The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Swashbuckling Virender Sehwag

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Thursday, Jan 19, 2006

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Sport - Cricket

Swashbuckling Virender Sehwag

W.V. Raman

The ball is meant to be whacked is his philosophy

There are some players who look forward to playing against some attacks and that too when they are short of runs.

Sehwag mentioned that he was looking forward to playing in Pakistan and by the end of the first Test he showed exactly what he meant. Sehwag walked out with skipper Dravid after being on the field for almost two days and the pressure was on with Pakistan piling up a huge total.

Sehwag started off in his swashbuckling manner punching the ball through the line and a couple of back foot drives were worth travelling miles across the world. The blistering attack started in the dying moments of the second day and the momentum never flagged until the time he was dismissed on the final day.

The pitch was no doubt batsman friendly but the Indians openers were under pressure. Dravid stuck his neck out by deciding to open rather than `request' someone else to do the job.

The Indian skipper has made yet another strong statement by opening the innings but however, the message often seems to get lost with certain members of the side.

There was some speculation that the former captain Ganguly might open but obviously the former captain must have preferred to stick to the middle order where he is comfortable.

One-dimensional

Not everyone can be as one-dimensional as Sehwag is when it comes to batting. He philosophy about batting is that `the ball is meant to be whacked' and he would do that as often as possible.

Sehwag's technique is uncomplicated as well. But, of late, he is making a conscious effort to play closer to the body and through the arc between extra cover and wide on at the start of his innings. The Pakistani bowlers picked him out as the danger man and Sehwag's dominance must have dented whatever confidence they had at the start of the match.

If Sehwag dominated the bowlers with his aggression, Dravid frustrated them with his solidity. Their individual styles is something like chalk and cheese but they combined well to torment the Pakistanis. Their partnership deserves all the praise, as it required a lot of physical and mental fitness though the pitch had no horrors. Apart from the fitness aspect, they had to keep their focus going with bad light interrupting play quite frequently. The mammoth partnership has given the Pakistanis enough to think about, as the general consensus was that the Indians were the underdogs in this series. In the end it was rather unfortunate that they could break the record but it would

A week before the start of the series saw statements emanating out of Pakistan about bouncy pitches awaiting the Indians. The pitch at Lahore proved that the Pakistanis lacked conviction to follow up on their veiled threats. Inzy must have realised that there is point in taking a chance and that too at home against the archrivals. Furthermore, it will all boil down to the confidence he has in his batsmen if he has to dish out a green top. One thing is for sure; Inzamam cannot give a turner as the Indian spinners can exploit turners better.

The Indians have come out on top with a superb reply through Dravid and Sehwag but the bowlers would need all the encouragement, as they were rendered absolutely ineffective. In fact both the captains have to get the bowlers back into the right mindset for that will make the difference in the upcoming games.

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