India have hardly used sweep shots against spinners.
New Zealand batters put on a magnificent show against India in the second ODI in Rajkot. The likes of Dary Mitchell and Will Young showcased tremendous skills against spinners and took down Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja on a deck assisting slow bowlers to level the series.
A key feature of their batting masterclass was the precise usage of different types of sweeps in the middle overs – something South Africa also employed brilliantly in the Test series last year. In contrast, Indian batters hardly use this as an option and are often at the receiving end on decks with low bounce, like in Rajkot.
During the second ODI, New Zealand played 13.88% sweep shots, including reverse, slog, and reverse sweep, compared to only 0.72% (only one shot) by India, against spinners. Collectively, the Kiwis have employed sweeps on 11.78% deliveries, compared to India’s 2.43% by Indians, in the initial two matches of the rubber.
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Daryl Mitchell has been the most prolific sweeper, with 13.86% of his spin shots being sweeps, which have fetched him 29 runs at a strike rate of 207.14. More importantly, he has been in control on 71.42% of those shots despite using them the most, so he has a method rather than premeditating every time.
This has been a set pattern for Indian batters for a while; they hardly employ sweep shots against spinners. Even the better players of spin, like Shreyas Iyer, don’t use it much and prefer playing with a straighter bat.
Since 2024, India have played sweep shots on only 5.56% deliveries, the second-lowest after Afghanistan (4.26%) in ODIs; New Zealand, unsurprisingly, lead the list with 10.33%. Indian batters have been in control on 58.82% of those shots, a figure that lags behind more prolific sweeping sides such as England (61.46%), Australia (60%), and New Zealand (59.28%).
For India, Rohit Sharma has been the best sweeper, with 12.62% sweep shots, which have fetched him 97 runs at a strike rate of 255.26 with five dismissals. Ruturaj Gaikwad has shown an early tendency to use such shots in a small sample size, while Axar Patel has been the second-best sweeper in the Indian team.
Meanwhile, the likes of Shreyas Iyer (4.15%) and KL Rahul (4.13%) play well below the overall average of 7.36%. Obviously, their methods work perfectly on most surfaces, as slower and lower surfaces are increasingly low in ODIs; on tracks like those in Rajkot, they can struggle against spinners at times due to a lack of sweep mastery.
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