India Fly High

Bangladesh,February,20-2011:Virender Sehwag lived up to his promise in the opening match against Bangladesh on Saturday.
India had made some aggressive noises at the start of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. The defeat against Bangladesh back in 2007 had hurt the former world champions and Virender Sehwag, who failed miserably in the last ICC CWC, was determined to avenge the humiliation in form of an early exit from the West Indies.
The crowd watched in stunned silence as Sehwag launched into a brutal assault on the new ball. Bangladesh skipper Shakib-al-Hasan might have missed a trick by putting India in and the opener made it a point to make him pay. About 30,000 spectators watched in stunned silence as Sehwag ripped the home attack apart, first clinically and then with utter disdain.
MS Dhoni, on the eve of the match had said that the current Indian team was mentally better prepared than the one in 2007 and it showed. After Sachin Tendulkar fell short of his crease in a terrible mix-up, Gautam Gambhir joined Sehwag as the two Delhi lads put the match way beyond Bangladesh’s grasp.
Gambhir missed his chance to start the ICC CWC on a high, but next man Virat Kohli pounced on the opportunity and with his former Delhi skipper, unleashed a run-riot at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium. The fielders were running for cover and the bowlers did not know where to hide.
Such was Sehwag’s impact that Shakib had to take Shafiul Islam, one of his most successful bowlers in recent months out of the attack after only two overs in a harrowing first spell.
The captain reckoned his spinners might dry up the runs on what appeared to be a two-paced track but the Delhi Dasher was in his own zone. He cut with panache, pulled with contempt and drove down the ground with the precision of a surgeon.
The 175, which happened to be the third highest individual score by an Indian in the ICC CWC (after Sourav Ganguly’s 183 and Kapil Dev’s 175 not out), was unlike any knock Sehwag had played before. He was ready to play himself in, wait for the loose deliveries and still take the attack to the opposition.
The marauder showed a recently found aspect to his game – patience and that could only mean more trouble for the other teams in this ICC Cricket World Cup. Sehwag is not ready to throw his wicket away in pursuit of his natural game anymore. This time, a batsman, wiser with age and experience, will grind it out if he has to. Coach Gary Kirsten has stressed the importance of Sehwag playing long innings- and that is precisely what he did in Mirpur. The result was a group of shaken Bangladeshi bowlers who had perhaps started to get a little optimistic about their chances in the tournament.
Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar was impressed with what he saw in the middle during Sehwag’s blitzkrieg: “The wicket is not as easy as the score suggests.”
Sehwag made it look easy. He has made batting look ridiculously simple over the years and his knock on Saturday only underlined a growing domination in world cricket.
Sehwag wanted revenge and he got it. India will be grateful to him for helping them get over the dreadful memories of 2007. A mission has been accomplished but there is more to be achieved.

source:espnstar.com

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