Specialists can conquer the T20 format too

Mumbai Indians won the WPL against the Delhi Capitals in a close encounter but in hindsight, the runner-up have only themselves to blame. Meg Lanning did just about everything right until the break between the innings but thereafter, the events took a bizarre turn. A target of 150 was not exactly demanding numerically on a good surface for batting, but the pressure factor had a huge say in the end analysis. The interesting parts of the match were the standout performances of the specialists in the Mumbai Indians side, Harmanpreet Kaur and Shabnim Ismail.

The T20 evokes a frenetic search for multi-dimensional cricketers, a line of thought that is quite understandable. Specialists, by choice, are far and few in between generally, in a T20 competition. But the current India captain Harmanpreet and the recently retired international from South Africa, Ismail, proved that specialists can rule the roost in the T20 format as well. Of course, it can be deemed harsh to call them specialists in a literal sense, as Harman can bowl, and Ismail can strike the ball well enough. But since they hardly put their ancillary skills to use of late, they would have to be termed as specialists as of now.

The early setbacks engineered by some outstanding bowling from Kapp required special efforts from the senior pros Sciver-Brunt and Harmanpreet. Both stitched a partnership to consolidate the innings, the highlight of which was the clean striking of the cricket ball by Harmanpreet. She is bound to dominate any attack provided she doesn’t indulge in pre-determined methods. Batters like her are better off doing things on instinct out on the field of play, like she did at the Brabourne Stadium on the night of the finale. Harman’s footwork and shot selection were as precise as the execution of a series of complicated steps by a ballerina in a grand opera. Despite her having played a good hand, Harman would have been apprehensive during the break as a target of 150 is deemed moderate these days. Harman needed Sciver-Brunt, her trump card of the season, to strike early with the ball if her team were to win the title.

Besides, Ismail has been in good rhythm and working up good pace right through the WPL. The Mumbai Indians needed to make early inroads, primarily to rattle the middle order of the Delhi Capitals side. The Delhi Capitals batting was reliant heavily on their openers Shefali and Lanning and as such, they both needed to provide a good platform. Lanning, for all her astuteness has been surprisingly castled by in-coming deliveries repeatedly in this year’s WPL. It was rather curious in that one would have expected her to sort that issue out but somehow, she could not sort out her weakness. Sciver-Brunt and Lanning have faced off against each other on several occasions over the years, but Sciver-Brunt won this round, by ruthlessly exposed the current flaw in Lanning’s batting. An in-coming delivery from Sciver-Brunt pegged back Lanning’s stumps, and the Mumbai Indians had exactly what they wanted first up.

Shefali was trapped in front by Ismail and the battle of the specialists was fairly and squarely won by Ismail. It is during such scenarios that the team management’s argument to opt for multi-faceted cricketers over specialists generally gets substantiated. Lanning has some advantage, being a top-notch captain, but Shefali Verma will need to score heavily and consistently to retain her place. Her franchise might give her some extra latitude, but her return to international will become twice as hard if she stays just a batting specialist. She needs to provide extra value besides the runs she scores, and that will save her when her batting form deserts her. I had nudged and encouraged Richa Ghosh to take up wicket-keeping when I was the coach of the Indian women’s team. This obviously has helped her to bat with freedom and not worry about losing her place if she did not put up enough runs on the board.

The important thing for the likes of Shefali Verma is to realise is that the specialists can also hold their own in the shortest format provided they develop an ancillary skill. The ancillary skill set will provide some sort of insurance should the batting form dip. The first thing that Shefali needs to do is improve her fitness and fielding, as her good friend Harleen Deol has shown that being an outstanding fielder can get a pure batter get a longer rope when the runs dry up. The entire World is there for Shefali to conquer as she can be a match winner and has put up good numbers in the past in international cricket as well.