Cricket
Cricket
8 batting tips from Smriti Mandhana for upcoming cricketers
The top-ranked ODI women’s batter in the world lists points that can help aspiring batters.
India opening batter Smriti Mandhana has been a pillar of grace and strength for the national cricket team for the last few years.
Her calm demeanour at the crease has seen her rapidly climb up the ICC batting rankings over two years, cementing her spot as the top ODI women batter in the world in 2019.
Her poise at the wicket and the smooth technique with which she plays her shots have been praised by many. Her attacking approach – which isn’t reckless but well timed – is also peppered with several moments of clarity when she assess the field and picks her shots.
She has said at several times that she doesn’t believe in perfecting every single technique in batting but would rather have a set of reliable shots that she can bank on for different conditions.
A great example of this belief was seen in February 2019 when she set India’s record for fastest half century in women’s T20 internationals against New Zealand. Taking just 24 balls to reach the half-century mark, Smriti championed the India cause by scoring 58 in 34 balls in the first T20I in Wellington. The rest of India’s batting order fell victim to New Zealand pacer Lea Tahuhu – who scalped four – but Smriti kept her cool to help the national team to a decent total.
Smriti says several adjustments and bits of advice have helped her over the years.
So here are eight of Smriti Mandhana’s tips for upcoming batters.
1. Play according to the merit of the ball
According to me, the most important thing in batting is to play according to the merit of the ball and be blank in your mind.
As a batter, when I have too many thoughts, it becomes hard for me to pick the length. If you are blank in your mind, you just play according to what the bowler bowls at you; that makes it very easy to bat.
Don’t think about what happened in the last ball and don’t think about what you have to do in the next few balls. Just be in the present and focus on what you are facing right now.
Earlier I used to premeditate my shots a lot. I would think for this delivery I will play this shot, and I would end up getting out a lot. I had to train my mind to not think too much and just stay in the moment. It’s still not 100% and never can be, but I know I bat the best when my mind is blank and I just react to each individual delivery as it comes to me. So that’s what I think a batter should do.
2. Keep your chin up
Smriti keeps her chin up when taking her stance
© Ali Bharmal
I think every coach will tell you that for a batter, your head leads the way. Wherever your head goes, the rest of your body will follow. So your head position is very important when you are batting. Something you will always see in coaching manuals is that if your head is over the ball, you will always be in the best position to play your shots.
Most important is that your head should not be falling. Your stance should be balanced and your chin should be up. It is all connected so if your stance is balanced, your head will automatically be in the proper position because it will feel comfortable.
3. Time the ball; don’t over hit
When you start playing a lot of T20 and white ball cricket, you try to hit a lot of sixes and fours, and tend to over hit the ball.
I am a batter who likes to time the ball. I don’t go for power hitting. If I try to hit the ball very hard, I lose my shape and even a ball that could have been timed well for a four or six, that ball can also get me out.
So if you try to over-hit, you lose your shape and your head will start falling. If you just keep in mind that you have to time each ball well, you will be in the best shape to keep batting for longer.
4. Focus on your fitness
I think a player gets tired more in the T20 format because it is so quick. So you have to be very fit. Even if you are in the 18th or 19th over, you may need to take two quick runs, and that is only possible if you are fit. The work that you put in at the gym and on general fitness, it shows when you bat.
I started doing gym work about three years ago. The shots that I would play three years ago would be fine, but when I play the same shots now, they go over the boundary ropes. I realized that the gym and fitness work I put in with the trainers had actually made a difference in my shots.
To play professional cricket, you need excellent fitness. As a batter, I like to focus on fitness more than skills.
5. Practice for the playing conditions
I think it is important to practice for the conditions.
If I know I’m going to play in England or Australia, I will know what to expect from those wickets so I will practice in those conditions. So I prepare for the wicket more than preparing for a bowler.
I think it’s very important to read the wicket. Earlier I wouldn’t read the wicket so my game wasn’t as good. But I think it’s very important to read the wicket and understand how your game fits into it.
Wickets differ according to location, even in India. It is very important to read the wicket and understand which shots are on for that wicket and which shots you might have to avoid.
6. Life is simple so keep cricket simple
I think 90% of batting is mentality. Definitely things like technique are important and play a big role. But when you are at the crease, your mind is what will help you bat for long.
If I keep thinking a lot, it doesn’t work for me. I’ve always gotten out when I’ve had a lot to think about. So I try to keep myself as relaxed as possible when I’m going out to bat. I might do some random things like talking to people, cracking jokes, singing a song. Even when I’m at the non-striker’s end, I try to take my mind off the situation by looking around to see what is happening in the stadium. Only when I take my stance is the time that I concentrate completely.
Everything should be simple. Life is simple. Cricket should be simple.
7. Find what works for you
Smriti shares her batting tips with academy players
© Ali Bharmal
I do a 10-minute guided meditation to keep myself calm. My mind is very active so I end up thinking a lot about where to hit, what to hit and how to hit. So to keep my mind a little silent, I do 10 minutes of guided meditation in my room before I leave for the stadium.
In my team, there are 15 players and 15 different things that work for them; meditation works for me but it might not work for someone else.
I think you have to find your own way. What suits me might not necessarily suit you. You can try it but I think you need to find your own way.
Understand how your body works and how your mind thinks. How your mind and body works will be very different from anyone else, but understanding that is the only way you can be successful in scoring a lot of runs and taking a lot of wickets.
8. It’s not cricket if you don’t enjoy yourself
I think the most important thing not just as a batter but in life is to enjoy what you do.
If you are going to a gym session, enjoy that gym session or you are not really going to gain anything out of it. The same goes for batting. If I go out into the middle and don’t enjoy myself, I won’t be satisfied even if I have scored big runs.
It doesn’t matter if you score 10, 20, 50 or 100 runs, what’s most important is that you enjoy batting. At the end of the day when you sleep, you shouldn’t be thinking about whether you scored a hundred, you should be thinking about whether you enjoyed your day. Enjoy yourself and the runs will come.
