71: Virender Sehwag

104 matches. 8586 runs @ 49.34. 23 hundreds. Highest score: 319

13 years. 2x good. 4x excellent. 1x outstanding.

The discussion

Most people remember the great Indian Test side of the 1990s and 2000s as having ‘the big three’: Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and Sourav Ganguly. Some expand to a ‘big four’ and include VVS Laxman. What we really should be talking about is a ‘big five’ — and include the dashing opening batter Virender Sehwag.

Between November 2001 (Sehwag’s debut) and November 2008 (Ganguly’s retirement) Indian cricket enjoyed a period where five of their top six were absolute locks. Sure, there might have been a form dip on occasion (not often), but by and large this group played eight years of Test cricket together.[1] What a combination, and, unlike bowling combinations, great batters generally make each other better in almost all situations from a statistical standpoint. For one, having great batters around you means that you’re likely to have longer partnerships, plus fewer collapses and bigger innings overall. Opposition bowlers will spend longer in the field, and won’t be buoyed by running through your line-up as often. Bowlers will also have other players to plan for, so there’s more chance that you’ll fly under the radar. Finally, because there’s more capability around you, there’s a mental benefit for there being more support, and ‘that it’s not all on you to score all the runs’. This final piece cannot be understated, having the ability to go out and play your natural game, knowing that taking the odd risk isn’t likely to result in your team collapsing for under 200, is freeing for anyone, particularly the greats. I think that applies to opening batters more so than other batters in the order. Knowing that your teammates trust you to get them off to a good start, and that you can take the odd risk to get your team off to that flying start, is liberating for an attacking and dynamic opener like Virender Sehwag.

Sehwag brought plenty to the table as far as the fortune of the big-five was concerned. Most importantly, Sehwag brought two key characteristics that make him almost unique in the history of world cricket — an incredible strike rate and the ability to convert innings into big daddy hundreds (150+ scores). Of qualifying players, Sehwag has the highest recorded strike rate of all-time, an incredible 82.23 across his career. I’ll repeat for emphasis — no one in the history of Test cricket made 2000 runs at an average of 35+ with a strike rate as high as Virender Sehwag. Given that he had such a high strike rate, you’d expect that he took risks — risks that would eventually catch up with him and limit his ability to carve out massive innings. Not so. When Sehwag got in, he went big. Let’s have a look at the top performers in ‘big daddy hundreds’ (scores of over 150+).

Sehwag’s 14 scores above 150 is 7th all-time among Test cricketers. For a dashing opener, this feels almost impossible. What’s even more impressive are his scores over 200, 250 and even 300.

As the scores get higher, Sehwag stands out more and more. Eighth with scores above 200, and second only to Bradman with scores above 250 (four).

Sehwag is one of only four players with multiple triple-centuries, alongside Bradman (of course), the great Brian Lara and The Universe Boss, Chris Gayle.

Few scored big hundreds like Sehwag did. No one scored them as fast.

The impact of these two attributes on his team cannot be understated. By scoring quickly and going on to make big hundreds, Sehwag got his side off to tremendous starts, and then went on to build massive scores. This allowed the rest of the Indian line-up to bat around him (as if Dravid, Tendulkar et al needed any extra help) and to post first innings scores quickly, to give his bowlers plenty of time to take 20 wickets. I might be hammering on about this point, but it really is important. A player’s influence on winning might not always show up on the scoreboard or in statistics, but Sehwag’s influence is right there, plain as day. Fast scoring and big hundreds.

This is a pretty classic case of positive symbiosis. The attacking Sehwag benefitted from the stabilising presence of a player like Dravid, and Dravid too knew he could play his natural game, knowing that a player like Sehwag could score quickly, and take the burden of keeping the scoreboard ticking over. But let’s focus on Sehwag’s contribution to the relationship a little. It almost didn’t matter the match situation, Sehwag would destroy any mistake from the bowler, no matter how miniscule. Sehwag could drive on the up, so the mistake could simply have been bowling a ball on a length. Not really a mistake, that, is it? His footwork was limited, but he wasn’t necessarily about deft and precise footwork. Sehwag was about the power game, and relied on having such a good eye and sense of balance. Sehwag was actually a great lesson for top-order players in keeping your head over the ball, your eyes over your hands, and your hands over the ball. Even if Sehwag wasn’t to the pitch, he could still unerringly drive powerfully through the off-side, or flick powerfully through the on-side if the bowler erred by daring to bowl at the stumps. Anything straight could disappear anywhere from back down the pitch to wide of midwicket, with equal dexterity and power. His footwork to the spinners was also savage — fielders within the 30-yard circle on the off-side were often ducking for cover, as he cleared his front leg and smashed the ball through the field. It really didn’t matter whether he was at the pitch of the ball or not, it was flayed to all parts.

Sehwag finished his Test career with over 8,500 runs at an average of 49, with 23 hundreds. If I haven’t really sold that to you, I’m sorry. I’ll try this angle: Virender Sehwag is one of only 20 cricketers with 8,500 runs at an average of 49+. Or, if you like, Sehwag has more runs — in seventeen fewer Tests — than Viv Richards.

The verdict

How much of Virender Sehwag’s swashbuckling approach was enabled by the presence of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman who followed in the middle order? That line-up comes close to the most vaunted middle order ever seen in Test cricket, regardless of which openers came before them, or whether the lower order had limited talent. The mere presence of both stabilising presences (Dravid) with attacking stroke-makers (Tendulkar, Laxman) empowered Sehwag to play the best form of his natural game, almost undeterred by the potential consequences of the odd early dismissal. Sehwag was perhaps the greatest beneficiary of the members of the ‘big-five’ playing together.

What is most impressive as a dashing opener is Sehwag’s ability to turn starts into mammoth scores. Talented players like Mark Waugh, David Gower et al were often criticised for not going on and getting the ‘big daddy hundred’ — not so Virender Sehwag.

I loved watching Virender bat, perhaps less so when he played Australia, for obvious reasons. I just love the excitement of the first morning of a Test match, doubly so when there’s a dynamic player like Sehwag striding to the crease. The prospect of a century before lunch should warm the cockles of every cricket lover’s heart. There’s something special about watching attacking opening batters, daring to take on the opposition in any conditions. May there be many more like Virender Sehwag in the years to come. Many may attempt to emulate his style (David Warner is one example in the current crop of Test openers that springs to mind immediately), and I hope that they give us a small percentage of the joy that Sehwag gave neutral fans. I feel few will reach the heights that Virender did.

In one word

Swashbuckling

Notes

[1] We might get to him later in the Hall of Fame, but check out Tendulkar’s longevity. He debuted seven years before the next player (Dravid), and a full twelve years before Sehwag, and outlasted all of them. You can’t make this stuff up. Tendulkar was halfway through his career when Sehwag debuted and was still playing when Sehwag retired. Yikes.

Bio

Record

Source: ESPN CricInfo

career peak

Source: ESPN CricInfo