Muthiah Muralidaran: 'I didn't fear Tendulkar, because he couldn't hurt me like Sehwag could'

[rangeelaraja]

 

There will never be another Veeru. 

 

This Galle test cleared showed that while that vintage of Indian batters were the best ever against spinners - Sehwag was the clear 1st among equals. 

 

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/india-tour-of-sri-lanka-2008-343726/sri-lanka-vs-india-2nd-test-343730/full-scorecard

 

 

 

[Serpico]

Funny how we produced so many players with perfect textbook techniques against spin yet the best player of spin just played with see the ball - hit the ball motto. Maybe our domestic coaches should encourage more kids to play spin like Veeru

[Trichromatic]

30 minutes ago, Serpico said:

Funny how we produced so many players with perfect textbook techniques against spin yet the best player of spin just played with see the ball - hit the ball motto. Maybe our domestic coaches should encourage more kids to play spin like Veeru

 

See the ball, hit the ball - that's wrong idea about Sehwag's batting when it comes to spin.

 

1. Sehwag wouldn't play much against the turn, he would try to hit with the turn.

2. He was able to use feet and reach the pitch of the ball - difficult skill to master especially for batsmen outside subcontinent.

3. Playing late - like Mahela.

 

How does all 3 aspects come under, see the ball hit the ball?

 

See the ball, hit the ball was done mostly against pacers.

 

 

[rangeelaraja]

7 minutes ago, Trichromatic said:

 

See the ball, hit the ball - that's wrong idea about Sehwag's batting when it comes to spin.

 

1. Sehwag wouldn't play much against the turn, he would try to hit with the turn.

 

 

 

 

Not quite true, have seen him absolutely go berserk even against the spin, quite often. That too against spinners who spin it prodigiously. 

 

None more so than what he did to Stuart Mcgill at MCG. 

 

 

[Trichromatic]

6 minutes ago, rangeelaraja said:

 

Not quite true, have seen him absolutely go berserk even against the spin, quite often. That too against spinners who spin it prodigiously. 

 

None more so than what he did to Stuart Mcgill at MCG. 

 

 

 

1. He would lose his wicket or play false shot while going against spin. Of course he was able to hit against spin also many times, just like how other batsmen VVS, Dravid, SRT would do.

 

2. He was smoking full tosses or short balls of McGill at MCG through mid wicket region. 

[Trichromatic]

 

1:20 - With the turn, six through mid-off/covers

1:33 - Overpitched, straight four

1:48 - Overpitched, straight four

2:20 - Clearing the feet, through covers four

2:40 - again four through covers

3:35 - full toss, smoked through midwicket

3:59 - overpitched?, through midwicket

4:11 - full toss, through fine leg

6:58 - slog swept against the spin through mid wicket

7:30 - full toss, through mid wicket

7:50 - full toss, caught.

 

Only 1 shot in which had any risk against the spin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Trichromatic]

Add to that while Sehwag hardly moved feet against pacers, same can't be said about his batting against spinners.

[sorak]

I don't know where I read this, but I remember ABD saying once that Sehwag's square shots played without feet movement inspired him a lot early on. This to me was one of the best game recognizes game thing.

[Gollum]

Sachin's prowess against spin was always overrated. He got the better of raw Lankan spinners in 90s (Murali was hardly a force then), credit to him for destroying Warne (who was softened up by Sidhu). But hard to recollect instances of him dominating good/great spinners, sure he tonked the likes of Paul Strang, Randiv, and an array of rubbish Bangladeshi SLAs in the 00s. 

 

But for most of his career, the likes of Saqlain, Murali had him on a tight leash. Even Vettori, Price, Giles, Afridi, Paul Harris would make him work hard, max he was an accumulator on his best days. Towards the end of his career guys like Swann, Lyon, Chuckmal made life very uncomfortable for him...rookie Lyon made him look like a tailender in the 2011-13 years. Some of the names above used to chuck merrily, so tough for Sachin...but Viru, KP, Sanga obliterated those same chuckers. 

 

Don't get the hype, better than our current lot against spin, part of Fab 4 but forget Sehwag, even Sidhu and Azhar were better players of spin IMO. Sachin always looked a different class against the quicks, even more than Ponting. 

Edited August 22, 2021 by Gollum

[Gollum]

Murali had GOAT numbers but a blatant chucker. No way he would have a half-decent career in today's cricket. Unfortunate that ICC couldn't weed out chuckers earlier. 

[SRT100]

1 hour ago, Gollum said:

Murali had GOAT numbers but a blatant chucker. No way he would have a half-decent career in today's cricket. Unfortunate that ICC couldn't weed out chuckers earlier. 

 

Agree.

 

I bet there is more than a dozen kids in the rural India that could chuck like Murali.

[Serpico]

1 hour ago, Gollum said:

Murali had GOAT numbers but a blatant chucker. No way he would have a half-decent career in today's cricket. Unfortunate that ICC couldn't weed out chuckers earlier. 

What about the time he bowled wearing a cast? Didn't he bowl all his variations in it?

[Vijy]

8 hours ago, Gollum said:

Sachin's prowess against spin was always overrated. He got the better of raw Lankan spinners in 90s (Murali was hardly a force then), credit to him for destroying Warne (who was softened up by Sidhu). But hard to recollect instances of him dominating good/great spinners, sure he tonked the likes of Paul Strang, Randiv, and an array of rubbish Bangladeshi SLAs in the 00s. 

