Sehwag now rues missing the warm-up

He said it would done him a world of good had he arrived in Pakistan ‘‘for the warm-up match that would have helped in acclimatizing to the conditions.’’ This, even while he says that his Ranji stint did help him set a few things right.

That, in contract to what he had said, sounds a trifle weird. “Yes, I want to play in the (Delhi’s) next match against Karnataka since we have a chance to play in the semi-finals. We (Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir) have already asked for special permission from Board secretary Niranjan Shah to allow us to reach Pakistan a day late.”

That was Sehwag, speaking to mediamen at the Karnail Singh Stadium after Delhi’s win over Railways on December 26, 2005.

Talk with Sehwag in Pakistan obviously veers towards the triple century — an unbelievable 309 at Multan. This time, though the player isn’t counting on the triple hundred — India’s only — much. ‘‘That’s history,’’ he said.

Sehwag has been practicing with hard synthetic balls to get used to the hard and bouncy tracks. He is assured, though, of his own and his team’s ability to contain Pak’s much-vaunted pace attack.

‘‘They beat England, we beat Sri Lanka, so in a way, it’s equally balanced. But they’re playing at home, so the pressure will be more on them,’’ he says.