Sehwag more destructive than Richards

[Gambit]

When Virender Sehwag gets going, it's like you're watching a James Bond movie. He can drive a car over a cliff, dodge bullets, fight off 20 armed men bare-handed - all of it while wearing a crisp suit, which remains uncrumpled. Only that in Sehwag's case it is all for real: each of those strokes can get him out. In causing stroke-making to appear so outrageously simple, Sehwag does himself a disservice. Often the true quality of a batting performance is judged by what the batsman is up against, the kind of bowlers on offer, and the conditions. But when Sehwag starts to rain fours and sixes, it becomes impossible to make sense of anything: the bowlers appear fangless, the pitches seem highways, and the match situation becomes absolutely irrelevant. Sometimes the batsmen who follow him help put the matter in perspective by appearing human, but often the opponents have been left too scarred by the shellacking to recover their wits. In Chennai last December, India found themselves chasing 387 on a wearing pitch. The enduring image of the match is of Sachin Tendulkar's delicately swept four off Graeme Swann to bring up his 41st hundred and the Indian victory; but in a match featuring four centuries, the decisive innings had come from Sehwag: an astonishing 68-ball 83 in the final session of the fourth day that brought he target down to just over 300 in a flash. In a mere 20 overs, England had slipped from being firm favourites to fumbling underdogs. The most staggering aspect of Sehwag's career, of course, is that a batsman so outrageous should be so prolific. The words used to describe him - entertainer, destroyer, maverick, match-winner - fail to capture the whole essence of Sehwag. And perhaps because of his methods there has been a reluctance to place him alongside the gods of batting. But there is little left for him to prove now: he is a stunning and extraordinary batsman, to whom the term "great" should be applied without qualifications. His numbers are up there with the very best. Seventy-two Tests is substantial sample, and over 6000 runs at over 50, with 17 hundreds, comfortably stands up to statistical scrutiny. But there is one number that sets him apart. No batsman in the history of cricket has scored his runs as quickly. In the list of batsmen to have scored 6000 Test runs, he, with a strike-rate of just over 80, stands more than 10 points adrift of the next best man. That man, Viv Richards, scored his runs at a shade below 70. Reduce the qualification to 5000 runs and there are only two men who have been recorded to have scored faster. But both Kapil Dev and Adam Gilchrist batted at No. 7; Kapil averaged only 31.50, and Sehwag has 700 more runs in 14 fewer Tests than Gilchrist, whose average was boosted by 20 not-outs as against Sehwag's five. On a more like-like for list, of contemporary top-order batsmen, Sehwag stands miles ahead. Sachin Tendulkar (12,917 runs at 54.73) has a strike-rate of 54.12, Ricky Ponting (11,400 runs at 55.88) scores at a rate of 59.41, Matthew Hayden (8625 runs at 50.73) got his at 60.10, and Brian Lara (11,953 runs at 52.88) at 60.51. Sanath Jayasuriya comes closest, with a strike-rate of 65.10, but his average is just over 40. But of course, numbers are merely the starting point. Greatness is judged by a number of other factors. Quality of opponents, versatility, the ability to score in different conditions, and most of all being able to turn up when it matters. Sehwag ticks all these boxes emphatically. His first hundred came in his debut Test, on a lively pitch in Bloemfontein after India had lost four wickets for not many. He has gone on to score big hundreds in diverse conditions in Nottingham, Melbourne, Chennai, Mumbai, Lahore and Galle. He has collared Shane Warne, shredded Shoaib Akhthar, got the better of Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee, finished off Saqlain Mushtaq's career, and walloped Mutthiah Muralitharan like no one, including Lara, has before. He has set up wins and saved more Tests than he is given credit for. That his second triple-hundred, a better-than-run-a-ball 319 against South Africa in Chennai came in a run-fest often obscures the fact that India started the innings trying to save the Test, facing 540. By the time Sehwag finished, he was speaking of winning it. His previous century, an uncharacteristically stodgy 151 in Adelaide had been a decidedly match-saving effort, on the final day of the Test. It was the only time, Sehwag reflects with pride, that he went an entire session without hitting a four. It is in the hitting of fours that Sehwag reveals his true genius. Fours are the foundation of his batting, and he is obsessive about them. During an interview last year, we asked him which bowlers he found most difficult. McGrath and Murali, Sehwag said. The reason: he couldn't hit them for fours when he wanted to. No plan to tie Sehwag down has ever succeeded. Nasser Hussain managed to frustrate Tendulkar for long periods in 2001 by getting Ashley Giles to bowl two feet outside the leg stump from over the wicket. The matter came to an excruciating pass in the Bangalore Test, where Giles bowled 99 dots balls to Tendulkar out of 112. Sehwag, playing in his fourth Test then, found a refreshingly simple way to put an end to the nonsense. He went wide of his leg stump, down the wicket, and clouted Giles back over his head. Of his 66 runs, 27 came against Giles, with six fours. It was infectious: soon Tendulkar hit Giles for two consecutive fours and was stumped, for the first time in his career, after charging down to hit a third. The theme has continued through Sehwag's career. At the Brabourne Stadium yesterday, Murali set the leg trap with a forward short leg, short mid-on, and midwicket. Inevitably the next ball was pitched on middle and spun across outside leg. And inevitably Sehwag hit it for four. Reverse-swept to third man. Later in the day, he played a paddle reverse-sweep against the same bowler, this time to a faster and slightly shorter ball. And when Rangana Herath fired the first ball of the 60th over down the leg side, Sehwag cast a quizzical glance at the umpire, protesting perhaps that the ball should have been called a wide. And then proceeded to deal with the matter himself by twice jumping wide and far down the wicket to loft the ball, inside out, over extra cover. Throughout the innings he found ways to score in boundaries, through drives and lofted shots, and equally, with chips and deft touches. One ball from Chanaka Welegedara he deflected off the face of his bat past second slip. It was his ability to strike fear in the hearts of the bowlers that set Richards apart. It can be argued that bowling stocks were healthier in that age, but a man can't be held guilty of not being able to choose his circumstances. It's futile wondering how Richards would fared in the 90s and the noughties. Against the best that his times have offered him, Sehwag has been more destructive than even Richards. Let's cut out the buts now. http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/438062.html

