When Sehwag bats a loo-break is simply out of question! In a space of few overs Sehwag can hammer bowlers and take the game away from the opponents or in just moments he can play an unnecessary shot and gift his wicket away. In short-Sehwag at the crease is like an edge-of-the-seat thriller. You never know what will happen next. A power player with a penchant to strike the ball 24/7; Virender Sehwag is a like a ticking time-bomb, waiting to explode at the slightest sign of a cricket ball.
The one moment that explained Virender Sehwag came during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne on India's 2003-04 tour to Australia. Sehwag had belted the Australian bowlers and reached to an imposing 195 runs; a double hundred was in sight; then Simon Katich served up a full toss and Sehwag hit the ball straight to the fielder at long-on.
Most batsmen when faced with a similar situation would have taken a cautious approach, but not Sehwag. It's just not the way Sehwag has been wired. If there is something to be hit, Sehwag makes sure that it is hit. No half-measures for him. There is certain fearlessness behind his methods at the crease, a fearlessness that stems from confidence. A simple batting technique backed by an uncluttered mind is what makes Sehwag a success.
When Virender Sehwag first burst on to the international cricket, he was compared to his mentor and idol Sachin Tendulkar. From a distance Sehwag almost looked like Sachin; same stance and almost the same build. But that is as far as the similarity between the two goes.
In an era when Tendulkar was busy deciphering whether to go on full attack or play the more cautious 'veteran' role; Sehwag batted like Sachin did in his younger days; carefree and ready to put the bowlers under pressure, right from ball one.
Sehwag hit a stunning debut hundred against South Africa in Bloemfontein, but it was India's tour of England in 2002 that was in many ways a pivotal point in his career. In the first Test at Lord's Sehwag opened the batting for the first time in Test matches and hit a quick-fire 84 in 96 balls. In the next Test at Nottingham he curbed his offensive style and compiled his first Test century as an opener.
When Sehwag bats a loo-break is simply out of question! In a space of few overs Sehwag can hammer bowlers and take the game away from the opponents or in just moments he can play an unnecessary shot and gift his wicket away. In short-Sehwag at the crease is like an edge-of-the-seat thriller. You never know what will happen next. A power player with a penchant to strike the ball 24/7; Virender Sehwag is a like a ticking time-bomb, waiting to explode at the slightest sign of a cricket ball.
On seaming tracks, with the ball swinging around; few gave Sehwag a chance. His minimal footwork was fussed about, but Sehwag sticked around at the top and turned the opener's role into a complete reverse from the usual stonewalling method.
Soon Sehwag began to blossom at the top and runs came against different oppositions and on radically different wickets. 195-runs in Melbourne was followed by a historic triple century in Multan. Whenever Sehwag digged in, he ensured that his opponents would pay the price in full. In 69 Tests Sehwag stacked three double hundreds and two triple centuries. His knock of 319 runs against South Africa at Chennai in 2008 is the highest score ever made by an Indian.
Given his aggressive style Sehwag looked a perfect fit for the fifty-over version of the game, but amazingly he averages mere 34.33 in one-dayers compared to a supreme 50.06 in Tests. Around 2007 Sehwag's form dipped alarmingly and he was dropped from both the Tests and the ODI side. However, later in the year he was a surprise pick on India's tour to Australia.
It was in the Perth Test that Sehwag made his comeback into the Test match arena with a momentum swinging knock of 43 runs in the second innings. India famously won the Test and in the next fixture in Adelaide, Sehwag's 151-run innings secured a draw for India. The Australian tour reaffirmed Sehwag's place in the national side and Sehwag was back to dominating the opposition in his same trademark style.
0 comments:
Post a Comment