The PlanetCricket View: Where does Sehwag stand?

[khalek]

He's already had success in Australia and West Indies in the past. It's just England, NZ and South Africa where he has to prove himself more.

 

[used2bcool]

Agree with Scid that while Dravid has been a great batsman for the better part of a decade, his match-winning days are far behind him. He can at best save a match for India, but he has looked shaky of late and at times completely unable to score runs. In both the tests against New Zealand he's gotten runs but killed the momentum of the respective innings, and looked lost/without intent at times. I agree that Tendulkar has played equally slowly, but he has scored runs by the bucketloads, and given India's bowling woes, they cannot afford two guys scoring as slowly as Sachin and Dravid are at the moment.

It should be made clear to Rahul to step up in South Africa or prepare for a farewell. A team aspiring to stay in the #1 spot in the rankings cannot afford such a defensive batter, especially given its pitiful bowling attack. I hope Rahul finds his scoring touch, I really do. But the fact is, he's 35, and he's not contributing in terms of aggressive cricket, even dropping catches in the slips now. Maybe it's time to hang up the boots.

 

[subversive]

Dravid's almost 38 actually... He'll retire after the series in SA I think.

 

[used2bcool]

Dravid's almost 38 actually... He'll retire after the series in SA I think.

Wow, yes. I stand corrected. Kinda enforces my point a bit more. Still, can't believe I made such a stupid error.

 

[War]

He's already had success in Australia and West Indies in the past. It's just England, NZ and South Africa where he has to prove himself more.

Sehwag has never faced a quality AUS attack in AUS in difficult batting conditions. In 2003/04 no Mcgrath or Warne, as he faced the worse AUS attack in AUS on flat pitches akin to roads he usually smoke hundreds in the sub-continent. Plus the 09 hundred was on the flattest pitch in AUS - Adelaide.

If Hilfenahaus & co could have restricted him to a sub 30 average on roads in IND recently. Once can only imagine what they can do to him if they catch on a bouncy Brisbane/Perth wicket in AUS.

the Windies Sehwag faced in 2006 was a poor team. Next year if he faces a fully fit Taylor/Roach/Edwards on some bouncy decks. That will be a tester for him, given as AUS recently showed, he is vulnerable to aggressive at the body short-pitched bowling.

 

[SciD]

Obviously you did not watch the test series to see how he got out and how he batted against Aussies.

 

[AbhishekS]

He is vulnerable to short-pitched deliveries but not to bouncy tracks. He is a kind of player who likes to see the ball coming hard and fast.

 

[War]

Obviously you did not watch the test series to see how he got out and how he batted against Aussies.

I saw the AUS bowler highlight before the series correctly, that Sehwag is vulnerable againts the short ball: Ind v Aus: Virender Sehwag wary against short ball - Mitchell Johnson | Cricket News | India v Australia | ESPN Cricinfo

They exposed it quite clearly, in each innings as he was dismissed to some form of short pitched bowling tactic. If that was not obvious to you, then i dont know what you were watching sir.

This article further solidifies my point: http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-australia-2010/content/story/480817.html

War added 4 Minutes and 38 Seconds later...

He is vulnerable to short-pitched deliveries but not to bouncy tracks. He is a kind of player who likes to see the ball coming hard and fast.

I have seen no evidence in his career of him scoring runs againts no quality pace attack on bouncy decks, when bowling attack him with at the body short pitched bowling like AUS did recently.

 

[Papa_Smurf]

I feel his performance against Steyn and Morkel in SA conditions will define him.

 

[aussie1st]

I feel his performance against Steyn and Morkel in SA conditions will define him.

Most definitely, hard to find a better pair in cricket than those two. Both are near 150km/h, both get good bounce and they can get swing at times.

 

[SciD]

I saw the AUS bowler highlight before the series correctly, that Sehwag is vulnerable againts the short ball: Ind v Aus: Virender Sehwag wary against short ball - Mitchell Johnson | Cricket News | India v Australia | ESPN Cricinfo

They exposed it quite clearly, in each innings as he was dismissed to some form of short pitched bowling tactic. If that was not obvious to you, then i dont know what you were watching sir.

