Indian team not obsessed with boundaries, plays risk free cricket, says Sanjay Bangar

Indian team not obsessed with boundaries, plays risk free cricket, says Sanjay Bangar

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BCCI

Sanjay Bangar has stated that the Indian team is not obsessed with boundaries and likes to play risk-free cricket by emphasizing on ones and twos. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are among the highest run-scorers in ODIs in 2018 and playing risk-free cricket has enabled that to happen.

The Indian batting lineup have set an example for other teams with regard to rotating strike and maintaining a good run rate without hitting aerial shots in the middle overs. The fact that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are the two highest run-getters in ODI cricket in 2018 with 1202 and 1030 runs respectively further emphasizes that. Shikhar Dhawan is another batsman who has scored 897 runs and is the sixth highest run-getter on the list. India batting coach Sanjay Bangar feels that the batsmen’s ability to play this brand of cricket makes the side unique.

"What makes the Indian team unique is that it's consistently playing risk-free cricket. And that's because we emphasise on the ones and the twos. As a batting group, we are not obsessed over the number of boundaries we've hit. But we discuss strike-rotation a great deal. Which is why we're able to eschew risks,” Bangar said, reported Cricketnext.

The Indian Premier League was played between March 23 and May 12 and was the last major assignment for the players featuring in India’s squad for the upcoming World Cup, starting May 30. Most of the other ODI teams have been playing one day cricket while the Indian players were plying their trade in the shortest format. Naturally, there were talks as to how the players will make a shift between the two formats and Bangar opened up about the technicalities behind the same.

"In T20, you're all the time expecting what the bowler will bowl. You end up planning beforehand looking at field placements... The go-to balls for most bowlers are analysed in detail. Batsmen start expecting such deliveries. In 50 overs where you have more time and are getting 300 deliveries instead of 120, you need to be mindful of not premeditating shots for the major part of the innings,” explained the former India cricketer.

“We've our own internal parameters as to how to approach ODIs. If we come close to those parameters, we should be fine,” he added.

Pitches in England have been batsmen’s paradise in recent years and the series between Pakistan and England, which witnessed extremely high-scoring encounters, has further reinstated that belief. However, the batting coach dismissed all such stats and suggested that the teams should refrain from having a rigid mindset.

"Don’t go by stats. Data serve as mere tool. By all means analyse stats, but don’t make your conclusions based on them. It’s how to react to a situation on a particular day that matters…everything counts from making smart decisions to adapting to situations that are unforeseen. You can’t go with a rigid mindset. Be open. Absorb pressure. Respond to situations, overcome challenges and get the job done. As a team, we’re tilted in that direction instead of being over-reliant on numbers,” concluded the 46-year-old.

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