I always remember my childhood days when mumma used to lob anything and everything at me for doing something mischievous. I made sure to keep my distance at all times, ‘cause when she got up close I knew it was judgement day for me. Never saw her go anywhere near a dumbbell in my life, but I know even the world’s strongest would be scared of her sight. A master at power hitting, something every cricket batter aspires (but fails) to be. But having power hitting in your skill set would even put the Universal Boss’s crease whacking to shame, so it’s essential to know it better than your aunty knows about your love life, regardless of the fact that you haven’t spoken to her in 3 years.
We talked to the renowned NCA coach Apurva Desai about power hitting, and how important it is to improve your overall batting performances on the pitch.
“My target as a batsman is to hit it right in the middle and when I have maximum bat speed. So, I want to connect, I want to know where I'm hitting the ball. Now, to ensure that enough power is generated, I need to get the angles right.” What our coach is saying is that your ability to bench 100 kgs won’t result in the ball being sent to the fictional world of you getting married to your childhood crush. You’ll actually have to have an intended direction, and position your body accordingly to achieve perfection. “So, the power is generated basically, what I have to ensure is that once my hips need to slightly open, but I need to keep my shoulder closed in order to get that hip-shoulder separation and ensure that the shoulders are always rotating in the direction of the shot. So, that gives me not only a longer arc, but at the same time, I get maximum bat speed and I know where I'm hitting it.”
Also Read : Bryan Harper Masterclass on Bat Speed | str8bat Cricket Bat Sensor
Wondering how to improve? That’s what we got our batting mentor for (thanks us later). “There's a lot of ways that people practise. How do you generate power and how do you generate bat speed? So the idea is anything that extends, then it's power. So if I've got short levers and even if I'm gonna play a horizontal bat shot, if I extend it, I'm generating power. At the same time, if my shoulders are rotating in the right direction, or even if I loft it straight, by extending the arms and rotating the shoulders vertically, I get the maximum arc, and I get the maximum bat speed into it. A good downswing and a good arc will enable me to hit it with power.”
To make it easier, imagine a shot to be a thali at a north Indian restaurant. While the roti sabzi might be the centre of attraction, the meal is just incomplete without the achaar, dal and raita. “So, for me, the hip-shoulder separation decides the power and it ensures that the arms are rotating and extending in the line where I want to hit it. Str8bat allows me to actually find out whether the data is correct or not or where I'm hitting and where I'm getting maximum bat speed, so I can change my feeling to the particular player and he can hold his shoulder and do it. So, I can scientifically, with data, improve my power hitting and range hitting.”
Mastering power hitting is like learning to ride a Royal Enfield – it looks effortless when Thala does it, but it takes practice, patience, and probably a few embarrassing mishits that'll have you running faster than ABD between wickets. So, whether you're dreaming of smashing sixes at the Wankhede or just want to avoid being the next contestant on "Kaun Banega Boundary-pati?" at your local gully cricket match, focus on that power generation. It's the unsung hero of cricket, the butter chicken to your naan, if you will.