This article further solidifies my point: India v Australia: Virender Sehwag undone by well-laid plan | Cricket Features | India v Australia | ESPN Cricinfo

War added 4 Minutes and 38 Seconds later...



I have seen no evidence in his career of him scoring runs againts no quality pace attack on bouncy decks, when bowling attack him with at the body short pitched bowling like AUS did recently.

Apart from dismissal in last innings of 2nd test match he just gifted his wickets away. I saw the match not the highlights so I know how he batted without any danger. He looked circumspect in 2nd innings of Mohali test and eventually fell to a ball which he would have smacked for six in normal circumstances.

He has been playing international cricket for lot time now and I will not take any other opening batsman of India ahead of him. He is not best batsman in business in terms of technique but he has his own style and it has been effective and successful. All Indian batsman are suspect against short pitch bowling and if you have seen him play abroad then you will know he is smart enough to duck under or let go these short pitch balls.

Also there are less good pacers going around to trouble him with short bowl as well. Actually its a trap that many have fell into. Rather than trying to get him out by using slips, they try to get him out caught at third man or on deep leg side fields.

Its not India's fault that whenever we win against any good team they are down on bowlers. In fact India has worst bowlers in world and if any side loose 20 wickets to us then they should be ashamed. Even WI has better bowlers than India.

 

[War]

Apart from dismissal in last innings of 2nd test match he just gifted his wickets away. I saw the match not the highlights so I know how he batted without any danger. He looked circumspect in 2nd innings of Mohali test and eventually fell to a ball which he would have smacked for six in normal circumstances.

What???

In no innings expect the 1st innings of the 1st test did Sehwag look by anymeans comfortable or his normal assures self at the crease.

He never looked assured playing the short ball & each dismissal was a consequence of that in each test. Even as you claim you watched each test live me, i dont know how this escaped you.

The Mohali 2nd innings dismissal pretty much proves my point. The man doesn't pull or hook well at all. If you watched the lead up deliveries to the dismissal which was quite eruditely described in the above article:

The decisive one was between Ricky Ponting and Ben Hilfenhaus, the most skilled of the Aussie bowlers. In his four earlier overs, he had managed just five deliveries at Sehwag. Now he had possibly a full over to work at Sehwag. There was a new plan here. There would be square legs in the circle, and another one in the deep. More accurate, more aggressive short deliveries would be bowled. And in Mohali he showed he has a mean bouncer to go with his outswing and occasional cutters.


The first one was so accurate it got Sehwag in the helmet. A hush fell on the ground. It sounded like a boo, but it like the nasty ones of yesterday. Hilfenhaus would have liked it. Nasser Hussain, one of the more successful captains in India, has spoken about the importance of silencing the indian crowds. It was perhaps that silence that let Hilfenhaus think more clearly.

If this was going to be short, Sehwag was going to pull it in front of square: he was going to be ready deep in the crease. Sure enough the ball was short, but it was the slower bouncer, and Sehwag ended up dragging the pull straight into the lap of the man waiting in the deep. For a moment, only Hilfenhaus could be heard in a stadium holding at least 30,000 people. He deserved to be. He had out-thought the most destructive batsman in cricket today.

He never looked comfortable againts in the balls preceeding his dismissal. So Sehwag playing that daft pull-shot was direct consequence of AUS out thinking him. he doesn't have to be caught @ short leg or leg-gully/slip to show he can't play the short ball.

He has been playing international cricket for lot time now and I will not take any other opening batsman of India ahead of him. He is not best batsman in business in terms of technique but he has his own style and it has been effective and successful. All Indian batsman are suspect against short pitch bowling and if you have seen him play abroad then you will know he is smart enough to duck under or let go these short pitch balls..

