There are a plethora of articles on the Internet about Sachin Tendulkar and his classic straight drive. As straight drive is to the maestro is the 'Pull' shot to Rahul Dravid. How elegantly he plays it and deserves as much if not more praise than his square cuts, cover drives and leg glances. The balance and control over the shot is amazing, as if he has pulled a million times already. The beauty of the signature Dravid pull shot is that he rarely pulls it in the air, the shots are angled down minimizing risk of being caught.
Here I came across a youtube video titled 'Bowling machine firing bouncers at team india'. The thumbnail had Suresh Raina standing against a bowling machine waiting, little did I expect Dravid to be in the video. While Suresh Raina struggles against the shortball, Gambhir does Ok. Next walks in the Wall himself and shows them how it's done. This video is a classic example separating the legends from the men.
Here is another one from Youtube where he pulls the legendary 'Lance Klusener' to the fence.
Most players who play the pull shot to perfection are legends, my favorite being Ricky Ponting. Ponting seems effortless pulling deliveries up and over the fence. He does it with such ease and
Let us know who plays the best Pull shots in comments. :)
