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India v Sri Lanka, 3rd Test, Mumbai, 2nd day
Has there ever been another like Sehwag?
Cricket is a non-contact sport, but watching Virender Sehwag bat is as visceral an experience as watching Muhammad Ali dominate the ring in his prime
S Aga
December 3, 2009
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Players/Officials:
Virender Sehwag
Matches:
India v Sri Lanka at Mumbai (BS)
Series/Tournaments:
Sri Lanka tour of India
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Arguments about Muttiah Muralitharan's declining effectiveness can wait for another time. This was a day instead to marvel at the magnificence of a man who defies any sort of categorisation or pigeon-holing. Cricket is a non-contact sport, but watching Virender Sehwag bat is as visceral an experience as watching Muhammad Ali dominate the ring in his prime. On Thursday afternoon, Sehwag toyed with the greatest offspinner to play the game as though he were some glorified net bowler. He might as well have been, as India overhauled Sri Lanka's total of 393 in 67.5 overs. But for back spasms that restricted him to a more mortal scoring-rate in the last half hour, Sehwag might have become only the second batsman after Sir Donald Bradman to score 300 runs in a day.
Each monumental Sehwag innings has left a trail of destruction in its wake. At the MCG in 2003, it was Stuart MacGill's turn to look like a pie-thrower as he galloped to 195 in just five hours. In Multan, Shoaib Akhtar was reduced to feeble sledges. Sehwag's response was just to compare him to a beggar. In Chennai against the best Australian side ever, he careered to 155 on a pitch where few others had managed any sort of fluency. In front of the imposing Galle Fort last year, he dictated the course of a Test with an innings that combined absolute control and appetite for destruction with admirable restraint.
Has there ever been another like him? Matthew Hayden could pillage bowlers too, but his strike-rate looks pedestrian next to Sehwag's. Adam Gilchrist scored marginally quicker but how often did he have to face the new ball? Even the King, Sir Vivian Richards, never went after bowlers with such menacing intent, day in, day out.
Traditionally, bowlers have been the game-breakers, setting up victories with inspired spells that reduce sides from positions of comfort to misery. Sehwag scores at such a clip that he can transform a game in the same way. India batted only 79 overs on the second day. Yet they already lead by 50. Even if they feel like batting right through day three, the bowlers have all the time in the world to force a result.
Thursday's tour de force brought to mind a remarkable night in Kingston when Richards' hero, Smokin' Joe Frazier, was knocked down five times in the space of two rounds by the giant-fisted George Foreman. Boxing had never seen a puncher like Foreman, just as cricket has never seen a destroyer like Sehwag.
In cricketing terms, the only apt comparison would be with Gordon Greenidge at Lord's in 1984. On the final day of that Test, England thought they were in with a more than decent chance of victory. Today, Sri Lanka must have taken the new ball feeling fairly secure. On both occasions, the illusions were rudely shattered. Greenidge cut and drove with awesome power as 342 was reeled in from just 66.1 overs. His contribution was 214 from 241 balls. Quick by any standard, but nothing outrageous for someone who is batting's answer to Usain Bolt.
And to think that India started the day with survival on their minds. Sri Lanka's 393 looked decent enough on a pitch where the ball had turned from the first session. Surely, Murali and Rangana Herath would pose serious questions and be far more of a threat than they had been in Ahmedabad and Kanpur. That was conventional wisdom. When Sehwag's batting though, such logic is just bunkum.
At Multan just over five years ago, he pretty much ended the career of one very special offspinner, Saqlain Mushtaq. Saqlain had gone into that series speaking of a surprise ball, the teesra [the third one]. After much discussion in the media box, it was decided that it was the delivery that Sehwag kept whacking over midwicket for fours and sixes.
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Murali tried plenty of variations at the CCI, perhaps too many. One moment summed up the uneven nature of the contest. Sehwag was on 248 when Murali pitched one on middle stump. The response was a reverse paddle-sweep, a stroke that few could have imagined leave alone seen. As the ball sped to the rope, past where conventional slip might have stood, Murali just half-flinched and looked away.
Even as fatigue took over, the level of improvisation didn't drop. Spotting a slower one from Angelo Mathews, Sehwag quickly decided that a booming drive wasn't the answer. A deftly angled bat and the ball raced away past the vacant first-slip position. For Kumar Sangakkara, the man entrusted with the task of stopping a deluge with a teacup, that was the quintessential dilemma. When remotely attacking fields were set, Sehwag just shifted his feet and cleared the infield with an ease that bordered on contempt. When the fielders then fanned out, he was free to pick gaps at will.
Each time he went aerial, the crowd in the stands appeared to jump as high. It wasn't just bedlam though. Time after time, people turned to those standing next to them, looking bemused. Each expression said the same thing: 'Did you see THAT?'
Murali Vijay and Rahul Dravid deserve immense praise for the manner in which they managed the situation. When a man's in such prime form, you need to give him as much of the strike as possible, while making sure that you don't leave the entire run-making burden on his shoulders. Vijay played a superb innings till his little brain fade, and the manner in which he was prepared to take on even Murali said much about his state of mind.
