was the usage of Joginder Sharma in the last over of the 2007 T20 World Cup final by MS Dhoni, which saw India defeat Pakistan.
Let’s take a look at some cricketing strategies every player must learn.
Field placement
Understanding the placement of the fielders as a batsman and placing yourself on the field while fielding is one key facet of the game. Batsmen have found gaps with pleasure, while fielders have saved boundaries and taken stunning catches only by understanding a great deal of field placement, both from the receiver and provider’s point of view.
Adjusting the tempo
This is an essential job for bowlers as well as batsmen in today’s era of slam-bang cricket. It is very important for the bowling side to break the batting team’s momentum if it is going strong, and that’s precisely where slowing the tempo comes in. For a bowler, while wicket-taking is the prime objective, slowing the flow of runs can be regarded as number 2.
Virat Kohli is a master of adjusting the team according to the need of the hour
For batsmen, starting the innings on an aggressive note and increasing the flow of runs in the last 10-15 overs makes a team better-placed. Such has been the effect of the strategy that after Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana started it during the 1996 World Cup, it has continued and is used by most teams.
The batsmen must know the right time to change gears and start collecting runs faster.
Homework
Doing homework on the opposition the team is facing is a pre-requisite if facilities are available. It won’t happen at the school or the college level, but as a player goes higher up, he would be able to see the opposition players on videos. He must understand and perform the SWOT analysis on all players and prepare himself accordingly for the game.
At times, there are individual players that can be very dangerous. In that case, the captain must lead the line and know how to take his wicket, or if he’s a bowler, how not to give him too many wickets. The technical staff and the head coach can always hand in some invaluable advice.
Reading about the pitch and other external factors come in handy as well.
These are just a few strategies that can take a cricketer a long way. Every player must remain dedicated towards the game physically, mentally, and needs to understand the strategy side of it as well to increase his knowhow.
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cricketing strategies every player must learn,cricketing strategies every player must learn