'What is Jofra Archer’s strength?': Cheteshwar Pujara's valuable tips for Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson ahead of semi-final
· Yahoo Sports
Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara has said that Abhishek Sharma could use his new batting stance to take on England fast bowler Jofra Archer in the Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final at Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. Pujara suggested Abhishek might focus on scoring runs through the off side to counter Archer’s threat.
Abhishek has had the upper hand in T20I matches against Archer, scoring 61 runs in 5 innings without getting out, at a strike rate of 185. However, Archer has also been dangerous against India, taking 14 wickets in T20Is—his highest tally against any team.
“If you look at his stance, his front-foot toe is now facing towards cover, and his shoulders are straight. Earlier, his toe was pointing towards mid-off, and his shoulder was open. With the current stance, his hands are very close to his body, which is also allowing him to maintain good balance with his head.
“Abhishek is very strong on the off side. If you look at his boundary options, anything in that zone, in the fifth or sixth stump line, closer to the wide line, he is extremely strong and his strike-rate is very good. Now, what is Jofra Archer’s strength? Most of his deliveries, when he releases the ball, go away from the left-hander.
“That is why Abhishek has been very successful against Jofra Archer in the past. I still believe that even at the Wankhede, he will look to give himself a little bit of room, try to go over point or over cover, and score as many runs as possible on the off side,” said Pujara on JioHotstar.
Archer has been very effective with the new ball for England, taking 10 wickets in the tournament, eight of them in the powerplay.
His battle against Samson, who recently scored a brilliant 97 against the West Indies, could be a key moment in the game.
Archer has dismissed Samson three times in five innings.
“Jofra will continue bowling the short stuff. Throughout this World Cup, we have seen that the majority of his wickets against right-handers have come from back-of-a-length deliveries, around eight metres or even shorter than that. He will continue doing that against Sanju Samson as well.
“Normally, Samson stands on the leg stump. Now, against Jofra, how do you score runs? One option is to create a little more room, try to move outside the leg stump, and as he is about to deliver, shift slightly to create room and play on the off side. Another option for Sanju is to initially focus on rotating the strike and give as many deliveries as possible to Abhishek, because someone like him will look to take on Jofra Archer,” added Pujara.
Abhishek has had the upper hand in T20I matches against Archer, scoring 61 runs in 5 innings without getting out, at a strike rate of 185. However, Archer has also been dangerous against India, taking 14 wickets in T20Is—his highest tally against any team.
“If you look at his stance, his front-foot toe is now facing towards cover, and his shoulders are straight. Earlier, his toe was pointing towards mid-off, and his shoulder was open. With the current stance, his hands are very close to his body, which is also allowing him to maintain good balance with his head.
“Abhishek is very strong on the off side. If you look at his boundary options, anything in that zone, in the fifth or sixth stump line, closer to the wide line, he is extremely strong and his strike-rate is very good. Now, what is Jofra Archer’s strength? Most of his deliveries, when he releases the ball, go away from the left-hander.
“That is why Abhishek has been very successful against Jofra Archer in the past. I still believe that even at the Wankhede, he will look to give himself a little bit of room, try to go over point or over cover, and score as many runs as possible on the off side,” said Pujara on JioHotstar.
Archer has been very effective with the new ball for England, taking 10 wickets in the tournament, eight of them in the powerplay.
His battle against Samson, who recently scored a brilliant 97 against the West Indies, could be a key moment in the game.
Archer has dismissed Samson three times in five innings.
“Jofra will continue bowling the short stuff. Throughout this World Cup, we have seen that the majority of his wickets against right-handers have come from back-of-a-length deliveries, around eight metres or even shorter than that. He will continue doing that against Sanju Samson as well.
“Normally, Samson stands on the leg stump. Now, against Jofra, how do you score runs? One option is to create a little more room, try to move outside the leg stump, and as he is about to deliver, shift slightly to create room and play on the off side. Another option for Sanju is to initially focus on rotating the strike and give as many deliveries as possible to Abhishek, because someone like him will look to take on Jofra Archer,” added Pujara.
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