As for Dravid, is there a more calming sight in the game than him taking guard? When not defending with the straightest of bats or watching the carnage from the other end, he played some beautiful strokes, especially in the cover-point region. No one's likely to remember them though, blinded as they were by Sehwag's dazzle.
There were a couple of near escapes at the end, with a tired heave off Murali flying to third man, and a thick outside edge off Tillakaratne Dilshan evading both Jayawardenes, Prasanna and Mahela. Those were mere dust motes on a pretty perfect picture though. By the close Sehwag had struck 40 fours and seven sixes, and taken an astonishing 78 from the 70 balls that Murali bowled to him. Only Brian Lara, back in that halycon series of 2001, treated him with such disdain. But at least then Murali was picking up wickets by the bushel at the other end.
Sehwag's energy levels are remarkable for a man who's hardly the most svelte figure in the game. This was his 12th knock in excess of 150, and the way he paces himself is exceptional. On Thursday, he didn't just have to contend with the sun beating down, but also with extreme humidity. The Arabian Sea is just a six-hit away, but instead of losing focus he only made sure that Sri Lanka lost theirs. "It's not fat," said a friend later. "It's batting muscle."
Sri Lanka were so demoralised by the end of the day that it was hard to fathom a route back into the match. When Chanaka Welegedara went off injured with Sehwag in sight of his double-century, the ball was thrown to Nuwan Kulasekara. A cut, flick, glance and midwicket-thump later, he looked ready to cry. As he walked back to his fielding position, he looked every inch the man who'd been asked to take his mate's place in solitary confinement.
Sehwag now has five of the 10 fastest double-centuries in history, including three of the first four. This though is a man utterly insouciant when it comes to such landmarks. He could well go on to obliterate Lara's record tomorrow. He certainly has a great chance to put even Bradman in the shade and score a third triple. None of those possibilities is likely to make him lose sleep though. For someone who has reduced batting to its most elemental, only the next ball matters. If it's there to be hit, regardless of whether he's on 299 or 399, he'll go for it. Which is precisely why it's such a bloody privilege to watch him play. Those that passed up a chance to come to Churchgate on Thursday would be best off reading the Mishima guide to seppuku.
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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Jayesh10, comparing ODI's to Test's is ridiculous. The vain of error, is much, much higher in Test Matches as the fields are set attacking whilst in ODI's, fields are set on the edge of the ring to stop boundaries... in ODI's batsman get rewarded with boundaries for nicking through slips and bowlers get rewarded for batsman skying delieveries up in the air to increase the runrate. Back on topic, Chris Gayle is pretty similar to Sehwag. His got a triple-hundred in Test Cricket against South Africa and his gotten some pretty big hundreds as of late (197 against NZ & 150 not out today against Australia)... I reckon if Gayle played in a reasonably strong team like India, which is often involved in high scoring contests then Gayle could very well average over 50 with a strike-rate in excess of 70+.
Posted by vraghu on (December 07 2009, 12:04 PM GMT)Down my memory they flow,those batting greats,gracing and blazing the cricketing turfs in all their glories-Trumper,Bradman,Ponsford,McCabe,Wooley,Ranji,Hobbs, Hammond,Hutton,Compton,Merchant,Hazare,Headley,Weeks,Worrel,Walcot,Hanif, May,Cowdrey,Gravaney,Barrington,Harvey,O Neil,Dexter,Sobers, Kanhai,Pollock, Richards& Richards,Zaheer Abbas, Gavaskar,Miandad,Gower,Martin Crowe,Greg Chappel,D Silva,Border,Waughs,Langer,Ponting,Hayden,Lara,Tendulkar,Dravid, Inzamam,Yousuf,Younis,Sangakara,Jayawardane. But for me, Veeru you are the quintessence of them all..no one else I would like to watch.My mouth drools at your audacity and your ability to pile up monumental scores at a breath taking canter.Your conversion from 100 to 150 must be the highest? When this kohinoor in full flow, the other diamonds at the non batting end can only watch, wonder and applaud your highlight show. There will never be another such a daring and thundering batsman for decades to come. Or perhaps no second coming.
Posted by SamRoy on (December 07 2009, 11:50 AM GMT)Some of the comments are pretty laughable. There is so much mud slinging going on. Everyone knows Sehwag is a destructive batsman with a penchant for huge scores. Rather than admiring his ability people are giving prejudiced and uncalled for judgement on the comparable (or incomparable) greatness of Sehwag. When people say Sehwag is unique there are some people who need to poke and say Sehwag is a slogger. Well if he is a slogger may I ask how did he score 201 in the test match in SL last year when nobody else got a 100 and won the match single handedly for India. It's never a good idea to compare generations but invariably people bring generations into question. For the record, I can say that had Ricky Ponting wouldn't have averaged more than 5 runs per innings in India if he had faced the legendary Indian spin quartret (Bedi doesn't rate Harbhajan highly). Sehwag doesn't play swing bowling well but tell me apart from Kallis and Dravid at their prime, who plays the swinging ball well?