 

But for most of his career, the likes of Saqlain, Murali had him on a tight leash. Even Vettori, Price, Giles, Afridi, Paul Harris would make him work hard, max he was an accumulator on his best days. Towards the end of his career guys like Swann, Lyon, Chuckmal made life very uncomfortable for him...rookie Lyon made him look like a tailender in the 2011-13 years. Some of the names above used to chuck merrily, so tough for Sachin...but Viru, KP, Sanga obliterated those same chuckers. 

 

Don't get the hype, better than our current lot against spin, part of Fab 4 but forget Sehwag, even Sidhu and Azhar were better players of spin IMO. Sachin always looked a different class against the quicks, even more than Ponting. 

SRT was probably the best all-conditions player in the 90s and 00s, but that doesn't mean he lacked any weakness - I mean, he was definitely not Bradman or Smith. I agree that he was rather cautious against spinners, and laboured to an extent against them (and also against slow-medium bowlers), a trait that even Dravid was susceptible to. With that said, I feel that he played leg spin and SLA better than off spin. I think our best players of spin were Sidhu, Azhar, Laxman, Sehwag and then Ganguly.

 

Even right now, the best players of spin are not in the Ind team but are/were in domestics - people like peak Karun Nair and Sheldon Jackson.

[vvvslaxman]

Saw that video. Although it is obvious for all of us, it is good to hear from the man himself.  To bat like Sehwag you have to be born as Sehwag. You can probably imitate all these legents. I am not sure you can copy Sehwag easily. It is so natural. Trescothik was the closest to Sehwag. 

[Ankit_sharma03]

1 hour ago, vvvslaxman said:

Saw that video. Although it is obvious for all of us, it is good to hear from the man himself.  To bat like Sehwag you have to be born as Sehwag. You can probably imitate all these legents. I am not sure you can copy Sehwag easily. It is so natural. Trescothik was the closest to Sehwag. 

i think its next to impossible, once in ages ull get someone like him. It was his mindset that made him different from other. 

Generally a batsman who ll be beaten by a bowler will make him conscious on next ball, but sehwag was diff case he was hardly bothered by last ball. His mindset separated him from all, clear mindset while batting his biggest asset.

 

 

Ian chappel described him best

 

[Trichromatic]

3 hours ago, Ankit_sharma03 said:

i think its next to impossible, once in ages ull get someone like him. It was his mindset that made him different from other. 

Generally a batsman who ll be beaten by a bowler will make him conscious on next ball, but sehwag was diff case he was hardly bothered by last ball. His mindset separated him from all, clear mindset while batting his biggest asset.

 

 

Ian chappel described him best

 

 

Not just a batsman who is beaten, but also if a batsman fails to score runs in SENA would also be concious about his batting and try to do better there.

 

I included Australia because I don't think he would have succeeded in Australia in conditions that we had in 2018 and 2020 tours. Even type of conditions players get in west indies, such technique would have been difficult to get away with.

 

 

[rangeelaraja]

26 minutes ago, Trichromatic said:

 

Not just a batsman who is beaten, but also if a batsman fails to score runs in SENA would also be concious about his batting and try to do better there.

 

I included Australia because I don't think he would have succeeded in Australia in conditions that we had in 2018 and 2020 tours. Even type of conditions players get in west indies, such technique would have been difficult to get away with.

 

 

 

 

I think with Sehwag, his form is more important than pitch/technique. How often have we seen situations where it seems he is batting on a different pitch than the rest of the batsmen.

 

He has genius talent.

[Number]

Keeping aside Mendis performance in 2008 which had more to do with the novelty, probably the best spin bowling performance I have seen was of Saqlain in India in 1998-99.

To have 5 wicket haul in each of 4 innings against Sachin, Laxman, Dravid, Azhar, Ganguly is a big achievement for any spinner.

Even then I think Sachin played him quite well in Chennai. Most batters wouldn't dare to close face of the bat against his stinging doosras, the ease at which Sachin was paddle sweeping him at him, it had all commentators in awe.

[Trichromatic]

15 minutes ago, rangeelaraja said:

 

 

I think with Sehwag, his form is more important than pitch/technique. How often have we seen situations where it seems he is batting on a different pitch than the rest of the batsmen.

 

He has genius talent.

 

@rkt.india

[Ankit_sharma03]

7 hours ago, Trichromatic said:

I included Australia because I don't think he would have succeeded in Australia in conditions that we had in 2018 and 2020 tours. Even type of conditions players get in west indies, such technique would have been difficult to get away with.

I always beileved that he wud do well anywhere if he is fitness n form wise at his best like he was in his 1st sena cycle. His sena failure came in mostly around the time when he waa struggling big time or towards the end when his fitness was gone or i think their was this phase in Kirsten where we played a lot in subcontinent and didnt travel much which creates makes ur adjust ur technique for here but develop issue for ourside.

Biggest problem for him overseas was his timing coz he mostly went their when he was struggling anyways and his phases of struggle were many. Also he didnt work hard to push his game to next level. 

 

On his day technique , bowler , pitch nothing mattered. Im pretty sure he wud have scored anywhere in any era. Pick his debut 100 in sa ...what balance (balance is all what matters) 

 

Sehwag wud have done better now coz he wud have been pushed hard in fitness n also now we travel overseas a lot. Pujara n rohit have improved ppl who were pretty poor in their 1st sena cycle in compare sehwag was good in his 1st sena cycle.