When Virender Sehwag says that Twenty20 cricket inflicts a lot more pressure on him as a batsman than any other form of the game, it’s hard to believe — more so when you’re watching him blast 94 runs off 41 deliveries with six sixes and 10 boundaries at an incredible strike rate of 229.26. On a balmy Tuesday evening in Hyderabad, as the Delhi Daredevils skipper went about his business, all the pressure was on the opposition.The Deccan Chargers, one of the most high-profile teams in the competition, lost their second match in a row, this time by an embarassing nine wickets. The Daredevils, meanwhile, made it two out of two, this being their first away win, in emphatic fashion — scoring the 143 runs required for victory in just 13 overs.In fact, had it not been for Rohit Sharma’s classy 66, the Hyderabad side wouldn’t even have managed to reach the total they did (142 had a semblance of competitiveness when the innings wrapped up). But then, it can be argued that had it not been for Sehwag, Delhi wouldn’t have managed to finish the match with seven overs to spare.Confidence countsFresh from their victory at home over Rajasthan Royals, Sehwag’s team arrived here believing that the wave of confidence would help them scale past the Deccan Chargers. They were right.Even though they lost the toss, the new-ball attack of Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif began in right earnest. It was a classic one-two, McGrath looking to stop the runs, and Asif looking for wickets.The Australian began by giving just a single in his first over. Asif sent back Adam Gilchrist in the second over. McGrath followed up with another miserly over, and Asif followed up with Laxman’s scalp. It wasn’t until Sharma came to the crease that the Daredevils had to actually sit back and look around for options a little more seriously. The young middle-order batsman, who had impressed immensely during the Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa, took his time before freeing his arms, gathering thunderous applause for his classy strokeplay. The 24 runs he scored in the 18th over off Farveez Maharoof settled the case for Sharma and his abilities. There were classy drives over the covers and extraordinary paddle sweeps, and his 66 off 36 balls (Sehwag took five more balls for his 94) laced with six fours and four sixes, remained Deccan’s only hope. Hopes that Sehwag demolished with his bludgeon.Viru’s assaultOnce the Delhi opener walked in, the nondescript first half — sprinkled with Sharma’s brilliance — got lost in a whirl of bat hitting ball. Playing as he does when in form, Sehwag scored his runs all around the park — slashes over point, pick-ups over mid-wicket, assaults over long-on doing a major part of his scoring.It is fair to mention here that the moment the team batting first in a Twenty20 match fails to get going, and the opposition are left with an achievable target, the interest in the match is diluted. However, it can be safely said that with a batsman like Sehwag at the crease, interest is never completely buried. Andrew Symonds went for 35 runs in two overs, Sanjay Bangar 30 in two and RP Singh 27 in three — neat reminders of what Sehwag is capable of when he gets going.
