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Five unique shots that increased the stardom of players

Batting has always been about innovating according to the changing times. The first innovation came during 1890s

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MS Dhoni (Image Credit : Twitter)

Over the last two decades, we have seen a lot of innovation when it comes to playing shots in cricket. The first innovation came during the 1890s when the batters couldn't play towards the on-side. Legendary Ranjitsinghji played the shot towards fine leg for the first time in the history of the game. After a while, WG Grace's brother Edwards started playing cross-bat shots on the on-side which is ill-termed as 'modern-day' shots.

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After more than 100 years, the game has seen the introduction of two different formats, ODI and T20Is. With the change in formats, the requirements are also different. The batters have developed a lot of shots that are played with absolute authority these days. In this listicle, we will discuss five unique shots which increased the stardom of players.

Five shots that increase the stardom of the players

Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Tendulkar (Image Credit : Twitter)

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  1. Upper Cut - Sachin Tendulkar

A lot of his fans remember Sachin Tendulkar for his straight drive in his 24-year international career. However, the batting maestro also developed an uppercut shot against short-pitched deliveries in 2002. For the unversed, India went to South Africa for the tri-series with South Africa and Kenya. After this, the Men In Blue played the Test series against the Proteas.

During the series, Tendulkar developed the upper cut shot against Makhaya Ntini. The shot can be very productive against bowlers with rapid pace. Sometimes, it is difficult to play a pull shot against quick bowlers.

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Kevin Pietersen Kevin Pietersen (Image Credit : Twitter)

2. Switch Hit - Kevin Pietersen

The former England skipper played the shot in 2006 somewhere around when the T20I cricket was announced. He played the shot against one of the difficult spinners at the time, Muttiah Muralitharan. Commentators such as Geofrey Boycott, who was known to play orthodox cricket, was amazed to see this.

Two years later, Pietersen played the same shot against Scott Styris. At that time, the lawfulness of the shot was challenged. However, the experts say that the likes of Jacques Kallis and Craig McMillan used to play the similar shot before the Englishman. 

Ross Taylor Ross Taylor (Image Credit : Twitter)

3. Standing hockey swat- Ross Taylor

There is no hiding the fact that Ross Taylor was known to play on the leg side. Such was his desire to play every shot on the on side that the fielding teams started forcing to play on the other side of the wicket. This is the reason he developed the hockey shot to keep playing on his favorite side.

Readers might say why didn't he develop the off-side game. Well, he used to play on the off-side only when it needed. The right-hander's preference on the on side could be the short leg side boundary in his country.

Douglas Marillier Douglas Marillier (Image Credit : Twitter)

4. Ramp shot – Douglas Marillier

Fans have seen Jos Buttler, Brendon McCullum, Faf du Plessis, and many more players playing the ramp shot. However, during the early 2000's when T20 was non existent, former Zimbabwe player Douglas Marillier played this shot for the first time.

He played this shot against one of the most feared bowlers, Glenn McGrath in 2001. The latter had bowled two full toss which got this kind of treatment. Aussie wicket-keeper named Sammy Carter is also believed to have played the shot over his left shoulder. 

MS Dhoni MS Dhoni (Image Credit : Twitter)

5. Helicopter shot – MS Dhoni

The former India skipper is the inventor of the helicopter shot which needs immense practice and strong wrists. He developed this shot before he started playing for India although didn't play in the domestic games.

When the first time he played this shot in 2006, the world couldn't believe their eyes. The Ranchi player used to play this shot on yorkers and reverse swinging deliveries. Fans these days might not be used to see reverse swing in white-ball game but back in the day, the old ball used to reverse when it got older after 25 overs.

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