Virender Sehwag bosses New Zealand again

Virender Sehwag respected the swinging ball before repairing a scoring-rate that had him at 2 off 23 balls, ending up with 96 of 120, putting India in a position from where they can take charge. Not only did Sehwag continue his good form, he guided Gautam Gambhir out of a run of poor form.

Chris Martin and Tim Southee got the ball to swing consistently, tested the Indian openers. Gambhir survived an lbw shout thanks to an inside edge, Sehwag played and missed more than once in the first seven overs. Yet Sehwag resisted impatient shots. He played Southee's outswing with a straight bat.

In due time the loose balls arrived. Southee grew impatient, started too straight with the swing, and Sehwag found freedom in clipping them off the pads. It still wasn't all that pretty. Sehwag nearly ran himself out carelessly. Had New Zealand appealed for it, they might well have found Sehwag plonking his foot and bat in at the same time, perhaps a mili-second too late. Sehwag then followed it by almost giving mid-on an easy catch off the second ball he faced from Vettori, about seven minutes from tea.

Post tea, though, Sehwag took away the burden of scoring from Gambhir, entertaining the healthy Saturday crowd. The deep point soon became irrelevant: he repeatedly cut or punched to either side of the fielder. Anything too straight was whipped away. He may have taken his time, but by now he started opening the front leg up and hit the spinners either inside-out or over midwicket. The late-cut was thrown in too.

By the time Gambhir fought his way to the fifty, Sehwag had reached 89. It was almost like Sehwag had carried the younger opening partner, and Gambhir's reaction showed. He took off the helmet, looked at the sky, and hugged Sehwag, who patted on his helmet.