***Official*** South Africa in India

[ret]

More praise for Sehwag

Audacious Sehwag is an all time Indian great

What a day it has been. In conditions like this and with the pitch that you have at Chennai, Test-match cricket can be boring if batsmen chose to just get their hundreds and pile up big scores. Virender Sehwag has got a big hundred - he got a triple hundred - but he provided a lot of entertainment along with it. In fact, I thought that Test match cricket was saved because of Sehwag's approach to batting today, and that was the greatness of today's knock.

He is unbeaten on 309 and he is going to be well rested tonight, so I am going to ask you to let your imagination just run wild as to what he can do on day four. This man is audacious, as we have seen. Traditionalists get tensed when they approach milestones and get a touch apprehensive at the end of day's play. But, I think, Sehwag deliberately gets more audacious as if he wants to snub the traditionalists. That is what I love about him and that is what I have loved about him ever since I saw him for the first time. The only worry I had was that Indian cricket and Indian public would change his approach, and it's great to see that his approach has remained unchanged.

Today he was very upset when he couldn't hit a six when he went to his 300. It was Makhaya Ntini and the ball was in the slot, and you could see the frustration when he couldn't get that triple hundred with a six. That is Sehwag for you. More than the milestones, it's this endeavour that he has as a batsman to show that he is different that really gets him going and that's what sets him apart.

In conditions like this, a draw is the most likely result but the kind of performance Sehwag puts in, the runs that he gets so quickly, just gives his team an outside chance of winning a Test match. And, that is the possibility now with Sehwag's exploits here on day three.

Another striking aspect of his batting was the fitness. It's something that Greg Chappell brought to his notice the moment he took charge of Indian cricket. Sehwag was on top of his game at that time and Chappell told him to concentrate on his fitness more than anything else. After that Sehwag lost his place because of his erratic one-day form. He has come back and has given fitness due importance, and in fact today, right through the innings, he was willing to run the hard singles even at the fag end of the day. You could see that he was very keen to run between the wickets although the fours and sixes came right through the innings.

It was a terrific knock and I feel that the time has now come for India to accept Sehwag as one of the finest Indian batsmen ever. He is not quite in the league of the Dravids, and the Tendulkars, and the Gavaskars yet, but he is not far below either. So my advice to you would be to watch out for day four - Sehwag is not out 309, he likes to be audacious and he will be well rested tonight. So, anything can happen on day four. I am very excited with the prospect.

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/talk/content/multimedia/344304.html?view=transcript

 

[aussie]

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/63998.html.

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/63951.html

Definately a flat track, probably the only TB test in years where much swing wasn't around. Plus the quality of England's attack then wasn't anything to write home about.

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/64061.html.

Never saw this test so i can't comment on how well he played, but based on what i know of that time only Pollock & Kallis were the quality bowlers then. But it sort of irrelevant to bring this up since he wasn't batting as an opener because in comparing them its only their performances as an opener that we are dealing

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/64100.html.

Brilliant innings no doubt especially given how India collapsed on that second day. But it was flat deck & that series was the worst Australian attack in 13 years of world dominance.

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/64127.html.

Great knock given the team situation. But come on that was flat deck i remember watching Inzi & Younis Khan on that first day geez. Plus if my memory serves me correct other than Sehwag & Dravid (i think) most of the Indian batsmen were out of form i.e Tendy still had his tennis elbow issues, Ganguly was dropped after this test, Laxman a few months back had gotten worked over by the best ever bowling attack to tour India since the Windies of the 80s.

http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/332911.html.

Ha, are you serious?

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/64082.html.

Say this match but can't remember other than the Yuvraj/Pathan partnership on day 1.

Out of all Sehwag's innings as a test opener only his Chennai hundred & the one at Adelaide i rate.

 

[Top_Cat]

Sehwag may well be a flack-track bully but his knock in 2003/04 at Melbourne, even despite the lesser quality Aussie attack, was an outstanding knock.

Oh, and South Africa's bowling attack = suck. Morne Morkel keeping it at 3 per over is a decent effort, though.

 

[Manee]

Oh, and South Africa's bowling attack = suck. Morne Mørkel keeping it at 3 per over is a decent effort, though.

Steyn suddenly sucks?! Sehwag has also displayed superb innovation to manage to actually punish Harris' negative line and length.

 

[Top_Cat]

Steyn suddenly sucks?!

Today he did. Doesn't mean he's a terrible bowler overall.

 

[Manee]

Today he did. Doesn't mean he's a terrible bowler overall.

Sorry. Never one for nitpicking, myself - but you did say that the attack sucks, not that it sucked.

 

[ret]

A real talent, Sehwag. Imagine if he developed Dravid's defensive technique? He'd be unstoppable.

haha, that imagination would drive bowlers nut

but no one is perfect, just like Dravid can't tear apart a bowling like Sehwag does, Sehwag can't defend like Dravid does, on the basis of what we have seen so far

whats important is how players utilize their strengths

a Ferrari for e.g., it's strength is to get you as fast as possible .... it's design is seductive .... the engine noise is such that it sets your pulse racing

on the other hand, a Rolls-Royce is more abt the luxuries and taking you and your family from A to B in the most comfortable way

Now, it would be nice if a Ferrari had Rolls-Royce characteristics or vice-versa but thats not how it is .... A sports car gets built in a different way than a luxury car .... the suspension settings are different, the use of materials is different, and so on

The unique styles with which that players play is what makes them unique and play to their strength .... how is greatness measured is by seeing how perfectly a Ferrari does its function, How a RR does its function .... And when they all measure up to their relative standards, we say that both of them are top class

Similarly, I would prefer a Sehwag to stay a Sehwag and a Dravid to stay a Dravid .... Whats important to me is how they play their roles

 

[irfan]

Just watched highlights of Sehwag's innings. In-****ingcredible.

