$A$ uniformly moving cricket ball is turned back by hitting it with a bat for a very short time interval. Show the variation of its acceleration with time (Take acceleration in the backward direction as positive).

(N/A) When a cricket ball moves uniformly,its acceleration is $0$.
When it is hit by a bat,it experiences a large impulsive force for a very short time interval.
According to Newton's second law,$F = ma$,so the acceleration $a = F/m$.
Since the force is impulsive,the acceleration rises sharply from $0$ to a maximum value and then decreases back to $0$ as the contact ends.
The graph of acceleration $(a)$ versus time $(t)$ is shown below,where the backward direction is taken as positive:
[Graph of $a$ vs $t$ showing a sharp peak during the impact interval]