Viru jaisa koi nahin

NAKED EYE

Demolition Man

Is Virender Sehwag really getting his due? Isn't he the mostdestructive batsman to walk the playing field since VivianRichards? Viru as he is popularly known has the record to back up hisclaims. But more than that it is the X factor in his batting whichmakes him so dangerous. There is very little movement of feet, but thebulwark of his batting prowess is his amazing hand eye coordinationand of course his stillness at the crease. Even as he throws his handsat a ball outside the off stump or whacks a perfectly good ballthrough the on side, it is this quality of a still head and a eagle'seye which markshim out as a special player. Richards instilled fear in the opposingbowling camp because of his peerless arrogance while striding to thewicket. His imperious strokeplay did the rest. And Richards playedlike that right throughout his career. Viru has displayed the same traitover his career. Footloose and fancyfree, he fears no bowler and bybatting at the top, he drives home the advantage by giving you a greatstart. Viru is not known to dawdle at the crease, he is a punisher.Tough and unrelenting, he knows how to play the game only his way -belt the ball and send it to the pickets as quickly as it comes tohim. This way he often wades into the opposition and changes thecomplexion of the game. Take his most recent inninmgs at the Edenagainst South Africa.
By attacking from the word go, he is decisive and gets the upper hand.Viru is a counter puncher who as a rule punches above his weight.Reputations don't bother him, the best attacks have been put to swordby him. He may lack consistency, but that is the way he plays thegame. When paens of praise are heaped on the Fab Four - SachinTendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Saurav Ganguly, one tends toforget Viru's contribution. A major part of his career has overlappedwith these four batters and he is not really given his due. Viru'snatural inclination is to attack and as he has proved over many years, whileform may be fickle, his class is permanent. When he arrived on theinternational scene, he was seen as a Tendulkar clone, but his primaltalent has taken him to the next level of competence. At Kolkata, hescored his 19th Test hundred in his 76th Test, a better conversionrate than both Ganguly and Laxman. Over the last eight years, Viru hasplayed many audacious innings in Test and one day cricket and bowlersare still to figure him out. Once a weakness or chink is spotted,word travels quickly in locker rooms around the world. Nobody has beenable to get a fix on Viru's gumption and stroke making ability. Thesheer bat speed that he generates makes him one of the most violentcricketers in the world.
In his debut Test against South Africa in Bloemfontein in 2001-02,Viru gave glimpses of his immense talent when he stitched up a 210 runpartnership in tandem with Sachin Tendulkar after India wasfloundering at 68 for 4. Many thought that the master and pupil werebatting toegther. There are many shots that Viru plays like Tendulkar,none better than than the flick to the onside. But Viru is brutal, adestroyer of bowling. What makes him remarkable is that he doesn'ttake his foot off the pedal and can play big innings' regularyly.Laxman who is an incomparable artist has 15 Test hundreds in 110Tests, while Ganguly hit 16 hundreds in 113 Tests. Ganguly scored 7212runs while Laxman has amassed 7136 runs in Test cricket. Against thisViru has scored 6689 runs in 76 Tests till the completion of the firstessay in the ongoing Kolkata Test. While much is made of Laxman'svirtuousity on the on side, Viru's steely wrists bring a kinetic forceto bear. In fact Dilip Vengsarkar who played 116 Tests, also scoredonly 17 Tests and a total of 6868 runs. Only Mohd Azharuddin has donebetter than Viru in terms of scoring centuries. He played 99 Tests,scored 22 hundreds but totalled only 6215 runs. Barring Rahul Dravid(29), Sachin Tendulkar (47), Sunil Gavaskar (34) and Mohd Azharuddin(22), Viru is now the highest scorer of centuries for India.
Viru's forte is the pace at which he scores and the uncanny abilitywith which he demoralises the opposition. This allows India to dictateterms in Test and one day games. Sometimes the demolition derby onview is simply breath taking for it leaves the opposing side gasping.Viru's journey thus far has been littered with poor form, beingdropped from the side and injuries; despite which he has scored runsat a very fast clip. If Viru plays another 25 Tests, which I am surehe will, then one can safely assume that he would have scored close to9000 Test runs and about 24 hundreds. That is an awesome record tohave. Viru, according to me, would definitely be one of the mostinfluential batsmen that India has produced ever.
I know, I know that I am saying this knowing fully well that India hasproduced Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman and Ganguly in recent timesand Gavaskar, Vishwanath, Vengsarkar, Azharuddin in the past. But nonehave played like Viru. He is the demolition man for India. He isinfluential for he alters the course of games with his decisive styleof batsmanship. A mixture of daredevilry, derring do and bravado. As Isaid initially, he has the X factor, a testosterone backed blazingrapier like bat which punishes. Unfazed and oblivious of the havocthat he causes, Viru backs himself to belt the ball. There are timesthat he looks ungainly, but that doesn't matter. Throw in another 12hundreds and 7036 runs in 219 one dayers and Viru is a ferociousbatsman. At the same time, what is interesting is that Viru is anunder achiever in one day cricket and a super achiever in Testcricket, borne out by his stats. Two triple centuries, a 293 and asmany as 11 other scores of 150 plus in his 19 centuries is a testimonyto his destructive ability.
My sense is that Viru will flower more once he moves out of the shadowof the banyan trees in the Indian side - Sachin, Dravid, Laxman.Undoubtedly, he will emerge to become the Indian batting mainstayafter they retire. The next generation of Indian batters led by GautamGambhir will revolve around the fulcrum called Viru. Viru's penchantfor big scores makes him an even more dreaded opponent. Viru has sixdouble centuries and that tells you that he has an insatiableappetite. Viru now stands on the cusp of true greatness. All he has todo is play in the same aggressive mien and the runs will keep coming.