Pakistan only have themselves to blame

It was cowardice. Absolutely. Fortune favours the brave, they say. It favoured the Indians all right, and similarly, chose not to favour the Pakistanis. The Indians were very positive in their approach and registered their highest-ever total in a day with the loss of just two wickets. What a superb achievement. And the credit for the achievement goes entirely to Virender Sehwag who scored 228 fantastic runs. He batted like a champion without really trying anything different from what he does in the limited-overs format. The strike rate was a tad slower, but still a whopping 85-plus.

A lot of people say that Sehwag doesn’t have the technique or mentality for Test cricket. Answer this for me then: How does he score runs by the hundred and that too against the best Test nations in the world? Despite this knock, people are going to say that he only bats on instinct, timing and hand-eye coordination. Rubbish! He is a darn good batsman who combines the three factors mentioned above with a superb sense of which balls to hit.

Also, Sachin’s presence had a calming effect on Sehwag. The senior pro guided Sehwag right through the innings, even as he went about hitting a big innings himself. Sehwag deserved a bit more, though he should be happy with his achievements. He looked really disappointed at getting out, so close to a few more records which were just waiting to be shattered.

Sachin’s 193 might not have looked as dazzling as Sehwag’s ruthless knock, but it was the perfect accompaniment for the swashbuckling Sehwag. His addition has ensured that India don’t need to bat again and have a strong chance of winning their first ever Test in Pakistan. In the process, Sachin also brought himself closer to Gavaskar’s record of 34 Test centuries. From Pakistan’s point of view, their bowlers did try their best, but I think they compounded their problems by fielding abysmally and dropping a series of catches. They also missed chances to run the batsmen out, and allowed balls to go past them like schoolboys wouldn’t. I also feel that Pakistan would have done better to pick another spinner. India have one major — Kumble — and three minor spinners — Sehwag, Yuvraj and Sachin. That might be a big difference between the sides.