He has his own style that has been solely effective & successfull @ smashing averge/joke pace attacks on flat pitches (a few quality pace attacks as well) on roads. Not quality pace attacks on helpul decks.

Plus no i have seen no evidence in the past overseas tests that where fast-bowlers have got him on helpful pitches & tested him with the short ball (although he has a other technical flaw to inswingers which has also been exposed), that he would duck under it.

He is type of batsman who aggressive instinct would make him continue to play the pull-shot. If i where to give him advice i would tell him do like Steve Waugh post 1993 & just stop playing it, since it will always get him into trouble againts good fast-bowlers.

Also there are less good pacers going around to trouble him with short bowl as well. Actually its a trap that many have fell into. Rather than trying to get him out by using slips, they try to get him out caught at third man or on deep leg side fields.

Nah. Outside of the AUS quicks. I can certainly see the Saffies with Steyn/Morkel/De Wet testing him with that tactic.

- Windies with Roach/Taylor/Edwards

- ENG with Broad

- PAK with Gul/Riaz/Aamir (whenever he returns)

Coincidentally IND are touring SA, WI & ENG next year. So he will be well tested.

Plus its not the just the bouncer tactic he will be tested it. In bowler friendly ENG, SA pitches with the ball moving alot, his weakness to inswingers could also be well exposed again.

Its not India's fault that whenever we win against any good team they are down on bowlers. In fact India has worst bowlers in world and if any side loose 20 wickets to us then they should be ashamed. Even WI has better bowlers than India.

Indeed its quite poor. But thats been known for a good few years now. Once of the reasons why its a farce that thanks to the flawed ranking system IND are called # 1.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Your logic is flawed. Ofcourse he'll get out to short pitch bowling if that's all Australia is going to bowl at him.

And secondly, Sehwag's favourite scoring zone is between point and third man, cutting bowlers away off the back foot. You need to specify short bowling at his body, because rubbish short bowling giving Sehwag even the slightest bit of width gets punished.

And thirdly, he may not be completely comfortable with the short ball aimed at the body or deliveries that cut into him, but he's worked out his own way of dealing with them. He'll duck, he'll flick them off his hips for a single, and if he sees it coming early he'll whip it away.

He very rarely plays the pull or the hook, but that's because he's fine without it. I mean, I love watching Sehwag bat, I follow India closely, and the pull shot is very rare for him. Given his attacking instinct he will go for it if feeling bogged down, like against Hilfenhaus, but he mostly just does what I mention above. His legside game is actually quite minimal. Flick off the hips, whipping deliveries through midwicket, sweep shot and occasionally lofting the ball down to long on. I don't think he does much else.

Short bowling at his body is a weak point, yes, but not as glaring a flaw as you're making it to sound. And on that note, very, very, very few batsman are comfortable against short bowling at the body. It's not so common in this day and age because you don't get a lot of pacey and bouncy tracks. Off the top of my head, you get Ponting, Dravid, Sachin (although he plays everything brilliantly). Smith and Strauss handle it well too.

But I agree on the general idea. I want to see him get big scores in the coming tours to South Africa and England before I'll put him in the bracket of one of the best openers of all time. But he's definitely India's best after Gavaskar, without a doubt.

 

[War]

Your logic is flawed. Ofcourse he'll get out to short pitch bowling if that's all Australia is going to bowl at him.

Uh what?.

I dont understand how you are going to tell me my logic is flawed & defend it by saying "Ofcourse he'll get out to short pitch bowling if that's all Australia is going to bowl at him".

What crazyness is that sir?. If AUS had tried that tactic to Tendy or Laxman they would have had to give up since they would have played the short ball FARR better & the AUS quicks wouldn't have known where to bowl.

And secondly, Sehwag's favourite scoring zone is between point and third man, cutting bowlers away off the back foot. You need to specify short bowling at his body, because rubbish short bowling giving Sehwag even the slightest bit of width gets punished.

Correct.

