NZ vs IND 1st T20I - Glenn Phillips and Sanju Samson put their magic hands up

Bhuvneshwar Kumar took his time to set the field. Deep square leg, deep midwicket, long-on, deep point and long-off. He wouldn’t budge from the top of his mark until one of the leg-side boundary riders was exactly where he wanted them. Then he ran in and pitched the ball up in line with the stumps.

The bowler had posed a problem. How will you score when you don’t have room to free the arms? Glenn Phillips already had a solution in mind. The kind that makes him unique, even in a game that is increasingly mapped out in terms of match-ups and data sets. He switched from right to left-handed and could now access deep cover, an entirely unmanned stretch of the outfield at Hagley Oval, with a shot so simple everybody can play. The slog across the line.

Batting in every format but especially in white-ball cricket has become less about where the head is or the feet go and more about what the hands do and Christchurch kept throwing up so many examples.

Sanju Samson needed a clear path to an inswinger from Lockie Ferguson in the third over of the chase. So he actively stopped the rest of his body from getting in line with the ball. His front leg actually went the other way. This is the game now. The fundamentals are changing.

T20 has challenged the rigidity of batting technique. Playing late. Close to the body. Showing the full face. Moving forward and back based on length. Leaving based on line. They’re virtues. And they come to the fore against a superior opponent or in demanding conditions. Temba Bavuma showcased every last one of those qualities to the highest possible level in Gqeberha as South Africa swindled a Test match right out from under Australia. But even there, Travis Head, who doesn’t consider himself a true opener because he isn’t one to bat for hours and hours, grinding bowling attacks down, scored a century and made things tight. He has great hands. His technique is in service to them.

Samson’s too. In all his years, both out in the wilderness and now at the top of India’s line-up, he has never seen fit to do anything that obstructs the flow of his hands through the ball. It’s why his soft dismissals look extra soft. And why his touch play looks extra class. And even why consistency eludes him. He hasn’t built himself to be fool-proof. His focus is on getting the most out of every ball he has the chance to face, although lately he has managed to do both.

On Thursday, he masterminded India’s highest powerplay total (94) away from home en route to his third fifty-plus score in six innings and his eighth of the year. He needs three more to equal the national record.

Conditions in Christchurch weren’t entirely batting friendly. Play began just as the sun set, spokes of fading light adding to the spectacle as a Maori tribesman performed the haka. There was pace and bounce. The swing seemed accentuated in the second innings in particular. But nobody really gave any thought to getting behind the ball. Plenty was given to getting at it.

Phillips charged at Axar Patel in the 10th over and whacked him over his head. According to the broadcast, that ball was 99kph on release, 79kph after pitching and 127kph when it was flying through the air. Part of that is the sheer physical strength that Phillips possesses. And part of it is bat speed. Phillips wound up and let go, generating 75kph. An even starker example of his fast hands came later in the innings as he was busy living up to his usual trend of averaging over 70 and striking at over 160 once he’s past 30. Nitish Kumar Reddy went wide yorker. With no leverage to work with and just his bat speed to rely on, Phillips still managed to hit a one-bounce four over cover and into the longest boundary at Hagley Oval.

The basics are changing, have been for a while. You still need a level head. You might benefit from having nimble feet. But if you have hands like Phillips and Samson, you’ll be more than fine.

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