There may be batsman who have better techniques.

There may be batsman who score more consistently on seaming tracks.

There may be batsmen who score more heavily in the 2nd innings.

But simply no one can hold a candle when it comes to matching Sehwag in single-handedly dominating an attack with peerless audacity and brazen strokeplay. The amount of times Sehwag has massively outscores his teammates is amazing. Lara may have done it a few times, but I bet even he would have struggled if he batted alongside illuminaries (sp?) like Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman & Ganguly. Kudos to Sehwag for breathing life to a game which looked like being a snore-fest.

 

[Craig]

91 runs is a lot. India aren't declaring before Tea, so the time is certainly not the issue. I think he'll probably get out before then, but he certainly has a chance. He has to get his eye in again tomorrow and maybe some cracks will start opening. He is still pretty far away though, so I would only put his chance at about 10-20%.

Sehwag is paying 2.37 if you bet on him to score above 401. So the guys who do this are more optimistic than I am.

Well optimism is hardly your strong point

 

[Raghav]

I hope he will not get that magic fugure of 400, would love to see SA getting some really quick wickets in the first session.... Just Hoping

 

[Craig]

Sehwag may well be a flack-track bully but his knock in 2003/04 at Melbourne, even despite the lesser quality Aussie attack, was an outstanding knock.

Oh, and South Africa's bowling attack = suck. Morne Mørkel keeping it at 3 per over is a decent effort, though.

Wasn't he dropped several times in that innings?

 

[Sanz]

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/64127.html
You're kidding, right? Scores of 570 and 499 in the first innings, including a partnership of over 300. What exactly are you trying to prove? I'm quite aware he's scored runs.. you were supposed to provide examples of times where he scored them on tracks that weren't flat. The post is looking more biased with each scorecard really.

No, you are looking more and more biased with each post. You look at the score card and see a high score and conclude that it was a flat track.

If India's score in that test was 449(and not 499 as you suggested) then it was because of Sehwag's innings, rest of the 9 batsmen scored some 200 odd runs among them.

 

[jeevan]

I hope he will not get that magic fugure of 400, would love to see SA getting some really quick wickets in the first session.... Just Hoping

Quite low of you, actually, to wish bad luck on someone who is playing his heart out and whose present effort is being uniformly applauded, by friend and opponent alike.

You, and you alone, cant see this out of your blind and arbitrary hatred.

 

[Sanz]

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/63951.html
Again I didn't see the game, but with first innings totals of 379 and 563, I reckon the pitch was pretty flat. I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt on it though.

This is just flat out ridiculously stupid.First innings total of 379,thanks to a fifth wicket partnership between Tendulkar and Sehwag of 220 runs when India were 68/4 on a supposedly flat track with Dravid, Lax, Ganguly and Das back..It must have been flat track.

Thank you so much for the super analysis. I am almost convinced now that Sehwag is a flat track bully.

 

[NZTailender]

28/03/2008 8:50:09 PM Nijntje! - Michael Boulding, such a gun. ind v sa
28/03/2008 8:50:10 PM Nijntje! - Michael Boulding, such a gun. draw imo
28/03/2008 8:51:01 PM geg. yeah was thinking that as soon as I saw that amla had scored a century
28/03/2008 8:51:04 PM geg. definite road

Says it all, imo.

 

[adharcric]

Sanz, you have a point but let's try a better method - take out Sehwag's innings and that match has an average of 51 (as opposed to 58 with Sehwag included) runs per wicket. That's still very high, indicative of a flat track.

 

[Sanz]

Quite low of you, actually, to wish bad luck on someone who is playing his heart out and whose present effort is being uniformly applauded, by friend and opponent alike.

You, and you alone, cant see this out of your blind and arbitrary hatred.

He is such an idiot. Only thing he does is make provocative posts.

 

[Craig]

Quite low of you, actually, to wish bad luck on someone who is playing his heart out and whose present effort is being uniformly applauded, by friend and opponent alike.

You, and you alone, cant see this out of your blind and arbitrary hatred.

You should know by now that Raghav hates the Indian team and anything that goes with it.

 

[jeevan]

You should know by now that Raghav hates the Indian team and anything that goes with it.

Even by that yardstick, this is abysmal behavior.

 

[Sanz]

Sanz, you have a point but let's try a better method - take out Sehwag's innings and that match has an average of 51 (as opposed to 58 with Sehwag included) runs per wicket. That's still very high, indicative of a flat track.

Not that I agree with the analysis, but that average is incorrect. ( I am assuming that you are talking about the Banglore Test)

There were 105 extras so taking that out of the equation, taking Sehwag's 201 out too that comes out to a total of 1188/31 (not counting Sehwag's wicket) and it comes about to 38.