There is a lovable non-rascal in Rachin Ravindra. He lays the charm offensive with the flowing curls, the naughty smile of a teenager and the visage that retains the freshness of adolescence, before with his chilling coolness and proficient batsmanship, he snipes you down. In him, New Zealand have discovered the keys to conquer the Asian conditions too—a batsman who could bat in the subcontinent like one from the subcontinent.
There were other heroes too—the bustling Matt Henry enjoying the second wind of his career; the beanpole Will O’Rourke exposing India’s fear of height and a masterful swing-merchant rediscovering his mojo. But the guiding light was Rachin, his 134 and 39 not out, the biggest difference between the teams.
To break a 36-year-old drought, the Kiwis needed a batsman in the Rachin mould. In the past too, New Zealand, as well as other teams, possessed competent players of spin. Kane Williamson and Martin Crowe for example, or Matthew Hayden and Mark Waugh, Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook, or more recently Joe Root and Steve Smith. All with their own custom-made methods to defang spin, be it grinding them or scything them into submission. But among all the 21st century batsmen to have conquered the dervishes of the subcontinent, Rachin seems the most natural among them, born as he were to daunt the spinners.
A Player of the Match performance from Rachin Ravindra in an historic Test victory in Bengaluru 🏏 #INDvNZ #CricketNation 📸 BCCI pic.twitter.com/PLEBeMSvpI
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) October 20, 2024
He inverts the popular myth that you need to pack your side with subcontinental-like spinners to beat India at home. You could do with a batsman or two as well.
The final morning, where he came to bat with his side in bother, was a prime example. It was a similar tricky total that Australia surpassed in the Indore Test last year with the streaky aggression of Travis Head. But here Rachin breathed calm, undertaking negligible risks, working the ball casually through the leg-side, picking the ball off his legs, cutting with elan, his hands low and long legs either striding out or pressing back. The aberration was a Ravindra Jadeja ball that exploded off the good length and crashed into his helmet. Later, Rohit Sharma admitted there indeed were a couple of dentures from where the ball shot up.
It was just that Rachin made the pitch look so harmless, like all good batsmen, conveying the impression that they are batting on different wickets. His serenity soothed the jumpy Young too. Tom Latham would say later: “The way he just sits padded up, cool and focussed, he relaxes the dressing room.”
The 22-year-old’s spin game was so exemplary that it could be filmed and taught to young Indian batsmen on how to dominate spin without looking to dominate. There was no rough edges to his spin game, rather simple and preternatural, as though it were a muscle memory. He didn’t try to manufacture the sweep, executing the shot only when the length was suitable. It’s a folly a lot of overseas batsmen commit. They premeditate, as Devon Conway did. He preempted the sweep and it was only a matter of Ravi Ashwin second-guessing him and flinging a low, quick full-toss on the leg-stump. He was beaten and bowled. Ashwin offered Rachin a similar ball as the one that bowled Conway, more on the off-stump though. Rachin ferried the ball into the yellow-chaired stands.
History in Bengaluru! Will Young (48*) and Rachin Ravindra (39*) lead the team to a first Test win in India since 1988. Scorecard | https://t.co/XVdWc5y2Qd #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/YBDYNql1nu
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) October 20, 2024
It is because Rachin waits, because he is not reliant on one shot alone to disrupt the spinners. He judges the length and makes the suitable decisions. “What I always look for is to make the right decisions, not to think before the ball that it would do this, or it would not do this. I meet every ball with a clear mind,” he says.
He didn’t commit the other mistake over-eager overseas batsmen make. He didn’t step out for the sake of it. Only when the ball is flighted would he come out of the crease, with measured rather than frenzied strides. This is because he has the toolkit to play spinners off both feet. The short of length balls were fiercely cut behind in a two-step manoeuvre. A forward stride in the trigger movement and a swift fall back.
The most characteristic subcontinental trait in his game is the habit of picking singles off his leg with a casual nudge of his wrists for ones or twos. It was so ingrained in the game of Asian batsmen of several generations—a heritage fearing extinction—that the shot barely met its deserved eulogies. Spinners like Shane Warne used to mutter how the shot dishevelled their rhythm more than slashing them over the head. The consequences of this perceivably harmless shot are many—the bowler has to change the field and alter the plan, besides feeling frustrated that the batsman is utmost comfortable with him.
Rachin frustrated India’s battle-hardened spin trio to the point of feeling weary of the world. Rohit effusively praised Rachin: “Some of the shots that Rachin played was a really, really good shot and he played very good cricket. Whatever we could extract from the pitch, our spinners tried and did everything possible with them. He understood what our spinners were trying to do and he didn’t back off from playing his natural game which is what gave him the result against our quality spinners.”
Some of the gifts are inherited. Like his velvet hands and twinkling feet, underscoring his Asian genes. But what nature has bestowed him with, he has vigorously practised to polish them and weave into a wholesome game. Like getting low to play them, or holding the shape longer when playing low.
His, as well as his team’s, challenges will only get steeper. The weather will be not so kind to them. The red soil surfaces in Mumbai and Pune would offer both turn and bounce, Ashwin and company would be fuming for revenge. But in him, New Zealand have discovered the key that had long eluded them in conquering the subcontinent. A batsman who can bat in the subcontinent like a batsman from the subcontinent.
I’m Manas Ranjan Sahoo: Founder of “Webtirety Software”. I’m a Full-time Software Professional and an aspiring entrepreneur, dedicated to growing this platform as large as possible. I love to Write Blogs on Software, Mobile applications, Web Technology, eCommerce, SEO, and about My experience with Life.
