The Indiana Jones of Indian cricket

Sehwag

”Is there any difference between 199 and 201,’’ he asked when questioned about his decision to refuse an easy single when one short of a double hundred.

Only Virender Sehwag could work out such a counter argument. But figures have meant little for the Nawab of Najafgarh. In Pakistan in January 2006, he slashed at a rising delivery from Naved Rana and was caught behind. Nothing wrong with that; in fact, it is a par dismissal for someone as adventurous as Sehwag. But the fact remained that he and Rahul Dravid were just three runs short of equalling a famous first-wicket record partnership standing for half a century in the name of Pankaj Roy and Vinoo Mankad and perhaps the need of the hour was a little bit of circumspection.

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Not for Sehwag though. He cares little about facts and figures and knows even less about them. In fact, when questioned whether he knew how close he and Dravid were to the 413-run stand that Mankad and Roy had pieced together at Madras in January 1956, he is reported to have given the classic retort ``Kaun Roy, Kaun Mankad’’ and candidly admitted that he was unaware of the record. Typical of someone like Sehwag!

The Delhi Daredevil was keeping the bigger picture in mind while refusing that single when he was on 199 in the Galle Test. Nine wickets were down in the Indian first innings and last man Ishant Sharma was keeping him company. Like any good top-order batsman, he wanted to protect the No 11 from the bowling so that the innings could be prolonged. However, I am sure not too many batsmen would have refused an easy single when one short of the double hundred under similar circumstances.

What’s more if the single had been taken, not too many would have faulted him. After all a double hundred is a double hundred - except for someone like Sehwag!

Somehow it seems fitting that a batsman who doesn’t care for landmarks is getting records in a heap. Starting off with a century on Test debut, he is only one of three to hit two Test triple hundreds, joining the ranks of Don Bradman and Brian Lara.

His 309 against Pakistan in 2004 is the fastest triple ton in Tests in terms of balls faced. He has the record of highest score by an Indian both at home and abroad. And his last eleven three-figure knocks in Tests have all been in excess of 150 — something no batsman in cricket history has achieved.

The remarkable aspect about Sehwag is that he has raised all these records despite his adventurous batsmanship which obviously has more than an element of risk involved. His career strike rate is over 77 and this is something unheard of in Test cricket. It would be par for the course in one-day cricket where Sehwag’s strike rate, not unexpectedly, is virtually 100.

As far as intimidating the bowlers is concerned, he is probably the most effective batsman since Vivian Richards. He lacks Richards’ swagger but the casual manner in which he walks to the crease is enough to assure the bowler that he has a major challenge on his hands.

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At the crease, there is hardly any show of emotion and he has the most equitable temperament. When he reaches a landmark like a half century or century there is just that touch of a smile, the customary acknowledgement with the bat and the look skyward. And then it’s back to business. A blithe spirit in the stern, tough, no-nonsense field of Test cricket, that is Sehwag.

It’s not been all smooth sailing for the Indiana Jones of Indian cricket. There was a time a couple of years ago when the runs dried up, he could not put bat to ball and his average slid sharply from 56 to below 50. The critics howled their displeasure, the fans wanted him axed and the selectors finally lost patience with Sehwag.

You can’t keep a good man out for too long though and forcing his way back for the tour of Australia, Sehwag promptly struck gold. The big hits and the big scores were back, a second triple ton was notched up and the average started climbing up again. And now he has achieved a feat that one wouldn’t normally associate with a buccaneering batsman — carrying his bat.

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It certainly was beyond others of his ilk like Mushtaq Ali and Krish Srikkanth, but then Sehwag has taken the art of swashbuckling batsmanship into another realm. It somehow seems quaint that a supreme technician like Sunil Gavaskar is the only other Indian to achieve this feat.

Sehwag’s fifth 200-plus score puts him on par with Rahul Dravid among Indians and surely it is only a matter of time before he stands on the pinnacle all by himself. When it comes to sheer entertainment and innovation, big hits and fast scoring, Sehwag stands alone in the cricketing world today with Kevin Pietersen his nearest rival.

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