After playing in the IPL for years, T20 cricket stars David Miller, Kevin Pietersen, and others have revealed how modern-day batters regularly clear the ropes to record six running hits. Chris Gayle is currently the leading six-run hitter in the Indian Premier League with 349 sixes and seems to have mastered this cricketing technique quite well.
Hitting sixes on demand is a crucial aspect of T20 cricket, making a cricketer a valuable addition to the team if he can do it perfectly. For the 2021 season, the IPL will welcome all the top eight six hitters in the league’s history. These cricketers include Punjab Kings’ Chris Gale, RCB’s AB de Villers, and MS Dhoni. Dhoni plays for the Chennai Super Kings, currently ranking as the fourth favorite to win the title ahead of the competition from 9th April to 30th May.
Kevin Pietersen sat down with coach Darren Lehmann and current South African stars Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, and Dwaine Pretorious to reveal the IPL secrets behind six-hitting in cricket. Pietersen played for five seasons in the Indian Premier League, representing the Delhi Capitals, while Miller was part of the Rajasthan Royals last season.
A South African left-handed master blaster, David Miller, was able to carve himself a niche in the IPL, managing to become the top scorer for the Kings XI Punjab during the 2013 season. Miller recorded 418 runs with an average of 59.71. The master blaster also recorded a century of 38 balls against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
In the video released online ahead of the launch of the 2021 IPL season, Miller, Pietersen, Lehmann, and others discussed how modern cricketers are hitting the ball further, the players’ meticulous practice regimes, and whether playing with a big bat matters.
How Modern Cricketers Are Hitting the Ball Further
From playing in the gulleys to aiming for the sky, cricket fever cuts through all ages worldwide. However, playing under the pressure of hitting sixes and flying the ball high and long isn’t always easy. Nonetheless, that didn’t stop great big hitters like Darren Lehman, Kevin Pietersen, Reeza Hendricks, and Dwaine Pretorious from blowing our minds with extraordinary shots.
According to these top T20 stars, hitting sixes is about more than having basic power and techniques. Sometimes a cricketer needs to hit sixes and increase the run-rate but fails miserably because of the opposition’s intelligent strategies. Here are wise tips by top T20 six-hitters on how to make the ball fly into the stands:
1. Know your Tools and Confidence
According to cricket Legend Kevin Pietersen, hitting sixes depends on how you know your confidence and tools. As a player, you must understand the ball to see whether you have enough strength to control it or not. However, planning to hit a six remains an integral part of the art of hitting sixes regularly.
2. Eyes on the Ball
Hitting sixes requires constant concentration, effort, and grooving. The cricketer must eagerly observe every ball from when the bowler starts his run-up. Several great six-hitters also believe that a player needs to watch the ball constantly in the bowler’s hand until it’s conveyed. It’s also essential to practice proper range hitting on the ground.
One trick that most successful cricketers use is rapidly moving their eyes to the area they want the ball to land after seeing it in the bowler’s hand. That gives them a few seconds to know how to respond to the ball successfully.
Is that enough?
Essentially, hitting sixes is a matter of understanding the ball in relation to your strength. As such, understanding the ball you can shoot and the length that your bat will travel is crucial for batsmen worldwide.
Keep your head on the ball, and you can appropriately check the ball line and respond accordingly with a swing or a defensive batting. Cricketers who choose to get out of the slips misconstrue the ball’s line and can’t react appropriately towards the ball.
Does Playing with A Big Bat Improve Performance?
While the size of a bat might determine its weight, it has little to do with the cricketer’s performance in a game. That’s because players go through hours of practice to improve their perfectness on swinging the bat. As such, the mental strength of a cricketer makes a bigger difference than the bat’s weight. However, the player needs to have the power to handle the opponent’s bowler.
Most people mistakenly assume that big bats are more powerful than their smaller counterparts, which is often flawed thinking. Some players prefer bigger bats because they make it easier to hit boundaries, although the balance between the ball and the bat is negatively impacted. That explains why there have been traceable shifts in the preparation and mindset of players like Chris Gayle and Chris Gayle.
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