Master And Blaster Batter South Africa

March 30, 2008

Master And Blaster Batter South Africa

Day Three and Day Four of the on-going Test series between India and South Africa at Chennai was indeed the day when many records tumbled and were aligned again. I will not forget these two days as I was a part of it. I got an ideal opportunity to witness a piece of history and also to watch the Master – Rahul Dravid and the Blaster – Virender Sehwag at their sublime best.

Virender Sehwag was at his devastating best who is making his comeback. He showed his ability in the final test at Adelaide with a blistering 150+. He has come back here and has played what is rated as the bestTest innings that has been played in recent times. He played a flawless knock. Not once did he offer a chance to the South Africans. It was totally chanceless.

He played from dawn to dusk with equal enthusiasm and aggression. Rather he was going great guns as time went by. His first 100 came off 119 balls, his second off 82 balls and his third off 80 balls. Not only this, he also closed in on his milestone with lusty blows just like he did in Multan exactly four years ago. His attitude is what rocks. He said that he wanted to prove a point after being dropped out of the team.

This inspired him to prove that he belongs to this place and is here to rule it. He was particularly destructive against Paul Harris. He was bowling outside the leg stump so as to cut down the run flow. But Virender Sehwag was in a different frame of mind and played some stunning shots with the spin, against the spin, reverse sweep, what not. He scored more than 100 runs against Paul Harris.

Rahul Dravid on the other hand was a beauty and was all class. Initially he was struggling, but once he got himself in, his defence was as solid as it can be. South Africans couldn’t do anything. He built his innings slowly but steadily. The crowd was behind Virender Sehwag and also wanted to see Sachin, they didn’t love Dravid’s innings. But yet he kept his calm and played in a manner that he knows best.

It was like seeing beauty and the beast at the same time. Totally different class acts at each end and complementing each other. Both remained unbeaten on Day 3. Day 4 saw the crowd full of enthusiasm expecting a 400 from Sehwag. But he fell when on 319. Sachin Tendulkar walked in with a huge roar and left the stadium without troubling the scorers.

Meanwhile Rahul Dravid went on to complete his 10,000th Test run when on 80. He then acknowledged the crowd and his family who were also present. He was so very expressive and his expressions told the whole story abouhis struggle for the last 1,000 runs he scored. He admitted that this last 1,000 runs was a learning curve for him.

India were finally bowled out for 627 after a devastating spell from Dale Steyn. South Africa started the second innings and Greame Smith kicked off to 20 quickly. But then Harbhajan Singh got him. Day 5 didn’t have too much in it. But Neil McKenzie went on to score 155* which was built beautifully. In due course India also got rid of Hasim Amla, Kallis and Ab DeVillers. The match finally ended in a tame draw.

None the less, we have seen some incredible batting performances and that might set the tone for the rest of the series. It was an ideal platform for both the teams to get their eye in. Fittingly, Virender Sehwag was named as the Man Of The Match for his stunning performance.

Rahul Dravid :

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