Scoop Shot in Cricket — Technique and When to Use It

What Is the Scoop Shot?

The scoop is a T20 batting stroke where the batter gets under a full or back-of-a-length delivery on leg stump and scoops it over the wicketkeeper's head toward the long-on or fine-leg boundary. The most famous variation — the Dilscoop — goes directly over the keeper's head.

The Dilscoop — Origins and Technique

Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan invented the modern scoop in T20 cricket. He would shuffle across the crease on a yorker-length delivery on leg stump, open the bat face completely upward, and flick the ball directly over the keeper for six. It is particularly effective against fast bowlers who target the toes.

1. Shuffle to get in line with the ball — move into the delivery rather than away from it.
2. Squat low to get under the ball, bending the knees significantly.
3. Open the bat face upward — the face should point toward the sky at contact.
4. The bottom hand guides; the top hand lifts — opposite of a normal drive.
5. Keep eyes on the ball until contact; mistiming sends the ball to the keeper.

Field Settings It Targets

The scoop exploits the gap directly behind the wicketkeeper. In T20 powerplay, fine leg and third man are inside the ring — a ball hit over the keeper in the air lands between them and the boundary for a boundary or six. In death overs, a deep fine leg is often positioned, so a perfectly timed scoop must clear them.

Notable Scoop Players

• Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) — invented the Dilscoop; used it to score 500+ T20I runs.
• Jos Buttler (England) — plays a ramp-scoop hybrid with great success.
• Suryakumar Yadav (India) — plays the scoop from outside off stump, even on rising deliveries.
• AB de Villiers (South Africa) — played scoop variants including a 360-degree version.