Pak beware: Viru’s got his groove back

At Lahore, amidst a harvest of records, that is the big story. But look back to Sehwag’s Multan feat, look now at his shots in Lahore, and a path unfolds. The path that he traversed in the days since he was the brash brat in India’s pack to his firm status and India’s vice-captain. It is showing — in both his batting and his attitude.

By Multan Sehwag had expunged risky shots like the upper cut from his repertoire. He demonstrated his brand of vigilance by playing out nine dot balls to get from 199 to 201. Make no error in judging him. Then, as even more now, Sehwag did not go into a defensive shell. It was a startling revelation of his self-belief. To believe in oneself, one has to know oneself. Sehwag showed that, at Multan, by lofting Saqlain Mushtaq far over the long-on boundary to bring up his triple.

Today, in three sessions drastically curtailed and interrupted due to bad light, Sehwag once again showed how his character is best read to different coordinates. Here he was, racing off from his overnight 96 to the fastest century by an Indian opener. Here he was, sprinting off thereafter to the second-fastest double century in Test cricket. Here he was, ending the day at 247 off just 240 balls. Here were the rest of us debating whether his one of two chances, to Inzamam ul-Haq at slip, was actually too wide to be termed a chance.

And there was Sehwag at day’s end refusing to bat an eyelid when asked whether he was circumspect today. Dravid quietly arrived at 128 in almost as many deliveries as is his normal measured self. Sehwag, at twice that clip, is mature and circumspect.

The weatherman has predicted sunshine for tomorrow. But whether or not the elements or inspired bowling or a mix-up deny the man from Najafgarh a second triple century, his achievement is elsewhere. It’s not that he has gone past Bradman’s achievement by dragging his seventh consecutive century past a total of 150. It is the wonderful, entertaining and inspiring sight of Sehwag learning to be himself.

And for a man entrusted with the vice-captaincy, he brandished a courage currently unknown in the Indian team. In the stormy winds of Lahore these past days, conspiracy stories have been swirling about what’s really transpiring between Dravid and Sourav Ganguly and how they will impact the batting order.

Sehwag on Monday jumped into the debate, unsolicited and almost unobtrusively. How was it opening with Dravid, he was asked. ‘‘It’s not different with Dravid’’, he shrugged. “He’s a good number three bat, there was a lack of an opener here.”

It took a clarificatory question later to get the unambiguity of Sehwag’s statement. Is it, after this century, this opening stand of 403, just ten short of the world record set by Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy in 1956, is it a good idea to persist with Dravid at number two? ‘‘No, I don’t think so’’, he said. ‘‘He is a good player at number three. This (opening slot) is okay once in a while.’’

And at a stage when Inzamam ul-Haq has started resting his best bowlers of the match, Sehwag insisted that this dead track was part of a deliberate strategy by the hosts. The last time India were here, he said, ‘‘they lost the first Test (at Multan). This is a defensive strategy.’’

Multan is on his mind too.