Abhishek's Sunday Sixes: Inside out hits on tough net pitch

Jaipur, Dec 28 (PTI) Around 10 minutes into his net session on a quiet Sunday morning here, Punjab skipper Abhishek Sharma paused and turned to teammate Gaurav Chaudhary with a question that revealed his intent and imagination.

“Field kya hai?” he asked, enquiring about an imaginary field placement.

The lanky off-spinner replied instantly: “Mid-off single saving ke liye rakkha hai (mid-off fielder is to save singles).” What followed was predictable yet breathtaking. A familiar bat swing, a perfectly completed arc and the ball was dispatched out of sight cleanly.

For world’s No. 1 T20 batter, defence was almost an afterthought for close to an hour as he launched at least 45 sixes at the picturesque Anantam Cricket Ground, slightly off Jaipur city limits, built on farmland.

It resembled a specialised batting session where Abhishek wanted to face only spinners — off-breaks, leg-breaks and slow left-arm orthodox — on a surface where the ball gripped repeatedly and offered substantial turn if bowlers hit the right areas.

The left-hander did ask the groundsman to run the light roller, but the degree of difficulty did not lessen, as deliveries from the net bowlers continued to misbehave — some rearing up unexpectedly while others kept alarmingly low.

Abhishek encountered problems whenever the length was marginally shortened, but the way he used his feet was pure joy to watch.

After getting beaten or seeing the ball jump off the spot, he would walk down the track, tap his bat at the indentation and then demonstrate his mastery.

Whenever the length was pulled back, he would dance down the track and loft both off-breaks and googlies (turning away from the southpaw) inside out over extra cover.

On at least five occasions, the ball landed in the portico of an adjacent high-rise residential building.

The inside-out shot was repeated so often that the team’s head coach Sandeep Sharma jokingly quipped in Punjabi: “Tu apni century poori karan layi extra cover de upar hi chakke maarna chaunda ae (You want to complete your century with only sixes over extra cover).” A red fielding net was placed at short extra cover for the false shot, where the bat face normally closes against deliveries that stop and arrive late. He fell into that trap once but quickly adjusted, choosing to hit a few straight sixes instead.

When the 25-year-old arrived for training, around 45 minutes after the rest of the squad, he wanted to practise on one of the five centre strips — all red-soil tracks.

However, since the match strip was not marked, BCCI protocols did not allow him to bat there.

He then bowled left-arm spin for close to 40 minutes, exchanging batting notes with the head coach and assistant coach Uday Kaul.

Once the entire team had completed their session, it was time for the skipper to put his pads on.

He initially opted to face the pacers, but one of the young net bowlers consistently bowled on a fifth-stump line, prompting Abhishek to advise, “Bhai, you please come closer to the stumps.” Watching the world’s premier T20 batter also offered insight into his mindset — how he has trained himself to attack at all costs, a reflection of the team’s collective philosophy.

Six-hitting appeared like a second skin. While there were three to four dismissals during the hour-long nets, all came while defending.

While attacking, he always seemed in control — something India would hope to see over the next nine weeks. PTI KHS UNG