Change and Virender Sehwag are poles apart .Is not it ! .Clearly the most gifted and exciting batsman , who shot into prominence with his 69 ball hundred against the Kiwis six seasons back .Purists argued that he would struggle in tests and bowlers will sort him out quickly, even if he would shine in the shorter version .Well, as it turned out, he was run away success in tests and continued to struggle in limited overs version .As the form deserted So much so that , once certainty , he was dropped and asked to sort out his batting .If the recent form and the approach is anything to go by Virender Sehwag has changed his approach for good .The recent batting display in the Asia Cup , with scores of 89 ,59 makes an interesting reading , while the strike rate has been in excess of hundred or in close vicinity , the slashes , the upper cut , the high risk shots have definitely come down .However the result still remains the same, Sehwag sizzler.
Sehwag is back to his merry ways. But the significant question is has Sehwag finally learnt the art of shot selection?
Well the skipper concurs on this. "That [shot selection] is why he [Sehwag] scored 80 [89] runs," Mahendra Singh Dhoni, his captain, said later. "You have to pick and choose. A batsman like him can score easily at one run per ball. He just has to pick and choose."
To the time when he was termed a Tendulkar clone, Sehwag has had a roller coaster ride .
Often in the past, he has frittered away the advantage to the adventurous endeavors The problem plaguing Sehwag range from ineptness against the short ball to the inability to find the right pace of scoring .
Being off-color in ODIs with the last 50-plus score for India was against Bermuda in the 2007 World Cup he lost his place in the XI. He was picked for the CB Series earlier this year, but after consistent failures India preferred Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa to partner Sachin Tendulkar. Sehwag looked in terrific touch and is capitalizing on it in the absence of Tendulkar, after a good IPL, where he was amongst the top run getter.
Though he continues to dominate in the Test arena, Sehwag's one-day form dipped alarmingly - after January 2004, he went through a period of 60 matches where he averaged under 29. Despite his fitness levels dropping and his one-day spot being under threat - he was dropped from the side for the home series against West Indies in early 2007. He was a surprise pick for the Test team to tour Australia after not being named in the initial list of probables.
How has the change in fortune occurred then .Well, work with his longtime coach A.N.Sharma has definitely reaped encouraging results. Now the focus has shifted to play as much as balls as he can .
He is taking guard on middle stump, rather than leg stump. as a result he has cut down his tendency to reach for deliveries outside the off stump or feel for the balls outside off stump . The second change was that Sehwag made a slight back-and-across movement in the lead-up to playing a shot. as against his still stature while playing the shot, something like Ponting .But the most important adjustment has been bat for longer periods and pace the innings after getting the eye in.
Then came the scores of 63 and an imperious 151 - his first century in the team's second innings - to help India draw the Test in Adelaide. And hold on! ,in the first Test against South Africa in Chennai, he made an even more resounding statement, rattling off the quickest triple-century in Test cricket
Sehwag's technique is unique and unorthodox, often backing away lack of footwork, with his timing often attributed to his eyesight. But what remains his forte is he sees opportunity in every ball. Sehwag can see possibilities that don't exist for the less flaired . What appears a risk to many is for him an opportunity to create a boundary .He will immediately forget that he has been beaten on the previous delivery and the next ball will disappear for four .
Having stamped his authority in tests with an enviable success, what remains to be seen whether he can replicate the same in ODIs and reset the bar for himself.
One thing is clear though , Sehwag will have competition for the opening slot in ODI’s if he tries to play out most of the overs and paces his innings well.
Sehwag is back to his merry ways. But the significant question is has Sehwag finally learnt the art of shot selection?
Well the skipper concurs on this. "That [shot selection] is why he [Sehwag] scored 80 [89] runs," Mahendra Singh Dhoni, his captain, said later. "You have to pick and choose. A batsman like him can score easily at one run per ball. He just has to pick and choose."
To the time when he was termed a Tendulkar clone, Sehwag has had a roller coaster ride .
Often in the past, he has frittered away the advantage to the adventurous endeavors The problem plaguing Sehwag range from ineptness against the short ball to the inability to find the right pace of scoring .
Being off-color in ODIs with the last 50-plus score for India was against Bermuda in the 2007 World Cup he lost his place in the XI. He was picked for the CB Series earlier this year, but after consistent failures India preferred Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa to partner Sachin Tendulkar. Sehwag looked in terrific touch and is capitalizing on it in the absence of Tendulkar, after a good IPL, where he was amongst the top run getter.
Though he continues to dominate in the Test arena, Sehwag's one-day form dipped alarmingly - after January 2004, he went through a period of 60 matches where he averaged under 29. Despite his fitness levels dropping and his one-day spot being under threat - he was dropped from the side for the home series against West Indies in early 2007. He was a surprise pick for the Test team to tour Australia after not being named in the initial list of probables.
How has the change in fortune occurred then .Well, work with his longtime coach A.N.Sharma has definitely reaped encouraging results. Now the focus has shifted to play as much as balls as he can .
He is taking guard on middle stump, rather than leg stump. as a result he has cut down his tendency to reach for deliveries outside the off stump or feel for the balls outside off stump . The second change was that Sehwag made a slight back-and-across movement in the lead-up to playing a shot. as against his still stature while playing the shot, something like Ponting .But the most important adjustment has been bat for longer periods and pace the innings after getting the eye in.
Then came the scores of 63 and an imperious 151 - his first century in the team's second innings - to help India draw the Test in Adelaide. And hold on! ,in the first Test against South Africa in Chennai, he made an even more resounding statement, rattling off the quickest triple-century in Test cricket
Sehwag's technique is unique and unorthodox, often backing away lack of footwork, with his timing often attributed to his eyesight. But what remains his forte is he sees opportunity in every ball. Sehwag can see possibilities that don't exist for the less flaired . What appears a risk to many is for him an opportunity to create a boundary .He will immediately forget that he has been beaten on the previous delivery and the next ball will disappear for four .
Having stamped his authority in tests with an enviable success, what remains to be seen whether he can replicate the same in ODIs and reset the bar for himself.
One thing is clear though , Sehwag will have competition for the opening slot in ODI’s if he tries to play out most of the overs and paces his innings well.
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