It made me play. I lifted a bat after weeks though it seemed longer, inhabited two pitches – one my gate pitch that has the road in between, then the neighbour’s driveway, where we also had a change in ends.
Even though I joked on BCC! on how the media misquoted Sehwag about batting 50 overs when he really meant 15, for long, I’ve wanted and secretly hoped that Sehwag will bat the distance.
Whenever we spoke about the first ODI double, I was certain it will be Sehwag.
Somewhere ODIs ceased to matter, and what Sehwag did in them even less. That his average was a misleading 31 something didn’t bother me anymore. I stopped trying to balance the 100+ strike rate with that unacceptable average.
Now I notice Sehwag’s average is 35+. But it’s taken him over 12 years and 220 ODIs to play what I’ve waited and waited for. And I don’t know what it’s done, except I played today.
And if it makes the rest of the team play, that will be something. It should certainly make them think – if someone with the one-day attention span of Viru can bat 47.3, what can I do?
Someone like Sachin, he’ll look to bat 50 overs for India, and another 50 for the other team.
It really is funny. Because Viru batting so many one-day overs was not supposed to happen, that it did, is kudos to the guy who planted the seeds for 50 over cruise control.
Before this, the seeds were planted in Yusuf’s mind – for a player who I’ve never rated on staying power in ODIs to hurl those knocks at the Kiwis and Safas was even more unthinkable.
But it was thought, and executed. Add Kohli’s hundreds, pre-World Cup and now in the Cup. Where and how did the makeover begin – when did the press’ brat become India’s mainstay No. 4 in ODIs, where did so much purpose creep in from?
Looks like the question isn’t what will Sehwag’s 175 done, but who enabled Sehwag’s 175 – and in that is the answer to Yusuf’s and Kohli’s runs. And of course, what lies ahead for India in this World Cup.
On Bored: Who made 175
Even though I joked on BCC! on how the media misquoted Sehwag about batting 50 overs when he really meant 15, for long, I’ve wanted and secretly hoped that Sehwag will bat the distance.
Whenever we spoke about the first ODI double, I was certain it will be Sehwag.
Somewhere ODIs ceased to matter, and what Sehwag did in them even less. That his average was a misleading 31 something didn’t bother me anymore. I stopped trying to balance the 100+ strike rate with that unacceptable average.
Now I notice Sehwag’s average is 35+. But it’s taken him over 12 years and 220 ODIs to play what I’ve waited and waited for. And I don’t know what it’s done, except I played today.
And if it makes the rest of the team play, that will be something. It should certainly make them think – if someone with the one-day attention span of Viru can bat 47.3, what can I do?
Someone like Sachin, he’ll look to bat 50 overs for India, and another 50 for the other team.
It really is funny. Because Viru batting so many one-day overs was not supposed to happen, that it did, is kudos to the guy who planted the seeds for 50 over cruise control.
Before this, the seeds were planted in Yusuf’s mind – for a player who I’ve never rated on staying power in ODIs to hurl those knocks at the Kiwis and Safas was even more unthinkable.
But it was thought, and executed. Add Kohli’s hundreds, pre-World Cup and now in the Cup. Where and how did the makeover begin – when did the press’ brat become India’s mainstay No. 4 in ODIs, where did so much purpose creep in from?
Looks like the question isn’t what will Sehwag’s 175 done, but who enabled Sehwag’s 175 – and in that is the answer to Yusuf’s and Kohli’s runs. And of course, what lies ahead for India in this World Cup.
On Bored: Who made 175
