Virender Sehwag is a simple man, his cricket uncomplicated. His batting
style is inimitable; some of the shots he plays are not found in any
cricketing manual.
For those obsessed with technique, Sehwag has less to offer. He gives
the impression of not putting a price-tag on his wicket. Bowlers never
give up hope when Sehwag is batting.
Sometimes, it appears, Sehwag has tossed away his wicket out of sheer
boredom. Several of his ‘soft' dismissals appear ugly and needless, and
draw flak from the critics.
However, Sehwag's performances in both forms of the game — he doesn't
think much of the Twenty20 format — are in complete contradiction to the
trusted methods of run-scoring.
A myth-breaker
Going beyond statistics, his World record 219 underscores the fact that Sehwag remains a myth-breaker.
Contrary to popular belief, Sehwag has patience, can rotate the strike,
doesn't always look for big hits and almost always, never plays to the
galleries.
Sehwag's previous best of 175 came 10 innings ago at Dhaka in the World
Cup. The elusive double century came off an attack that had not let him
click on three previous attempts, the last one ending in a duck! He
never rues missed chances, he creates more opportunities.
Sehwag's immense self-belief makes him patient. After just one
half-century in the last nine innings, Sehwag knew the law of averages
was in his favour.
It was a good batting pitch at the Holkar Stadium, where India almost
did not bat first. Saner thought prevailed and Sehwag flourished like
never before.
He may not possess the temperament of Sunil Gavaskar, the technique of
Rahul Dravid, the discipline of Sachin Tendulkar or the flair for
stroke-making associated with G.R. Viswanath or V.V.S. Laxman. Then,
what made him post the three highest individual scores by an Indian in
Test cricket?
Again, contrary to what most believe, in Tests, Sehwag plans his innings
differently, tunes his game to beat the field and still, keeps it
simple. Two triple centuries, four double hundreds and eight scores in
excess of 150 are testimony of his unhurried, yet effective, run-getting
method in Tests.
Truly, what sets Sehwag apart is his amazing hand-eye coordination that
allows him to time the shots as well, find the gaps or even send the
ball soaring into the stands. What appears to be madness to most is
method for Sehwag, for he is not a compulsive slogger.
If common sense is instinct and plenty of it is genius, then Sehwag surely is one!
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