Hold the bat with both hands together in the middle of the handle, and the V between each thumb and forefinger pointing down the back of the bat, roughly between the outside edge and the spine. Top hand controls the shot; the bottom hand rides along in the fingers, not squeezed in the palm. Pick the bat up like an axe you're about to swing, not a hammer you're about to grip for life.
Lay the bat face-down on the ground. Reach down and pick the handle up with both hands as if picking up an axe — that's the grip, near enough. Check that the V formed by each thumb and forefinger lines up, pointing somewhere between the bat's spine and its outside edge. Hands sit together, middle of the handle — not split like a hockey grip.
The top hand is the steering hand: it holds firmly and controls the face of the bat. The bottom hand supplies punch at impact only — until then it holds the handle in the fingers, lightly. A squeezing bottom hand closes the face early, drags straight shots to the leg side and turns checked defence into a hard-handed jab that carries to the slips.
Your leading hand — for a right-hand batter the left hand is on top, closest to the end of the handle, and the right hand sits directly below it. Left-hand batters mirror it.
Top hand firm, bottom hand loose — around 7/10 and 3/10. The grip tightens naturally at impact; starting tight only adds tension and costs you bat speed.
The base grip doesn't change; the bottom hand simply joins harder for cross-bat and lofted shots. If you find yourself re-gripping mid-innings for the cut or pull, the base grip is wrong.
Sticks works anywhere you can swing a bat — at the nets, or at home with nobody bowling. It watches through your phone and speaks this kind of coaching out loud, one focus per shot — in English or Hindi. Video never leaves your phone, and it's free while Sticks is in beta.