A new angle to Mr 360 Surya Kumar Yadav’s T20 success story | Cricket News

Last year at the T20 World Cup in Australia, Surya Kumar Yadav’s 40-ball 68 against South Africa in Perth had lit up the tournament. Though it came in a losing cause, some of his shots against the South African quicks had even former players at the venue shaking their heads in disbelief. His effortless off-the-hip flicked six off pacer Lungi Ngidi’s incoming ball, bowled from over the wicket, had both the fans and experts wondering: How does he do it?Magical wrs, clinical timing and intense anticipation were seen as the reasons for this nonchalant hitting, but there was more to the story. As Surya, now India’s T20 captain, takes on the same opponents in a three-match series that kicks off this weekend, it’s an apt time to revisit the puzzle.
Renowned power-hitting special Julian Wood adds another layer to the debate. While working in the United States, Wood borrowed ideas from the training methods and biomechanics research used in baseball. He has been associated with several county teams and franchise squads helping batsmen to understand the science of hitting sixes. Former England coach Andy Flower says, “From the biomechanics to the principles of baseball and on to the sheer joy of hitting the ball clean and hard and far, Julian is at the forefront of a fast-evolving game for batsmen and coaches alike.”Speaking to The Indian Express, the first thing Wood mentions when talking about Surya’s innovative stroke-making is ‘angle’.

“When he is hitting the ball behind the wicket, he is using the angle brilliantly. He gets into positions where he can use the angle. He just goes with the ball, that’s all he is doing, be it off-side or on-side,” he says.
Wood rates Surya as the best hitter in contemporary Indian cricket and a potent finisher in the future. He goes to explain how Surya works on the angle of the ball that’s storming towards him. “His contact point is not in front of him or when the ball is outside off-stump; he is playing it very late. When you play the ball late, that close to you, you need space, you get inside the ball and use the angle. Whether the ball is bowled from over the wicket or round, it’s coming at the batsman at a slight angle. Batsmen like Surya hit the ball with the angle. They are also using the pace plus adding pace to the ball as well.”

Wood reckons that most Indian batsmen have the ability to utilise the angles well. “The Indians have a solid foundation and great technical abilities. But what they have done is combine enough power with skill and touch, where they make contact with the ball. One thing they are good at is going with the angle. They don’t go against the angle.”
He would also mention that Indian batsmen tend to grow up plying their trade on flat wickets and lush green outfields which allows them to get all these attributes.
It is not always about sixes, Surya uses angles to hit fours too. Earlier this year during the IPL, when Mumbai Indians played Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wankhede Stadium, he came up against Harshal Patel, a pacer known for his variations. Encountering a slower ball outside off-stump, Surya had the presence of mind to wait for it and guide it to the fence using the angle.
In T20 cricket, big-hitting superstars often bank on data to read the minds of bowlers who keep varying the pace and trajectory of the ball. But data alone can’t make one a Surya-kind of hitter.
“There is an analyst who can give feedback on what bowlers do and where they go after they are hit. Sometimes, you can give too much data but there are players who go more on their gut feel. They will have a feeling. You cannot have one without the other. It is about balance. You can be given all the information in the world but if you cannot execute your skill, it is going to be very hard. The players have gut feelings and they have the information. It is how you manage those,” the special says.

Wood also explains why Surya isn’t quite carrying his T20 form into ODIs. For all the supreme innings he has played in T20I cricket, Surya’s ODI career hasn’t really taken off. From 37 games, he averages 25.8 with a highest of 72 not out. That’s a far cry from his T20I record where he has three 100s. In theory, with no more than four fielders outside the ring for 30 overs of a 50-over innings and a one ball from each end, Surya should have been able to find the boundary more easily and regularly in the longer format. But it has not been the case.
Wood compares Surya to England’s Liam Livingstone and says how having to think more is not letting them play to their full potential in the format. “I think another example is Liam Livingstone. He struggles a bit in the 50-over stuff, and doesn’t know whether to bat properly or just hit. In the T20 format when he comes in with five overs to go, the game is sort of set up for him. The longer the format, you have options. The more options, things can go slightly wrong.”
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Wood also explains what works for other big hitters like Hardik Pandya, Glenn Maxwell, Rinku Singh
On Hardik: ‘Great swing, good wrs’
He has a great swing of the bat. He also has very good wrs. When you make contact, you need to be stable and hit against the strong front side. But it is the timing of the impact on the ball. The key is getting stillness at the point of contact.
On Maxwell: “Hitting Zones”
Maxwell has superior hand-eye coordination. That’s what he showed during the World Cup (the double hundred against Afghanan) when he smashed it despite having cramps. He basically hit zones as he couldn’t move – if the ball was outside off-stump, he went off-side; anything on middle and leg, on the leg-side.
On Rinku Singh: “He isn’t worried”
His thought process is very good. He is not worried about the outcome because that puts pressure on you. He worries about the process. He has utmost belief in what he does. His movements are good, his plans are good and he is in a very good space.