Time for Sehwagophobia

After Sachin Tendulkar’s perfect 200 in Gwalior last year, Sehwag breaking Sachin’s record with 219 off 149 deliveries in the fourth ODI against the West Indies in Indore yesterday has made waves across the country. Coincidently the so called clone of Sachin did his double ton in the same state- Madhya Pradesh.

VIRU

It is always a treat to see Sehwag play and a double ton is a like an extra topping. What makes Sehwag so different from other cricketers? Is it his fearlessness or is it the coolness that he carries.

Technically, it is his timing and placement. With perfect hand-eye co-ordination, Sehwag concentrates more on piercing the field than clearing the ground unlike the other hard hitters. When he does decide to go hammer and tongs, no ground is big enough for the Nawab of Najafgarh.

Like all other batsmen,Sehwag too has some weaknesses. He is not as graceful as Sachin Tendulkar or Rahul Dravid, does not have powerful built as Matthew Hayden or Chris Gayle, does not have the best feet movement nor can stay at the crease for very long hours. But with more than 16,000 runs in International cricket, he has certainly bagged the fastest the fastest century ever scored by an Indian in ODI cricket.

For Sehwag, it does not matter who is bowling, what the pitch is like, is it a slow turner or deadly bounce or maybe seam movement. Sehwag never gets stopped down by the situation of the game. Smashing the ball to all around the ground is the only thing that counts to Sehwag, he usually says, “Ball is to be punished.”

Whenever an opposing bowler is asked who the Indian batsman in the last decade they most fear, Sehwag is what they say. Perhaps they respect the senior players like Sachin Tendulkar or Rahul Dravid more for the fact that they have been there for long and played on all kinds of wicket and scored tons of runs. The ability to instill fear among the opponents is what Viru always aims at.

Brett Lee once said “No matter how good and experienced you are, he can kill your attitude.”

Many Cricketers shared their opinions and some Twitted. "I am very happy for Viru. It is even more satisfying that an Indian has broken my record." Sachin Tendulkar.

"I say it again! I never saw Sir Viv bat but I've seen Sehwag bat! What a player, 219 in a one day game is next to impossible!" Yuvraj Singh twitted.

"Wow, Test match tomorrow but am still up watching Virender Sehwag score, hopefully, 200. Unreal, and he does [get the] highest ever. Well done mate." Australia's David Warner twitted.

"When Viv Richards retired I thought it was end of entertainment. But then came Sehwag, the King of entertainment! Long live the King!!" TV commentator and former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja twitted.

"Sehwag had a habit of dragging his back foot out of the crease while playing his shot. To stop that, I tied one end of a rope to his leg and another to a post. He practiced like this for one month to cure himself," A.N.Sharma, former coach of Sehwag, reports Reuters.

Sehwag also made 309 against Pakistan at Multan in 2004 became only the third player to achieve the feat of two triple hundreds in test series, matching Australian Don Bradman and West Indies batsman Brian Lara.