Viru turns Test on its head

A couple of days ago,Virender Sehwag had let out a dressing-room secret,revealing the sleeping habits of one his team mates.

A couple of days ago,Virender Sehwag had let out a dressing-room secret,revealing the sleeping habits of one his team mates. Harbhajan Singh is a big fan of my batting. Whenever I return to the pavilion after getting out,he tells me,Now I can go and doze off,,he had said. Despite bowling 32 overs on Wednesday,off-spinner Harbhajan wouldnt have got a chance to catch a wink on Thursday because batting an eyelid wouldve meant missing one of several magical Sehwag moments on display on the second day of the final Test against Sri Lanka.

Sehwags 284,from 239 balls,made for compulsive viewing. Being at the Brabourne Stadium on Thursday meant either sitting on the edge of the seat as the opener hit another audacious stroke,or standing up to cheer one of the several landmarks he casually sauntered past. When he wasnt treating the Sri Lankan bowling line-up like a bunch from Popatwadi the local maidan term for a sloppy,amateur outfit playing in the little leagues,he was raising his bat to acknowledge the applause from the stands.

As India quickly overhauled Sri Lankas first innings score of 393,notching up 443/1 the most runs they had ever scored in a single day,Sehwag became the first Indian batsman to hit six double centuries. He also completed 6,000 Test runs during the course of his knock.

Besides his individual landmarks,he shared in two big partnerships 221 with opener Murali Vijay 87 and an unfinished 222 runs with Rahul Dravid 62 not out by the time stumps were drawn. As a cool sea breeze sneaked into the stadium in the evening,providing much-needed relief to the tired Sri Lankan limbs,they wouldve realised their hopes of a first Test win in India had been virtually blown away not what they wouldve expected after making 366/8 on a Day One pitch that had turn and bounce for the spinners.

Run out on 99

On thursday,an early end to the Sri Lankan innings with Angelo Mathews run out on a heartbreaking 99 while going for a second led to lengthening queues at the ticket counters as India stepped in to bat. The Brabourne turnstiles were buzzing with the name of Sachin Tendulkar,but by the end of the day,there wouldve been several Sehwag converts. Tendulkar remained padded up all day,waiting for his turn,but Sehwags batting ensured that neither he,nor the crowd,was complaining.

When Sehwag and opening partner Vijay looking extremely composed in only his second Test returned to the pavilion at lunch,they had exorcised whatever devils had bothered the batsmen at the start of the Test. Their plan was simple denting the confidence of the bowlers was the best way of dealing with the indentations on the track and it worked like a charm.

The Lankan spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Rangana Herath were attacked early. Sehwag hit Heraths second ball of the day for a six,and Vijay punched a delivery to the fence in Muralis first over. The annihilation continued as Sehwag moved into the zone after lunch,even as Vijay departed after lunch for 87,cross with himself for playing a false shot just 13 short of what wouldve been a maiden Test century.

Toying with the bowlers

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With the score reading 221/1,it wasnt a reassuring sight for Sri Lanka to see Rahul Dravid walk in after a scoring sequence of 177,38,144 in the series so far. And their demoralisation was complete when Sehwag started toying with the bowlers and getting away with it almost chancelessly. He had the confidence to play the reverse sweep repeatedly,and to guide the short ball through third man despite two fielders in the slips.

He gave the only chance at 273,when Mahela Jayawardene dropped a sharp catch at slip off Tillakaratne Dilshan. But overall,it was a day when it seemed none of the Indian batsmen could do any wrong.

With Sehwag closing in on another 300,the Brabourne turnstiles will be abuzz again on Friday. Harbhajan,after a long vigil on Day Two,will have to stay awake again. For the Lankans,fresh from one of their worst days on a cricket field,the most worrying thought will be that Sehwag will bat again on Friday.