5 reasons why batsmen play pre-meditated strokes

#4 A pressure-release stroke

Dhoni’s iconic six to secure the 2011 World Cup Final win

In limited overs cricket, it’s good to respect disciplined bowling, provided they don’t turn detrimental to the batting team’s progress.

Pre-meditated strokes present a fascinating mind-games between the bowlers and batsmen. Batsmen attempt to throw the bowlers off their radar through such strokes. It’s a moral victory on the part of the bowler, but a few more of those can make the bowler think a little more.

At times, too much pressure can dismantle your thought process. It transpires in a do-or-die situation when batsmen can’t figure out the bowler’s strategy. That’s when they pre-meditate and bring their most trusted shot to the fore.

Two examples in the last nine years come to mind. The first one is of Misbah-ul-Haq’s attempted scoop in the final over of the 2007 World T20, which will haunt him till his last breath.

It was a shot that worked for Misbah during his tape-ball cricket days. He admitted it to be his go-to shot in order to get out of jail.

The second example goes back to August 2016, when M.S Dhoni mistimed a helicopter shot straight into the hands of short-third man. Dhoni admitted to the fact that the pre-meditation was correct, but again what went wrong is the execution.