Has Virender Sehwag proved his worth for India?
Virender Sehwag is enjoying
sensational form for India, thanks to his faith in his own natural aggression
after an injury break as well as unusually cautious starts.
The explosive opening batsman's match-winning knocks of 131 and 293 in
Kanpur and Mumbai in the home Test series against Sri Lanka gave the team a 2-0
win this month and the number one ranking for the first time.
The 31-year-old Delhi batsman has carried the same approach into One-dayers
which helped him to stroke a career-best 146, his first ODI hundred at home
since 2005, and set up a thrilling three-run win in Tuesday's high-scoring
first game in Rajkot.
His special value to the team was underlined
after a shoulder injury, which needed surgery, sidelined him for the Twenty20
World Cup in England in June and the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa where
India fared miserably.
Own Technique
In Mumbai, Sehwag almost emulated Don Bradman, the only Test batsman to have scored 300 runs (309) in one day. His breathtaking attack turned the game on its head as he amassed 284 runs at stumps on the second day before failing to better the record of two Test triple hundreds he shares with Bradman and Brian Lara.
Dropped after scoring one run on his India debut in a One-dayer in 1999, Sehwag bounced back two years later with a century on his Test debut in South Africa.
Sehwag, whose shots early on mirrored those of his boyhood idol Sachin Tendulkar, was persuaded by then skipper Saurav Ganguly to switch to opening to ensure a regular berth due to a packed middle order.
Quickly growing in stature by dominating bowlers, he showed his steely determination to stick to his style. On the 2004 Pakistan tour, Sehwag became the first Indian to score a Test triple hundred (309), reaching the mark with a six.
Bad Balls
In Mumbai, he attacked champion spinner Muttiah Muralitharan on a bouncy pitch, paddle-sweeping to reach 100 and then a double century with fours. Sehwag enjoys an impressive Test record, having scored 6,248 runs in 72 Tests at an average of 52.50 with 17 hundreds.
Own Technique
In Mumbai, Sehwag almost emulated Don Bradman, the only Test batsman to have scored 300 runs (309) in one day. His breathtaking attack turned the game on its head as he amassed 284 runs at stumps on the second day before failing to better the record of two Test triple hundreds he shares with Bradman and Brian Lara.
Dropped after scoring one run on his India debut in a One-dayer in 1999, Sehwag bounced back two years later with a century on his Test debut in South Africa.
Sehwag, whose shots early on mirrored those of his boyhood idol Sachin Tendulkar, was persuaded by then skipper Saurav Ganguly to switch to opening to ensure a regular berth due to a packed middle order.
Quickly growing in stature by dominating bowlers, he showed his steely determination to stick to his style. On the 2004 Pakistan tour, Sehwag became the first Indian to score a Test triple hundred (309), reaching the mark with a six.
Bad Balls
In Mumbai, he attacked champion spinner Muttiah Muralitharan on a bouncy pitch, paddle-sweeping to reach 100 and then a double century with fours. Sehwag enjoys an impressive Test record, having scored 6,248 runs in 72 Tests at an average of 52.50 with 17 hundreds.
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