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In a fast-paced, exciting, high-scoring T20 landscape of today, batters like their runs whichever way they get them. While nothing excites batters more than a perfectly middled drive or a massive slog that produces a booming 'thwakkkk' sound, this format's explosive, high-intensity nature has made some of the best in the game vulnerable to false shots, while some ride on luck and muscle.
Delhi Capitals (DC) opener KL Rahul has had a sensational season, with 593 runs in 14 matches and innings at an average of 45.61 and a career-best strike rate of 174.41, including a century, a record-breaking 152* against Punjab Kings (PBKS), the first-ever score of 150-plus by an Indian in the IPL, and five fifties. He has also hit 31 sixes in the tournament, the second most by a DC batter after Rishabh Pant's 37 sixes in the 2018 season. Having regained plenty of his explosiveness that made him a star a few years back, KL still manages to have the season's lowest false shot percentage of 12.1, as per CricViz, with nearly 88 per cent of his shots being well-connected. His rivals in this aspect have been Dhruv Jurel (458 runs in 14 matches, strike rate of over 149, five fifties for RR) and Heinrich Klaasen (606 runs in 14 matches, strike rate of over 159 and six fifties for SRH), both boasting a 12.6 per cent error rate. Even the Rajasthan Royals' 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who has registered a once-in-a-generation season with 583 runs in 14 matches at an average of 41.64, a strike rate of over 232, including a century, three fifties and 53 fifties, has displayed immense control over his shots, with his false shot percentage being as low at 17.8 per cent, on the same level as India and RCB veteran Virat Kohli, despite his ultra-aggressive style. On the other hand, there have been players who have had excellent luck. Punjab Kings (PBKS) star Cooper Connolly (491 runs in 13 innings at an average of 44.63, with a strike rate of 163.12, a century and two fifties) had a tournament-high false shot percentage of 25.6 per cent. Also, the Orange Cap holder, Sai Sudharsan (638 runs in 14 innings, with a strike rate of 157.92, a century and seven fifties) also has a false shot percentage of 18.1 and sits in the middle of the table. He has been able to survive his errors and capitalise more on his largely clean ball striking. (ANI)
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