Only contemporaries. Mostly Indian, as I dont watch much of others- though it wouldnt have made much of a difference. Any glaring misses can be pointed out.
A Sachin straight drive.. the simplicity that drips off this delicious sight belies the "untouchability"of the stroke. People end up playing careers without looking as graceful even once, the manner in which Sachin holds his elbow high after the bang straight follow through. As Kaspro-witch once famously said, "Dont bowl this guy bad balls.. he hits the good ones for fours"
A dance down the track by Dada..For a person with, admittedly, two left feet- epitomized in none better than the hero honda ad with Hrithik- this dance has been sending fans into raptures for well over a decade. In his heydays, spinners were kept out of teams because of him - ask poor Boje- such was his authority against them. When he steps out, the result is barely in doubt. But, now that he is into sunset mode, we can only relive the memories by watching Irfan Pathan resemble him vaguely.
The Dada cover drive. Offside.God.Ganguly.Period.
A Lax flick.. He meets 'em a mere two feet outside off, and renders the fielders in the deep useless. On the legside, that is. Those are not wrists. If they are, mine are not. Neither are yours. Its a pity , though, that he required the Oz to bring out his prowess, all the time- something that stood in way of his transition from a breathtakingly good, to a great batsman.
The Ponting pull.. Ishant Sharma may have his number. But even he would think twice before attempting a short delivery to Ponting. When on song, the result is a foregone conclusion. For a man with such glaring problems with the in dipper, Ponting seems to have remarkable time to play the pulls and the hooks. Brilliant.
The Lara cut.. If you ever need to defend batting as an art, look no further. Lara was an artist. Exaggerated follow throughs, dancing on the crease. There has never been a batsman more busy at the point of delivery- shuffling across or doing whatever. There have been very few better too. The cut shot stood out. Remarkable.
The Hansie 'slog' sweep.. The much maligned-now forgotten- once upon a time hero had a wonderful slog sweep. So much so, that it pained to call it a "slog" sweep. He combined the forceful and the delicate into one stroke of brilliance, belligerence and what not. A few stories are always filled with ifs and buts and if nots and had nots.
The Kallis cover drive.. The burly right hander has a picturesque cover drive. The head still and elbow perfectly in line, its a sight to behold. And, as is often the case with great people, he seems to know that he rocks. For, he seems to hold the pose till the bowler is back to his mark.
The Sachin/Sehwag upper cut.. I daresay no other mortal in the cricketing world attempts this shot with as much regularity as Sehwag or as much precision as Sachin. If Sachin's off Shoaib was one for the ages, Sehwag's in the very next of Waqar was as much a statement of intent as any could get. Two amazing shots in two overs. Match won. You know which.
The Sachin late cut.. The slow bowler has bowled a tight ball, round about off stump. He has seen the ball go into the keeper's gloves- well almost. He is about to turn to get back, happy as hell, having bowled a dot ball to the greatest batsman of his era. But then, he is shown that not for nothing was that batsman the best. Respect.
The Sanath cut.. Any batsman who can send the ball across the boundary, throughout at a catchable height is a special talent. He has got quick silver hands and amazing coordination. Whatta playa.
The flowery reverse.. Rarely have I seen him miss out, Andy Flower, on the reverse sweep. How he managed to do that to Kumble and Harbhajan on Indian tracks, conjuring up centuries and doubles, I do not know. Had Andy played for Oz or SA, he would have been remembered as one of the greats.
The Yuvraj front foot pull.. 'Bowler:Captain, I want three men patrolling the legside boundary front of square. Captain:lol.. its Yuvraj, doesnt matter.' When he gets his eye in, there is no ODI batsman that can match him for his dazzling brilliance. He checks his shots off 140+ Flintoff deliveries, perfectly respectable ones, over the boundary. He has many wonderful shots in his array, none better than his front foot pull shot, for its sheer rarity. He can pull the ball any where, with precision, nay, PRECISION, in the arc from long on to square leg. Amazing.
Honorary mention:
The Azhar flick
The Gibbs shimmy
The Mark Waugh/Ian bell cover drive
The Sachin backfoot coverdrive(excluded only because too many Sachin shots were making the grade)
The Inzy pull
The Mccullum shimmy
The Sangakkara cover drive
The Sachin-Warne shot
The KP short arm pull
The Sachin- Caddick shot(Thats it.. no more Sachin.)
The Dravid on drive
The KP switch
The Gilly cut
The Md. Yousuf cut
The AB de Villiers lofted cover drive
The Haydos walk down
The Gayle slog
The Dhoni helicopter (Pardon, included for eeriness quotient)
P.S. I am sure that Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina- both are among the best timers of the ball in today's cricket- will fill in with entries more than one, shortly. So will AB de Villiers, also a wonderful player.
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