Australia out to bring down India star Virender Sehwag with the short-ball

[Feed]

Australia pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson has wasted little time in selecting Virender Sehwag as the key to India's top order in the upcoming Test series. More... Australia out to bring down India star Virender Sehwag with the short-ball From Daniel Brettig in Chandigarh, India September 24, 2010 . Australia pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson has wasted little time in selecting Virender Sehwag as the key to India's top order in the upcoming Test series. Accompanied by his more sedate but equally combative partner Gautam Gambhir, Sehwag gave the Indians a succession of confident starts in the 2008 series on the subcontinent, blasting 351 runs at a strike rate of 82.39. Gambhir scored more, but Sehwag's impetus invariably had the Australians out of balance, even if he was not around to convert starts into centuries. Johnson says Sehwag is vulnerable to short-pitched bowling and should prepare for a barrage from the tourists. "Sehwag is someone we can bowl a lot of short balls to. I don't think he's too confident with the short ball early,'' Johnson said. "Last time when we were over here we came out and he was hitting good balls for four or six, you look up at the scoreboard and he's almost 50. "I think if we can get their top order out fairly cheaply it puts a lot of pressure on their lower order like (MS) Dhoni, (Rahul) Dravid and those guys.'' Echoing Johnson in his belligerence was all-rounder Shane Watson, who said it was vital to show aggressive intent to India's batsmen, rather than mentally preparing for a long day in the field. "There are a few things we know we can make the most of with hopefully some of the Indian batsmen,'' said Watson. "I think a few guys it doesn't necessarily have to be raw pace, but getting a few short balls up a few of their top order batters is going to be really important, to set the tone of our bowling side. "I think just about every team in the world is (vulnerable) to raw pace, no matter who you are, no-one really enjoys the ball coming at your head at 150km/h.'' The Australians held a first outdoor net session on Friday afternoon (EST), ahead of their lone tour match against an Indian board president's XI at Chandigarh's sector 16 stadium. While at pains to maintain a sense of focus on India, the announcement of England's Ashes squad saw a few glances cast further ahead, with Johnson saying victory in India would provide an ideal lead-in to the first home Test at the Gabba. "We want to win every Test leading up to the Ashes,'' he said. "We want to go out and win these two Tests, so we'll be doing everything we can to win those two Tests and play some good, competitive cricket.'' The Australians can be expected to field their strongest side - minus the Twenty20 Champions League pair of Mike Hussey and Doug Bollinger - against a local XI captained by Gambhir and featuring talented paceman Sreesanth. AAP

[achilles]

Johnson is literally putting his foot in his mouth by openly blurting out his plan to tame Viru. And he thinks Viru is going to simply throw his wicket because Johnson bowls the only ball he can - short ball.

[vvvslaxman]

It is not like they haven't attempted at Veeru. He is an opener for christsake. He went through all kind of bowling. The best fast bowling pair i have seen in Indian conditions in a while has been Steyn/Morkel. He sliced and diced them.

[gaurav92]

Well i think Aussie will try and bounce us off, so we better be prepared for it.I am sure many will be and i am also sure, many wont :(. Gambhir and Raina will be peppered the most seeing their technical defect while pulling/Hooking.gambhir takes his eye off the ball, while raina is in no position to play that.It will be interesting to see how we cope up.

[jusarrived]

MJ's honeymoon period is over ..not going to bother our batsmen

[ZodiaC]

LOL even Mitch started sledging now? :hehe: Mashallah moar funz & stuffz

[Andy]

As if Indian fans are hearing this for the first time.

[DomainK]

:yawn2: Stop talking BS. Just bring it on.

[varun]

Does he realize he's playing in India ? :hmmm:

[saneindian]

Good!! Let's hve more such talk about Viru. This will fire him up to thrash the Aussies even more.

[Dinx - the Jinx]

Andy Caddick, Shoaib Akhtar, Shaun Tait... all come to mind suddenly...

[The Realist]

LOL @ Johnson! The guy bleeds runs. Went for close to 6 an over against Pak in tests and more v Eng in the ODIs. In England he simply cannot handle the conditions and looks awful. Has very little form to speak of so probably better if he kept his mouth shut, does not appear the brightest either.

[goose]

what a johnson.

[Karan114]

Short ball on our pitches, roflol :hysterical: In any case, talking about targeting with raw pace a man who slaughtered Steyn and Morkel earlier this year :haha:

[ZodiaC]

what a johnson.

:haha:

[Chandan]

People can say what they want: Sehwag

Opener not paying attention to Johnson's remarks about him being a suspect against short bowling One of the keys to Virender Sehwag's success in international cricket is that he does not allow his mind to be cluttered with negative thoughts. He has a simple philosophy and come what may, he lives by it. Little wonder then, he did not read much into Aussie pacer Mitchell Johnson's view of him being vulnerable to short-pitched bowling early on in his innings. "Before the start of a series, everyone talks about such things," Sehwag told MiD DAY on the sidelines of the Indian team's practice session in Mohali yesterday. "Let people say what they want. I don't have a problem. Everything will be clear once the series starts. I really don't think much about all this," said Sehwag. In what has now become a tradition with visiting Australian teams, left-arm pacer Johnson targeted Sehwag since the opener will have a huge say in the two-Test series which kicks off at Mohali on October 1. "Last time when we were over here, he came out and hit good balls for four or six. You look up at the scoreboard and he's almost 50. Sehwag is someone we can bowl a lot of short balls to. I don't think he's too confident with the short ball early," said Johnson. But that surely does not guarantee success against Sehwag considering that over the years, he has always proved his detractors wrong. Before his first tour to Australia in 2003-04, pundits felt his lack of technique will be thoroughly exposed, but Sehwag scored 464 runs in four Tests at 58.00. On the opening day of the third Test, he scored 195 to light up the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Sehwag has been a thorn for Australia. In 14 games against them, the dasher has scored 1400 runs at 51.85 with three hundreds. Meanwhile, Johnson has had a huge impact ever since his debut three years ago. The tall pacer has 29 wickets from eight Tests against India and has dismissed Sehwag thrice.

http://www.mid-day.com/sports/2010/sep/270910-Virender-Sehwag-Mitchell-Johnson-Australia-India-Test-Series.htm

[achilles]

Sehwag will be looking to even his equation with Johnson who had a lot to say during the previous ODI series.