Sehwag is a genuinely unique player- he does not seem to belong here. He has the air of someone who has walked out of The Drones Club with a bat borrowed from Hogwarts.
He obviously enjoys his cricket- batting or bowling, he is quick to smile. He does not have the need to get into murderous theatricals like Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj or Harbhajan Singh do. His smile when he hits an awesome six or takes a magic wicket shows some bemusement- "How could he try that with me?," or, "Did I do that?"
Sehwag is aggressive, but this is not the aggression we associate with killers. It is more like the aggression of a squirrel- efficient, quick and flashy, he is having a great time at doing what he does. Fear and courage, anger and envy, they don't appear to come into what Sehwag is.
For Sehwag, cricket is not a game with rivals and opponents. They are there to bowl to him. If he gets out, bad luck. Otherwise he feels they are there to feed him fours and sixes.
There is no one like Sehwag. Despite the hiding he gives, I am sure deep inside, he feels really sorry for the bowlers. You can see that in the extravagant defensive shot he plays- he wants them to know that their effort is appreciated.
There are people who carry a load of baggage with cricket- individual pride, national honour, racial supremacy, defence of faith, technical knowledge and more. But Sehwag is Sehwag- he reveals cricket at its essential purity: it is a game where balls are bowled to a batsman. That is it.
There have been better batsmen than Sehwag, unquestionably so. But today at his brilliant best, Sehwag embodies the festive spirit of cricket- his is the joyous and unrestrained display of masterful strokes. It is a trivial accident that Sehwag is born in India and plays for India- in truth, he bats for Cricket.
God bless him.
Brilliant! Baskar?
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice post Bas. You are due for a cricket post here and what a time and person to do that.
ReplyDeleteYesterday Sehwag was measured in his aggression. I just wish he cuts down the reckless part of his batting and keep scoring 100's. He needn't score at 170 all the time. 120 would do. Great innings, nice tribute.
Hey baski
ReplyDeleteHe looks super cool in the crease. What a bat to watch!
Yes. Superman display by Sehwag. He looks so cool and easy, it is like watching an upgrade of Viv :)
ReplyDeleteAnd Balajhi, the point of Sehwag is that he doesn't do numbers.
And Sid, where've you been?
ReplyDeleteTime you came up with a poem- what about this: "Cat with a Bat" by Dr. Sid :)
SB, thanks for the encouragement.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
glad u wrote this, even gladder i read it.
ReplyDeleteNC., is it any wonder? That innings Sehwag played would have inspired the dumb to speak! :)
ReplyDelete