And secondly, Sehwag's favourite scoring zone is between point and third man, cutting bowlers away off the back foot. You need to specify short bowling at his body, because rubbish short bowling giving Sehwag even the slightest bit of width gets punished.

Correct.

He very rarely plays the pull or the hook, but that's because he's fine without it. I mean, I love watching Sehwag bat, I follow India closely, and the pull shot is very rare for him. Given his attacking instinct he will go for it if feeling bogged down, like against Hilfenhaus, but he mostly just does what I mention above. His legside game is actually quite minimal. Flick off the hips, whipping deliveries through midwicket, sweep shot and occasionally lofting the ball down to long on. I don't think he does much else.

He rearly plays the pull or hook because:

1. He doesn't play face quality fast bowlers enough who have tested him in that area.

2. He hasn't had to face quality fast bowlers enough on helpul overseas wickets. Where he would be forced to play test his pull & hook game much. Given the amount of joke pace attacks on flat decks he usually plays on.

Short bowling at his body is a weak point, yes, but not as glaring a flaw as you're making it to sound. And on that note, very, very, very few batsman are comfortable against short bowling at the body. It's not so common in this day and age because you don't get a lot of pacey and bouncy tracks. Off the top of my head, you get Ponting, Dravid, Sachin (although he plays everything brilliantly). Smith and Strauss handle it well too.

Nah the flaw is just as big as i'm making it sound. He doesn't hook or pull well at all, so any sustained body short pitched bowling to him will cause him problems. Its his second biggest technical flaw along with his vulnerability to sharp inswingers.

Few batsmen indeed may be comfortable, but Sehwag & most asian batsmen are more vulnerable to such type of bowling compared to AUS, SA, ENG batsmen.

But Sehwag vulnerability to the short ball @ the body reminds of Vinod Kambli in alot of ways.

But I agree on the general idea. I want to see him get big scores in the coming tours to South Africa and England before I'll put him in the bracket of one of the best openers of all time. But he's definitely India's best after Gavaskar, without a doubt.

Correct.

And thirdly, he may not be completely comfortable with the short ball aimed at the body or deliveries that cut into him, but he's worked out his own way of dealing with them. He'll duck, he'll flick them off his hips for a single, and if he sees it coming early he'll whip it away.

He didn't do that againts AUS recently nor in the past when other teams have tested him with @ the body short pitches bowling. I.e vs Steyn/Ntini Morkel in SA 2006, IND vs SA in IND 08, vs ENG in IND 2006, vs Akhtar @ Karachi 06.

But I agree on the general idea. I want to see him get big scores in the coming tours to South Africa and England before I'll put him in the bracket of one of the best openers of all time. But he's definitely India's best after Gavaskar, without a doubt.

Correct.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Uh what?.

I dont understand how you are going to tell me my logic is flawed & defend it by saying "Ofcourse he'll get out to short pitch bowling if that's all Australia is going to bowl at him".

They don't bowl full to Sehwag for long enough to wait for him to get out that way. If 80% of the bowling he faces is short pitched, he is bound to get out to short pitched bowling. You can't use that as direct evidence to point to a flaw.

Your logic is that they bowl short to him because he's weak at that. It is equally plausible that they just bowl short to him because he's so dangerous on the front foot, but normal on the back foot. Or that they all are under the impression that short pitch bowling is the way to deal with Sehwag and don't actually attempt full pitched bowling. You can't use this as direct evidence to show Sehwag has glaring flaws. All you can use it is to show that bowlers bowl short to him very often.

And technical weakness doesn't = glaring flaw. Sehwag has the temperament to deal with it. Kambli didn't. Ganguly had the same issues, Laxman struggles when you plug up the midwicket region, Punter has the same issue in reverse in that he gets out hooking and pulling. They all had the temperament to overcome it. You're overlooking that factor.

And 2006 was a horrid season for Viru in general. What will be important is how he performs now since he's been in a sort of purple patch for the last 2 years. If he fails again, we know that this is infact a flaw he cannot overcome. If he succeeds, he deserves all the plaudits that come his way.