Suryansh Shedge is certain about his T20 batting preparation, mindset, and ambitions. However, one thing he isn’t certain about is when he will get to bat in a game. Will it be with five overs remaining or five balls left? That is, if he gets to bat at all.
Shedge, and other batters slotted in as death-overs specialists in T20s, might get time to knock a couple of balls around before unleashing their powers on good days. On more challenging days, they will be forced to jump in with 10-odd runs required off four balls. On the most testing of days, their turn to bat may never come. He has to wait till the very end to know what’s required of him on a game day.
Opportunities in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Shedge waited five times in vain out of nine games this season for Mumbai. When he did get the odd chance to bat, in some matches, he could have piled on runs like the rest of the teammates did in amassing 200-plus totals. And on one of those days, he could have bailed them out from a top-order collapse. In each of those innings, nonetheless, he failed to leave behind a mark – even as the opportunities came well timed – between the 10th and the 15th over.
It’s quite a layered demand for a player like Shedge, who doesn’t like to complicate his processes. The destructive powers that make death-over hitters a sought-after commodity in T20 cricket, also slots them into positions that leaves him uncertain. That requirement from his batting means that the biggest strength of his craft – power-hitting – also ends up becoming the greatest bane. He’s not alone in this tricky position with his game, where he can be the difference maker with only a few balls.
The Pressure of Finishing
“The amount of pressure that comes with finishing a game, and the expectations, only we cricketers can feel,” Shedge says as he starts off in trying to break down that pressure.
“Obviously you go in to bat in crunch situations, when the team needs you to step up. So sometimes you can get lost and start expecting some things from yourself. When you start doing that, your mind is not focussed on what it should be doing.”
Seeking Advice from MS Dhoni
Shedge has found solace in the sagacious words of MS Dhoni after failing to make use of an opportunity last season. He was sent in as an Impact Substitute in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders. With Punjab Kings having suffered a batting collapse, Shedge walked in to bat at 74 for 5 in the ninth over, he was dismissed for a run-a-ball 4, and the team bundled out for 111.
“That game, when our team was in trouble, I had a lot of expectations of myself,” Shedge confessed. “I have taken my team out of those situations in domestic games. When I failed to do that that day, I was really disappointed with myself, thinking where did I go wrong.”
Two weeks later he met Dhoni, who had a word of advice for the youngster: when you’re a finisher, you need to