Hashim Amla: Focus personified

A marathon batting display lasting 13 hours and 10 minutes by Hashim Amla was finally closed off in the only possible that it could be after Graeme Smith chose to declare the South African innings. An absolutely amazing exhibition of patience, grit and some fascinating stroke-play was put on display by South Africa at the Oval and in particular, by Amla.

311 runs scored against one of the best pace attacks in the world speaks volumes on Amla’s batting prowess. Spending 180 odd overs at the crease, playing absolutely risk free cricket, Amla eased his way to a triple hundred becoming the first South African to achieve this feat. Amla’s innings showed neither the flamboyance of Brian Lara, nor the blistering and often suicidal stroke-play of Virender Sehwag, but it turned out to be an absolutely remarkable innings with ‘genius’ written all over it. An innings that was loaded with focus and concentration all along. There was never a phase where he went completely into a shell becoming over-protective of his wicket, nor was there a phase where he went absolutely berserk on the opposition bowling without caring about the score. The whole innings was just beautifully paced at a consistent scoring rate. Not one level up, not one level down, but just a beautiful consistent pace, like a seasoned driver smoothly pacing the car on a particular gear on the highway without having to go into overdrive.

With his well-paced innings, Amla has reiterated the fact that one does not have to be too flashy in one’s stroke-play to make it big at the highest level. A solid defensive technique with a sufficient control on one’s willow is bound to get anyone a lot of runs.

Being born in this generation, this writer hasn’t seen the great Major Dhyanchand play during the glory days of Indian hockey. During his era, he was head and shoulders above the rest and simply dominated the game. Not with a big, burly physical game, not with powerful swipes with the hockey stick, not with aggression, not with a lightening quick pace across the turf — Major Dhyanchand dominated the game of hockey with an absolutely artistic display with the stick. His control on the ball, his control on the match situation and his ability to pace the match accordingly to suit his style made him the most dangerous hockey player to have walked on the planet. “Minimum of perspiration and maximum of inspiration” is how his game was described.

Hashim Amla, in the modern era, displays a similar sort of style, albeit in a different sport. Most of us have never seen Major Dhyanchand play live so we actually have very little idea about his playing style, but if anything at all can come close to his perfection-seeking style, it has to be Hashim Amla’s method of batting in cricket. Absolutely risk-free strokeplay while playing within his limitations and piling up mountainous scores innings after innings without breaking a sweat, that is how Hashim Amla plays his game and that is exactly how he dominates opposition bowling attacks. It doesn’t appear as if he is batting, but meditating, like a Saadhu engaged in deep concentration, connecting his soul with the game. And the way he is batting, he isn’t too far away from making his name known across the world.

Hashim’s innings at the Oval presented a complete package of focus, concentration and patience, which are the virtues of a sincere student of the game. The innings was a marvellous compilation of strokes that has to go down as one of the very best in the history of the game. An innings that tore through the hearts of the English team and dented them enough to bring them down in the first Test match.

In Physics, “Focus” is defined as the point where light rays originating from another point converge. Hashim Amla stands out as the perfect personified example of focus and his innings was the perfect practical example of it, where he converged all his attention and concentration into the game, carefully watching every delivery bowled at him and ticking the runs along with the clock. We can be rest assured that Amla will continue to come up with many more awe-inspiring knocks in the near future.