Sehwag proves once again: Batting Strike rate matters a heck in tests.

[Sachinism]

^^ Again you're taking away credit from the other batsmen, they weren't given free runs because Sehwag launched an assault on them. It may have had an impact but even after Steyn and Morkel bowled some good spells. The batsmen played them well and got some lucky by not edging a few of those deliveries. Look at Chris Gayle, he's given WI some murderous starts and demoralized the bowlers, why haven't WI won more games?

[ludhianvi]

Will be updated after the NZ BD match. Gambhir will lose his top spot and go to 4th or 5th. Viru will overtake Kallis, but it'll be touch and go whether he overtakes Jaya & Sanga to reach the top, but the greatest danger will be from Amla coming up from behind. Huge gain in points beckon. Never mind, we know who is the best batsman in the world right now. The South African bowlers know it, the Aussies know it and speak it aloud, the Pakistanis know it but would rather give up Sind & Balochistan than acknowledge it. Viru is the best batsman in the world again. And this time, please Lord, let him stay there, because he deserves it, if only so that people can pretend he is just another batsman- an understudy to so & so, and so & so, and so & so. We all know they are kidding themselves, and they know it too.

So in other words, you mean to say Sehwag > Tendulkar at the moment? :secret:

[Dhondy]

A hundred off 87 balls off the best bowler in the world. What is this, Faisalabad in drags? In cycling and in sprint relays, who do you think they station on the lead leg? It's the best sprinter on the team, often chosen ahead of the anchor leg. It's because he is the pacemaker, the man who sets down the marker and destroys the opposition, who sets the standard for his teammates. You can do it off the anchor leg too, but you need a strong three-some ahead of you, just as Gilchrist did. Sehwag's greatness lies in knowing that what follows him is a bit staid, a bit brittle, like an ancient monument leaning at Pisa-esque angle, still great and reminiscent of glory days, but likely to topple over any time. That they still sometimes live up to their historical glorys is down in no small measure to him, just as the Maison-de- Balzac is resplendent in Louvre's reflected luminiscence.

[The Outsider]

A hundred off 87 balls off the best bowler in the world. What is this, Faisalabad in drags? In cycling and in sprint relays, who do you think they station on the lead leg? It's the best sprinter on the team, often chosen ahead of the anchor leg. It's because he is the pacemaker, the man who sets down the marker and destroys the opposition, who sets the standard for his teammates. You can do it off the anchor leg too, but you need a strong three-some ahead of you, just as Gilchrist did. Sehwag's greatness lies in knowing that what follows him is a bit staid, a bit brittle, like an ancient monument leaning at Pisa-esque angle, still great and reminiscent of glory days, but likely to topple over any time. That they still sometimes live up to their historical glorys is down in no small measure to him, just as the Maison-de- Balzac is resplendent in Louvre's reflected luminiscence.

Well written, though I don't necessarily agree with it being a one way street. Sehwag is able to play with so much freedom and aggression because he knows that he is being partnered by a superb opener in his own rights and has the comfort of having Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, and Dhoni to follow. As recently as a few months back when we were facing humiliation after being 30-4 in the opening joust against Sri Lanka, Dravid pulled India back from the brink in the first innings and Gambhir in the second. It could easily be said that Dravid and Gambhir softened up Murali for the ensuing assaults by Sehwag in the following tests, but that would be an injustice to Sehwag. And faced with an early Gambhir and Tendulkar dismissals at Nagpur with no Dravid and Laxman for security, Sehwag was forced to mellow down and ended up throwing his wicket away from a position where another 100 runs could have saved the test for India. Even at Calcutta after India were 340/5 and by no means in a dominant position, Laxman and Dhoni ensured a score where only one team could win. The bowling was by no means soft at that time. Steyn and Morkel bowled with a lot of purpose on the 3rd morning. On current form, Sehwag and Gambhir are the best Indian batsmen and that is to be expected because they are in their batting primes. Dravid, Tendulkar, and Laxman are still exceptional, but not at their peak years. As I said earlier, this Sehwag inspiring the rest of the Indian batting in some mystical manner theory would be put to test within a couple of years when the middle order has left the scene and I can pretty safely say that neither will Sehwag remain so dominant and neither will he be able to forge successful partnerships with the incumbents as he does now.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Guest BossBhai]

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[The Outsider]

The numbers dont agree ... http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=runs;spanmax2=18+Feb+2010;spanmin2=01+Jan+2009;spanval2=span;template=results;type=batting

I would much rather look at the following rather get into a pretty futile debate about bagging down one genius to praise another, but the likes of patriot carry a virus which is pretty infectious : http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=batting_average;spanmax1=18+Feb+2010;spanmin1=01+Jan+2009;spanval1=span;team=6;template=results;type=batting and admire the fact that since 2009, Gambhir, Sehwag, Tendulkar, Dravid, and Laxman average 70+ and have scored 23 hundreds and 22 fifties between them. Has any batting line ever had this kind of run? I'll venture to say the answer is negative.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[acharya]

