He might have just produced the most brutal knock in cricket history,but Chris Gayles take on it was typically understated. In addition to revealing his breakfast menu,omelette,pancakes and hot chocolate,he claimed to be as astonished as everyone else.
In addition to being the Hercules among big-hitters,the Jamaican also is among the most easygoing of people to have played the sport. And theres nothing fancy about Gayles approach to batting either,except probably the black bandana that adds further menace to his hulking disposition.
Incidentally,the left-handers unprecedented success in the most modern format of cricket is rather based on a very basic old-school technique. No,not See the ball,hit the ball.
If anything,Gayle is an ardent follower of the adage of keeping a solid base at the crease with the eyes level at all times. And at the point of delivery,he takes up a neutral stance,which allows him to shift his body weight towards the front foot or back depending on the length of the ball. So short-pitched deliveries like the ones Ashok Dinda or Mitchell Marsh dished up to him are pulled away over the midwicket fence. And anything pitched up on a good length or fuller get launched into orbit over the bowler,with the bat always coming down with almighty force. Balls that are pitched out of his hitting zone,either in the blockhole or short of a length and wide,are dealt with circumspection and more often than not patted away for singles.
Others,like his Bangalore teammate AB de Villiers,might depend heavily on premeditating their strokes and putting the bowler off his mark. Not Gayle though.
The openers stillness at the crease means that the bowler is given no prior warning. Another major strength of Gayles power-hitting is his penchant to clear the straight boundaries,which he achieves by clearing his front foot and teeing off on Tuesday too 60 per cent of his 17 sixes either came over long-on or long-off while some even struck the sight-screen. Against the spinners,Gayle uses his long reach to get to the pitch of the ball and swat them over cow corner. If they go wide,his long arms come into play allowing him to flay the ball inside-out over the extra cover region.
The bowlers not surprisingly have little margin for error. As much as a result of his inherent belligerence as his uncomplicated approach to his batting blitzes.
(Bharat is a senior correspondent based in Mumbai)
bharat.sundaresan@expressindia.com
