Virender Sehwag: ‘Master Blaster’

We did a rare thing at the Compulsive Hooker yesterday; namely watched the entire India versus New Zealand Tri Series match. This is something that due to the sheer proliferation of ODI’s (particularly those involving India or Sri Lanka) and our resulting ennui we usually are not bothered about doing. However due to propitious circumstances and a lack of other entertainment we sat down and watched the game and we are extraordinarily pleased that we did.

In a low scoring game in which India were bowled out for 223 and New Zealand for 118, one man stood head and shoulders above the rest. That man is of course Virender Sehwag who scored an effortless but powerful 110 from 93 balls. The second top scorer was Dhoni who scored a battling 38 from 75 deliveries and no one else got more than Jadeja’s 17. When New Zealand batted it was only some late order ‘biffing’ from Kyle Mills that ensured they passed the hundred mark and India’s bowling never looked like letting them get anywhere near the required total.

Despite all this low scoring, the ease with which Sehwag decimated the Kiwi bowling ensured that only afterwards; only after the devastation that was the New Zealand card had occurred; did we realise what an exceptional innings this was. Sehwag made the pitch look benign, made the swing the Kiwi bowlers were getting entirely ineffective, and convinced me that at the half way point New Zealand were ahead and should comfortably win the match. This wasn’t to be and is in itself a testimony to Sehwag’s genius.

Sehwag truly is the modern day ‘master blaster’ and the genuine heir to our favourite attacking batsman of all time’s title, Sir Isaac Vivian Richards. So much so that we will be adding him to the Compulsive Hooker’s ‘Favourites’ page, which – whilst Sehwag himself is clearly not going to care a jot – is the highest honour we are able to bestow upon him!