We should praise both batsmen - sehwag is the most deadliest batsmen ever - tendulkar is greatest ever

[acharya]

and of course bossbhai is always right

[patriot]

The numbers dont agree ... http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=runs;spanmax2=18+Feb+2010;spanmin2=01+Jan+2009;spanval2=span;template=results;type=batting

Yeah they don't. A strike rate of nearly 100 in tests with the highest runs/ innings in that group - without pounding the bangladeshi minnows. Sehwag doesn't belong to that group. Which/ how many year(s) has SRT had a strike rate of 100 in ODIS ? Privy to whatever you may want to assume SRT in his peak years was very aggressive in a poor team - but many galaxies away from the demolition man that Sehwag is. And oh..by the way please look up below and give me your vishesh biased tippani: Which Indian is fastest* to 2000 runs ? http://http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283152.html Which Indian is fastest* to 3000 runs ? http://http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283177.html Which Indian is fastest* to 4000 runs ? http://http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283179.html Which Indian after Gavaskar is fastest* to 5000 runs ? http://http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283181.html Which Indian is about to be the fastest* to 7000 runs ? http://http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283185.html Note: That someone needs 309 runs in 6 innings or less to become the record holder. Fastest* - Not strike rate baba, it is blasphemous to even compare that. I am referring to innings to reaching run landmarks. Believe there was nothing that stopped SRT from being a run machine. He is. A great one at that. But someone else is a Version.5 run machine.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Guest BossBhai]

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[vvvslaxman]

Both play for the same team :icflove: Let us not belittle our own players. We are blessed to have this batting line up.

[fineleg]

Sehwag needs a "license" to go for his shots. And how does he get the license? Because of a steady opening partner in GG and a rock solid Middle order in RD+SRT+VVS So, if Sehwag fires, it is terrific and if he plays a false shot and is out early, or has a brain freeze like in Napier - it is not too much of a bother, because the rest of the batsmen will provide good coverage and shore our lineup. Take away the solid players, and you will find that the Sehwag freedom will be under TREMENDOUS pressure.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[patriot]

most of those links dont work (because you have an extra http: at the begining of each of them )but I think you are talking about fastest to various milestones in tests ... in which case the argument is a non starter because Boss had to face the likes of Imran' date=Ws,Amby,Walsh,Bish,Donald,Polly,McDermott etc etc ... come back when Sehwag Averages above 50 away from home and/or has a dozen more 100s than his current tally of ONE hundred in the 2nd innings. Or his 2nd inngs avg and so on and so forth.Again I dont like this bijiness of comparing our own greats but for what its worth Sehwag has a fantastic record and is a legend in his own right ... I have infact acknowledged in my various stats threads that some of his records will never be surpassed. I would be the most happiest person if he goes on to break some or all of his Ustaads records ... but to say he is already done more than SRT or is better than him as a whole is not on.

Man, that is as lame as arguments can get, atleast stop fudging and gets your facts right.. He faced a retiring Imran only once in tests in his entire career - in his debut series. Then met with W's a single time during the 99 Pak tour of India. His average against Pak upto that point was in the early 30's. I also noticed how you conveniently chose to ignore SRT's feast of Zimbabwe who toured India so often before they were disqualified as a test nation. Sehwag din't have those freebies and nor has he cashed in big time on cheap bangladesh runs like his guru has. It was only when we toured pak in 2004 and Sehwag biatch slapped Pak phaaaaaast bowlers -a rampaging Akhtar and Co and put Saqlain into permanent retirement- from that tour did SRT's test average look up against Pak. Are you telling me Steyn, Gillespie, Muralithran, Lee, Pollock ,Akhtar, Johnson and Co that Veeru has mercilessly murdered..are some tiddly pie chukers ? Heck SRT would struggle to be so severe on them in ODIs, even at his absolute prime! You make another silly comparison when you talk about 2nd innings. Anyone with " an iota of cricketing knowledge" would know that its almost always 1st innings that sets up a victory , a great knock in the 2nd innings would mostly always be a match saving one. Sehwag clearly scores as many or more runs/innings than his guru and at a strike rate his guru can only dream of.

[patriot]

And lastly - I was Sachin's greatest fan till Sehwag came on the scene. I have great great respect for his 20+ service to Indian cricket. He is India's great son. But he is not our greatest test match batsmen. I also do not appreciate the media and Mumbai lobby's obsession with his personal landmarks. He too focuses unhealthily on the 3 figure mark - it cna clearly be seen in his game. It is truly nauseating, this obsession with a single players personal landmarks.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Guest BossBhai]

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