Self-belief is something Virat Kohli has personified and redefined. With the visualisation technique, he’s shown that self-belief isn’t just about telling yourself that you can do it, but feeling that you’ve already done it.
That’s what Punjab Kings’ Shashank Singh referred to when he spoke about his recent batting exploits with his partner Ashutosh Sharma.
“(It’s important to) visualise as much as possible - that we are winning the match,” he said after his team’s two-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) here on Tuesday.
To put things into perspective, the duo came together when 69 runs were needed off 27 balls, and took their team to within sniffing distance of victory with 29 needed off the last over. Before this match, they had knocked off 50 runs off 27 balls versus Gujarat Titans (GT) to help their team successfully chase the 200-run target.
So coolly do they play imperious shots, that even the experienced bowlers feel the pressure. Five of Sunrisers’ six wides had been bowled to these batters. To take the ball away from them, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jaydev Unadkat ended up bowling the wides.
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When Natarajan bowled a wide yorker, Ashutosh simply turned it into a low full toss with a long stride of his front leg and, bent-kneed, hit it for four past long on. When Pat Cummins came back with a slower bouncer after he’d absolutely smashed a four to the off-side, he remained unhurried, watched the ball all through, waited for it to reach him, and guided it over the keeper’s head for four.
Shashank not only watched the ball closely but also often got close to it to play his shots to the pacers.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) had a run rate of 9.6 in the death overs before its last two matches. Now, its run rate at the death stands at 12.20, courtesy of Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma. Self-belief and composure may not be quantified, but their batting makes you feel those virtues.
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