are you ready to look ugly...?

most of times even in test matches you get batting beauties for pitches... at least for first three days... where ball will come onto bat nicely... quick out field and lots of open spaces coz captains won't look 'attacking' if they don't place catching fielders even on most patta wickets... with not very threatening bowlers around...

so you will get value for your shots... look very 'positive' and pundits will fall over one another in singing praises for you...

but along with patta wickets sometimes you will encounter pitches where scoring will be difficult... the bounce will be uneven... ball will rise off length... and off same length refuse to rise above knee level... scoring off square will get increasingly difficult and you will realise the shots on bounce, you are so fond of playing, have dried up... there will be lots of nudges... the ball will land in slip cordon on one tip... the shots won't have the timing you are known for... even half decent bowlers will trouble you... basically the pitch where you will not feel in... until you are really in...

what you will do...?

are you ready to look ugly...?

sabrina park was classic pitch of the mold where if you wanted to be in... you would have to be prepared to look ugly... the classic examination of not only your talent... temperament... but your humbleness in accepting the fact that boss... here i will have to give a quarter to bowlers first...

kohli's little innings was classic example in this regard...

he wanted to play flowing cover drives... he wanted to show that he can carry his odi form to the test arena... he wanted to show he can still be positive... but he was not ready to look ugly... despite being in clear discomfort against short balls... he wanted to show he was not... rather than let the phase pass by quietly letting the ball go above his shoulder by ducking humbly underneath... he wanted to show he can ride on it...

forgetting that, sometime in a test match, ducking too is quite a good option... it not only wears the bowlers out quickly... but force him to try something different... seeing that you are not being as disturbed by it as he wanted you to be...

not everybody can play like dravid... not in slower terms of scoring... but on how to let the moments of indiscretion pass without minimum harm... force bowlers to bowl to your strengths... and when you have stayed there enough... unleash yourself on tiring bowlers... or till match situation demands it to go for leather...

there was live example in front of some of our players who still think... its rather better to look 'positive' than look... struggling... ugly...

hope next time... when they will encounter similar situations... pitches... they will be better prepared... for not for nothing we call it... 'test' matches...