[Gambit]

So we've got someone who's better than Bradman, someone who's more destructive than Richards and someone who's better than Laxman. What a team. :cantstop:

[ViruRulez]

So we've got someone who's better than Bradman' date=' someone who's more destructive than Richards and [b']someone who's better than Laxman. What a team. :cantstop:

which Laxman.. Laxman is in our team :hmmmm:

[SachDan]

^ Yuvi :haha:

[Sachinism]

which Laxman.. Laxman is in our team :hmmmm:

Yuvi > Laxman :poink:

[Fontaine]

Sehwag is the most destructive batsmen yes. He is head and shoulders above his peers and that's what makes him great.

[DomainK]

There never was a batsman as destructive as Sehwag is and perhaps there never will be. Our next generation will envy us for having watched Sehwag live.

[champ]

both are great players .. instead of comparing both , we need to give them their own spaces in cricket history ..

[King Tendulkar]

The article copied when I said yesterday on him being more destructive then Richards and Lara. I am suing for plagarasim! Sehwags strike rates in tests are ridiculous

[nikred]

I can never forget his innings against DC in first IPL. My first hand experience of watching Sehwag as an opposition supporter.:omg: I am so glad he plays for India. :isalute:

[Sachinism]

I can never forget his innings against DC in first IPL. My first hand experience of watching Sehwag as an opposition supporter.:omg: I am so glad he plays for India. :isalute:

Symonds :hehe:

[Lurker]

Sambit Bal and co. are going way over the top calling Sehwag the most destructive batsman of all times. For starters I dont quite see how Sehwag can be compared with Richards since they played at completely different position, dorned different hats(in case of Sehwag helmet), quality of bowlers, pitches etc etc. A rather fair question could, and should be, Is Sehwag the most destructive opening batsman ever? I would think there is certainly a good case of Sehwag being the most destructive opening batsman. In the years that I have witnessed cricket his worthy competitors would be Hayden, Graeme Smith, Michael Slater & Gordon Greenidge. David Boon could be in there too. Of these Greenidge to me was most destructive in the sense he would accelerate all of a sudden and pulverise the bowling. Hayden was quality player as well. However Sehwag is easily the best of them all since he does it day in and out, something neither Greenidge or Hayden did. xxx

[King Tendulkar]

^ stuck in time warp and probably did not even watch the innings. He is the most destructive batsman in test cricket ever. Simply arrogant in his shot making and abillity to pill it of. He is unbelivable. That innings yesterday made a mockery of test cricket. Just without stats and how his batted at times would have confirmed he is the monster of all monsters. But the stats in strike rate show that he is indeed the most destructive batter

[vvvslaxman]

Sambit just likes to open can of worms..doesn't he. This comparison is absolutely not necessary in the first place. So many cricketers including Tendulkar have idolized Richards over the years. So they are going to make sure Sambit take it back.

[The Outsider]

I feel it's a very valid comparison. Richards is considered an untouchable as a batsman, but Sehwag has easily trumped his performances when it comes to scoring at a fast clip and scoring huge.

[vvvslaxman]

I think true genius of Sehwag will be realized only when he leaves the scene. The way he toyed with Sanga's field sets and negative line was simply astounding.

[Dhondy]

We don't need Gambit's brother (Sambit & Gambit, didn't you notice?) to tell us all this stuff. we have known all along that Veeru is the best.

[patriot]

Veeru's career strike rate has only gone up. Cumulatively from early 70's to early 80's now. Last 20 test matches Veeru's strike rate has been close to 95 ..more than what Viv has in ODIS....that too opening the batting. Viv for a large part had Grenidge and Haynes do all the initial damage.

[S.Bond]

I think tendulkar is the best batsman ever and sehwag has to be the second... yuvi and dhoni are just behind at number three and four.... then we have the lara, richards etc......

[King Tendulkar]

I think tendulkar is the best batsman ever and sehwag has to be the second... yuvi and dhoni are just behind at number three and four.... then we have the lara' date=' richards etc......[/quote'] Thats an idiotic post born out of jealousy towards India! Gavaskar is 3 and Laxman is 4. The rest should shuffle down 1