Cool, composed and smiling, this is Virendra Sehwag or Viru, as he is lovingly called, when walks out to bat in the middle of the ground millions of fans across the country are dead sure, runs will come by, not in 1s and 2s but it will rain and rain non-stop. Such is his belligerent and perfection to hit the ball all around the ground, tearing apart any bowler of any class from any country. A very subtle point about Sehwag is his quick perception to read the ball and the fraction of second with which he strikes it – either on the off side or on the on side.
First time when I saw him it seemed as if another Sachin is batting. This is what he used to appear on the pitch, and there were times when it was little difficult to distinguish between Sachin and Sehwag when the camera showed them from a little distance. But then, Sehwag, the only Indian cricketer to have scored two triple centuries (319 against South Africa in 2008 and 309 against Pakistan in 2004) , metamorphosed into a hard hitting, perfect batsman Team India banks upon. He has a style, which is distinct, attacking and carefree.
Playing at number 6, Sehwag, in his Test début scored 105 runs at Bloemfontein, South Africa on November 3, 2001. It was followed by a decision to open the innings in Tests on the tour of England in 2002, Sehwag proved an instant hit. He scored 80 and 100 in the first two matches against England. Since then, there has been no stopping. So far, he has played 66 Test and more than 200 ODIs with great professional commitment. Bowlers are never breathless when Sehwag is on the crease, and his wicket is no less than a prize for every opposite skippers, as they know the more time he spends on the crease the greater is the danger for them.
By his body language, Viru does not look aggressive genius, and unlike other cricketers, who openly show attacking posture, he has fire from within. The sheer power with which he dispatches the ball to the boundary is scintillating to watch. It is difficult to read his mind. Simple and devoid of any arrogance and egoistical temperament, Sehwag has some good attributes and natural honesty. Even in tense situations, there has not been a single time that Sehwag, unlike other greats, appeared nervous: he played his natural game, and perhaps he never pays attention to the overall effect on the results. This is what he did in the 4th ODI against New Zealand in the current series when he went on to beat a record of scoring hundred in the least ball, which was held by ex-skipper Azharuddin. His 125 off 74 balls was among his best of innings.
In August 2008, at Galle, Sehwag made 201 off 231 balls (out of India’s 329) in the second Test against Sri Lanka. About that innings, Sehwag said, rather jokingly, that he was worried about Muttiah Muralitharan, not Ajantha Mendis. But how did Sehwag manage to hit Muralitharan’s doosra regularly through the covers? Listen what he says: "That was because I couldn’t pick up his doosra – each ball, I told myself that this is the doosra, so I thought I was hitting with the spin – even the off-spinning balls – when I hit through the off."
Sehwag plays cricket with limitless spirit and enjoys every moment on the crease busy in hitting the ball. He possesses absolute conviction, and an irresistible hunger for runs, which is what makes him so special. Sehwag makes battling look so simple, while others struggle. He has nothing like “initial hiccup.” With Viru at the helm, Team India can scale many new heights in future.
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