Flashback: The inventor of the leg glance
The leg glance, also known as the hip glance, is a fine-straight bat shot played at a ball directed on the leg side in the sport of cricket. Former England cricketer KS Ranjitsinhji was the creator of the particular shot. Ranji, an Indian prince, with his unorthodoxy, brought new strokes to the game which included the art of back-foot defence.
Ranjitsinhji was the man responsible for inventing the leg glance shot in cricket. The right-handed batter played during the 1890s in England, Cambridge University, London County, and Sussex cricket teams. From 1895, he surpassed 1000 runs in 10 successive seasons passing 3000 in 1899 and 1900.
Fondly known as Ranji, the princely batter revolutionized the cricketing landscape with his distinctive style. He began to establish a reputation for unorthodox cricket and was widely considered one of the greatest batters of all time. When batters pushed forward, Ranji played on the back foot and in both attack and defence. That’s the reason why he got particularly associated with a leg glance shot, which he popularized.
Born on September 10, 1872, in Kathiawar, Gujarat under the rule of British India, was a noticed Test cricketer for England. He appeared in 15 matches for the English side and scored 989 runs at a solid average of 44.95 with the highest score of 175. In 26 innings, Ranji struck two centuries and six half-centuries.
He also played 307 first-class games and amassed 24692 runs at an average of 56.37 with the highest score of 285*. In 500 innings, he hammered 72 centuries and 109 fifties in FC cricket. On April 02, 1933, Ranji took his last breath and died aged 60y 204d at Jamnagar Palace, Nawanagar State in India. After his death, the first-class cricket tournament in India, The Ranji Trophy was named in his honour.
