Sehwag and his uniqueness

Absolutely brilliant breathtaking batting by Sehwag on the 2nd day of the 3rd Test match at CCI in Mumbai. In the first session of the test match the pitch looked like it would assist fast bowlers and spinners alike and what does Sehwag do? Gets India in the lead by 50 by the end of day 2.

The brutality of this innings was mind blowing. To bat the way he did for a session is difficult enough, he maintained his batting tempo for 79 overs except for a spell towards the end of the day and a couple of overs after tea.

During the 90s teams used to struggle to make 270 in a day. That gives a yardstick to compare the scale of Sehwag's achievement. And India did not even bat the whole day. Given another 11 overs he would have easily got the record for the most runs in a day which currently belongs to Sir Bradman against guess who, England, 309 runs.

If this was an ODI and Sehwag was the opponent SL would have still lost this match as I am sure if he plays 300 deliveries he will score around 350 runs.

Enough of stats. Coming back to the quality of the knock and the sheer brilliance of it. I dont think there has ever been any cricketer in the history of the game who bats as aggressively as Sehwag and for such an extended duration.

What goes into such an inning:

Talent

Hard work and practice

Physical strength and stamina to bat for so long.

Batting technique to survive international bowling

The sheer audacity to not give into the norm of bating for time in a test match. Following and trusting your gut instinct each and every delivery.

The first 4 any number of international greats have had over the history of the game. Sachin, Ponting, Dravid, Hayden, Viv Richards, Kallis, Border, Gavaskar..... Long list

But none of them have had the daring to have utter disregard for the classical mould of scoring runs. All of these players would have batted for the length of a day and longer. But none of them would have even thought about keeping their scoring pace for the entire duration of a day. Dont get me wrong I am a fan of each one of these players and they are all very very special batters. But the way Sehwag has batted for the last 6 7 years you just have to stand up and admire his style.

Here's hoping he gets to 500 by the end of the day, provided he doesn't get bored from the Sri Lankan bowling.

On a side note: I am really hoping Muralidharan gets a few wickets. It would be an absolute shame to see a legend like him playing his last game against India and abroad bow out being treated like a 2nd grade net bowler. He deserves better. Have to admire the man's spirit. The final ball of the day he bowled a straighter one to Dravid which Dravid didn't pick and there was a huge appeal. The ball was missing leg but the look in the eyes of Murali was worth staying up all night. Toiling for the whole day the man still had the energy and the determination to plot for a wicket and the sheer disappointment on his face at not getting the wicket was really sad to see.