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Is power hitting ability at the top in ODIs over rated?

Titan24

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As I have mentioned in another thread, I think some posters on PP equate modern day cricket=power hitting, however in reality none of the top ODI batsmen at the moment are power hitters(Except Roy maybe) yes they are good at changing gears and releasing pressure by hitting nice 4s and 6s even to good balls.

Some are impressed with Sharjeel's (Was an outstanding talent but never won us a single game bcz he didnt know when to shift gears and when to carry on) and Sahibzada Farhan's hitting ability however, if we see the top 3 of India which has Rohit, Dhawan and Kohli or of Eng which has Bairstow, Roy, Hales/Root that they are all proper batsmen who have adapted to modern day ODI cricket by playing proper shots and they have gained that with experience. They have the game sense that when to push for runs and when to consolidate and when to shift gears.

None of the above mentioned was famous for big hits except may be Roy and if we push Hales and yet they all are the ideal examples of ODI batsmanship.

So one doesnt necessarily need a big hitter, just a good solid batsmen who can change the gear when required.

Experience of international cricket also helps in the understanding of players how to develop their innings at this level. Imam, Fakhar, Babar are still pretty young at international level to be perfect at pacing innings and changing gears at the right time.

We dont need big hitters at the top, we just need good batsmen who have got the strokes when they are needed and they can play the long innings as well. We sometimes struggle as a batting unit bcz some of our top batsment havent worked out their safe pressure releasing shots yet.

Top 3, 4 just need to get to the 35 overs with the SR of 80 and the team will have 170 odd runs on the board which is a pretty good platform and even if one of them carries it to the end 300 is gonna be in sight almost every time. :shafiq2
 
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Lol Guptil, Dr Kock, Sharma, Dhawan, Warner, Finch, Head, Hales, Roy say hi.
 
Not everyone can be a power hitter . But in this era what is vital is being able to hit 360 degress versus pace and spin. This makes it difficult to bowlers as they don't know where to bowl .

We produce batsmen who favour 1 side of the wicket and can't put good balls away to the boundary. Bowlers tie our batsmen down and then they make the inevitable mistake.
 
From power hitters they mean dynamic batsmen who can change gears when required and yes Pakistan do lack in that front.

One guy who had that abilitty was Sohaib Maqsood but he was poor technically and not coached properly.
 
Lol Guptil, Dr Kock, Sharma, Dhawan, Warner, Finch, Head, Hales, Roy say hi.

Sharma and Dhawan are not power hitters but yes they can hit when needed. They never played like Sharjeel.

I was talking about the best top 3 which are of Eng and India. De Kock and Guptill only hit when the run rate is falling, they get a bad ball or its in there perfect zone. Havent seen them getting out by hitting the bowl in the air as often.
 
From power hitters they mean dynamic batsmen who can change gears when required and yes Pakistan do lack in that front.

One guy who had that abilitty was Sohaib Maqsood but he was poor technically and not coached properly.

Umar Akmal was another one.
 
From power hitters they mean dynamic batsmen who can change gears when required and yes Pakistan do lack in that front.

One guy who had that abilitty was Sohaib Maqsood but he was poor technically and not coached properly.

Exactly the one who is a good batsman and can change the gear at the same time when required.

Not someone who is a big hitter and we want him to become a good batsman who can go onto make big scores in crucial matches.
 
Sharma and Dhawan are not power hitters but yes they can hit when needed. They never played like Sharjeel.

I was talking about the best top 3 which are of Eng and India. De Kock and Guptill only hit when the run rate is falling, they get a bad ball or its in there perfect zone. Havent seen them getting out by hitting the bowl in the air as often.

Sharma has double centuries in ODIs. Has more power than you think and as much as I rate Sharjeel he would never have been able to do that. Furthermore Kohli has said he wishes he could hit 6s like Rohit.

When set Rohit is a brilliant timer and power hitter.
 
Not everyone can be a power hitter . But in this era what is vital is being able to hit 360 degress versus pace and spin. This makes it difficult to bowlers as they don't know where to bowl .

We produce batsmen who favour 1 side of the wicket and can't put good balls away to the boundary. Bowlers tie our batsmen down and then they make the inevitable mistake.

Yes a batsman should be good enough to send the good deliveries to boundaries when he needs to release pressure and that is without taking extreme amounts of risks. While should be able to rotate strike once he is settled even on good deliveries.
 
Yes a batsman should be good enough to send the good deliveries to boundaries when he needs to release pressure and that is without taking extreme amounts of risks. While should be able to rotate strike once he is settled even on good deliveries.

There are batsmen like that around in the world game but hardly any in Pakistan.
 
Sharma has double centuries in ODIs. Has more power than you think and as much as I rate Sharjeel he would never have been able to do that. Furthermore Kohli has said he wishes he could hit 6s like Rohit.

When set Rohit is a brilliant timer and power hitter.

I know he has the power, but for his first 100, he usually uses just proper cricketing strokes rather than just trying to hit every ball out of the park. Its after he has made his 100 he changes his gears.
 
There are batsmen like that around in the world game but hardly any in Pakistan.

You just need two or three strokes which you are confident on executing 95% of the times on good deliveries.

Bairstow never had that many strokes as we see now, neither did Rohit but they worked hard and developed those.
 
I know he has the power, but for his first 100, he usually uses just proper cricketing strokes rather than just trying to hit every ball out of the park. Its after he has made his 100 he changes his gears.

That is why he is so dangerous. He can put good balls away with proper cricket shots, and any loose balls he can put away with power and proper cricket strokes.
 
The question is: can dynamic batsmen succeed on the wickets produced in Pakistan's domestic cricket? There is a direct correlation between the kind of block or smash batsmen we are consistently producing, with the awful pitches and the questionable quality balls used.
 
It's an important skill to have for sure, especially at the top. But I would say the ability to rotate strike is even more vital as it's a less risky strategy to keep the scoreboard ticking over rather than always looking to play the big shot. And I'm afraid, the Pakistan top order is usually lacking in this discipline.
 
I think the word is stroke maker. Power hitter at the top sounds like a pinch hitter who doesn't care about his wicket. Most of the good top order batsmen are excellent stroke makers. They can play well on both sides of the wicket and can play long innings. The key is consistency and the ability to play long innings. The key ODI strategy has always been one of the top 3 scoring a hundred and staying till the 40th over.
 
Am pretty sure Dhawan can hit sixes at will.

So can Kohli on his day (2013 India vs Aus series, 2016 IPL). Power hitting is a lot more than hitting a few six once in a while. The great power hitters can hit 10+ sixes in a single innings many times in their career (Gayle, ABD, Rohit), and their sixes are pretty big too. Compare Dhawan's six/inns ratio to the guys above, it's nowhere comparable. Not all aggressive batsmen are power hitters.
 
Umar Akmal was another one.

Umar Akmal ka tou technique ka bhi itna msla nai tha.. if someone can score a 100 against Bond on a spicy wicket and a 100 against peak Malinga as a newbie he is genuinely good.

Uska msla uskay dimaagh ka zada tha aur hai.
 
Quality of stroke play & strike rotation matters more. Power hitting makes batsman more dangerous and versetile.

That said batsman who can score at 90sr is perfectly fine for current odi standards.
 
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