Suresh Raina introduces the Indian version of ‘Mongoose’

By: Meenal Johari (Agra)

With Mathew Hayden bringing in all the storm with the ferocious ‘Mongoose’ in his hands during the third season of the Indian Premier League, his Chennai team mate Suresh Raina is no behind and has endorsed the Indian version of it.

The Indian sports equipment manufacturer Sanspareil Greenlands (SG) is in the process of introducing the bat, specifically made for the Twenty20 format of cricket, in the Indian market next month before the commencement of the forthcoming T20 World Cup. The bat, which is still waiting to get named, has already been put to use in the IPL match by Raina against the Mumbai Indians on March 25.

The Head of SG, Paras Anand explained that unlike the Mongoose, this Indian variety takes the looks of a conventional cricket bat but is bound to be almost ten percent heavier owing to its thicker blades with around 25 percent extra wood which will allow the batsmen to hit powerful shots. He further said that the extra weight should not be matter of concern to the batsmen due to the short duration of the Twenty20 format.

Suresh Raina, the man who initiated the use of the bat in the IPL, believes that “this bat can be used successfully on Australian pitches as well as on the sub-continental pitches.” He added that, “We have a number of quality pitches in India where ball comes to the bat nicely. It can be successfully used in the domestic circuit as well.”

The left-hander who himself is used to using lighter bats is, however, still unsure of putting the same into action during the coming T20 World Cup though he asserted that he “did not face much problem to get used to the bat that is a bit bottom heavy.”

The Indian manufacturer mentioned that the sweet spot on the bat is deeper and is slightly expanded due to the additional mass of wood which permits the shot-making to be easier for the batsmen. In case of the Mongoose, the weight of the bat is taken away from the upper part and is redistributed in the remaining half which results in expanding the sweet spot on the blade of the bat.

The ever increasing popularity of the T20 format coupled by the newer tactics applied by the bowlers is surely going to attract many a cricketers towards such varieties of bats in order to come out with better performances in their game.

An interesting fact is that all such innovations are coming out from the Chennai Super Kings’ camp, yet, the team is finding it hard to live up to its potential in the current edition of the IPL and is in dearth need of some more fireworks in their batting department which can help them in putting up a good fight in their remaining encounters.