The Hindu : Sport : Better than the Multan knock, says Sehwag

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Better than the Multan knock, says Sehwag

Sports Reporter

— Photo: PTI

THREE CHEERS: With Virender Sehwag in blistering form, the spectators had a gala time.

CHENNAI: Virender Sehwag was rendered speechless after his incredible, unbeaten triple hundred.

“I don’t have words to express how I’m feeling. I don’t think I showed as much patience and concentration in Pakistan (309) as I did today. I wanted to prove that I belonged here, and there was no better way to do that than by playing a big knock and scoring a triple century.”

This innings, he said, was better than the one he scored in Multan. “I think this is better than Multan because I was scoring at run-a-ball. In Multan, the wicket was better than this and the conditions were not so hot and humid.

Simple theory

“My batting theory is simple. If there is a ball to be hit, I will hit it. It doesn’t matter whether I am playing on 90 or 150, or whether I am close to 200. I tried to hit a six when I was on 298, but I missed it. I always play like this and I’ve grown up playing like this. It’s instinct.”

Sehwag had words of sympathy for the bowlers and the fielders. “If the wicket is so good, it becomes difficult for a captain to set fields. When a batsman is playing well and hitting shots all around, then it becomes very difficult.

“We also found it difficult when Hashim Amla was batting. The wicket is good, and the ball is coming on to the bat nicely. The outfield is also fast, so it becomes tougher,” he added. Sehwag has so far hit 41 boundaries and five sixes.

On the possibility of breaking Brian Lara’s record of 400, he said, “I was not thinking about Lara’s record at all. Anil Kumble told me that my job was to stay till the end. Even on Saturday, when I come to bat, I won’t be thinking about Lara’s record. I will just look to bat out each session. I think if I bat till lunch I will come close to Lara’s record. I played session by session. I was not thinking about 200 or 300. It was only when I was around 20 runs away I started to think about it and played some shots.”

Proving a point

Being dropped from the Test squad last year was tough, he said. “When I was dropped from the Test squad I was hurt because I have a good record in Tests. I was looking to prove something to myself, that I am a good Test player and deserve a place in the team. It was also good for me because I was able to motivate myself and concentrate better.”

Sehwag dedicated the knock to his late father. “I would like to dedicate this to my family, especially my dad. He is not with us, but he always wished that I played and scored a lot of runs for India. I would like to dedicate this to him, my family, my wife and my son.”

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