Posted by JAYESH10 on (December 07 2009, 11:32 AM GMT)Aussieicon91, Sehwag joined the Indian test team in 2001, the next year on his first tour to NZ, he was the only one to hit 2 centuries in 7 match ODI series. All the kiwi wickets were green tops, the ball would land on the leg and end in 1st slip. That was Sehwag's 1st tour to NZ, and he was the highest scorer from both sides scoring 299 in 7 matches @42.71, the next highest was Fleming with 157 in 7 matches @ 26.16 . Sachin scored 2 in 3 matches, Dravid scored 116 in 7 matches @ave of 16.57. If u r implying that Sehwag will be found out in seaming wickets, just see the above stats. In fact exactly the opposite will happen on seaming wickets. Simply because he is not a player in the traditional mould, his main technique is to watch the ball like a hawk & play at the last moment. I have seen him hit Bret Lee all over the park. I still vividly remember one of Bret Lee's well aimed Yorker which would have broken the middle stump of any lesser player being hit easily by Sehwag for a bound
Posted by Aussieicon91 on (December 07 2009, 02:42 AM GMT)DocBindra, you just completely contradicted yourself by saying you have a problem with people who don't read but yet you failed to comprehend what I was trying to say. I never said Watson was great, but I corrected your comment of you saying that he was "mediocre talent". Proof shows that subcontient batsman are nowhere near as dominate outside the subcontient as they are in it, so surely making runs outside the subcontient counts for more? You can't possibly mock me for providing the facts when the 3 greatest subcontient batsman are the only ones that average 50 outside of the subcontient. India's tour of South Africa in 2006 was a prime example of Sehwag looking nothing more then a tailend slogger. He played exactly like he always has in that series, but was found out because the ball was moving around.
Posted by DocBindra on (December 06 2009, 10:38 AM GMT)The biggest problem I have with people who post here is that they DON'T READ...one article was, "Has there ever been another like Sehwag?" insinuating the audacity and the sheer dominance he exerts on the opposition, didn't say Sehwag the Great. Sambit Bal's article was, "Sehwag is more destructive than Richards" not Sehwag is greater or better than Richards...most who mocked Mr. Bal, called him biased and jumped down his throat without understanding plain simple English. He backed his argument with facts not fiction. How many batsman in the history of test cricket, irrelevant of continent, have a 52+ avg., with a S/R of 80+? over 72 test matches. For all naysayers, I'm listing some of his avg. "ABROAD" as in outside subcontinent... India in SA_50, India in England 40(how horrible, how dare he), India in Aus 58,India in Zim 51, India in Aus 71...I didn't mention all and yes, he has struggled some in NZ, in SA he had one good and one bad so that's a wash. In the MIGHTY AUS.59.50
Posted by DocBindra on (December 06 2009, 10:09 AM GMT)Aussieicon91, you say my comments are laughable but have you considered what you are saying? "...batsman should be rated on how well they perform under tough conditions and circumstances..." just curious who determines tough conditions and circumstances? YOU. That is such a broad scope that is completely dependent on a persons' perception of things and point of view. I'm sure in your view, all the tough conditions would be in Aus, England, SA and NZ, what about almost 39C and 80% humidity like its in Mumbai for this test with bounce and turn from the first through day 5. Lets say that you are right and more credit should be given for batsman outside the subcontinent, how about the bowlers then? Are they greater in the subcontinent since they have to toil that much harder than the helpful tracks elsewhere? I like how you pick and choose to suit your needs, in a very limited pool, Hussey is great, yet Ponting is not mentioned. Watson avg below 30, bowls avg. 39 is that great? Please.
Posted by Aussieicon91 on (December 05 2009, 15:35 PM GMT)No, batsman should be rated on how well they perform under tough circumstances and conditions. Regardless if they fail or succeed in batsman-friendly conditions isn't anywhere near as relevant. DocBindra, some of your comments are laughable... Hussey averages over 50 in India and Watson is far from mediocre talent. Only 3 subcontient batsman have averaged over 50 outside the subcontient (Gavaskar, Tendulkar and Dravid). Surely, that says something about how okay but not great batsman like Sehwag, Jayawardene, Mohammad Yousuf, Thilan Samaraweera can average over 50 in Test Cricket.
Posted by Mina_Anand on (December 05 2009, 15:28 PM GMT)This is one of the nicest reads, on Sehwag's innings. Flows as smoothly as the runs from the blade, and just as enjoyable !
Posted by DocBindra on (December 05 2009, 09:32 AM GMT)aussieicon91, just wondering using your logic, every "good" batsman should have great averages on the flat indian tracks...btw, the great Ricky Ponting, how is his record in India? Mike Hussey had a great avg. over 80 at one point, how did he fair in India? ...very easy to make baseless ridiculous assumptions without facts...the fact is that in the subcontinent you have to be able to master the spin, which few outside the subcontinent are able to. Speaking of pitches, pitches in Australia are nothing to write about either, gone are the days of great bouncy pitches. Most of them are pretty flat nowdays, proved by the fact that a mediocre team like WI rattled up 450+ and Australia are 154/0. Mediocre talent like Watson(30 avg.) is almost at a century. Didn't Shewag and the rest of his flat track buddies just thump the Aussies in Australia not too long ago? Yeah,...that is what I thought.