The reincarnation of Sehwag

Sehwag was back among runs with a ton, his seventh Ranji hundred, an innings of 106 off 134 balls, dabbed with trademark tilted-blade shots on a base of conventional cricket.

Gautam Gambhir had just misjudged in shouldering arms to a ball that came in a fraction to clip the top of his stumps while number three Mayank Tehlan got a snorter from Joginder — Delhi had just wasted a good start to stand at 69/2. But the crowd was whistling in anticipation.

It was perhaps the most important of his innings and Sehwag made sure that his bat doesn’t hang out unnecessarily. He hit his first boundary off the fifth ball he faced — a drive that dissected extra cover and mid-off. There were 14 more to come, but there was a distinctive phase that divided his next six and the last eight.

Sehwag’s fifty was tentative — in 96 minutes off 73 balls — hesitant to be drawn on the front foot on a wicket offering differential bounce. To his luck, the Haryana bowlers set a 7-2 field — and one at point boundary — but bowled a middle-and-leg line. Sehwag let Aakash Chopra outscore him in that partnership of 112. He knew his time to exhale was approaching.

Completing his fifty with a boundary, he let go two more off Sanjay Budhwar. His second fifty came in 51 balls, off a range of shots against all bowlers. To pick some in the chanceless innings, a flick off his toes towards square-leg against Budhwar, a pull off Joginder, two back-to-back cover-drives against gentle medium Sachin Rana, a late cut off debutant seamer Tajinder Mann and a ‘reverse-pull’ off Amit Mishra.

Suddenly he wanted all the strike, twice narrowly escaping being run-out, even sacrificing Mitthun Manhas in that needless urgency.

Century with a single behind square, and the entire dressing room gave a standing ovation. He just looked up to the sky, muttering a few thanks-giving words.

The crowd? Within two hours 40 minutes, they had got their fill, and didn’t mind one bit when he eventually got out softly, trying to play against the spin, turning his bat towards vacant mid-wicket and getting the leading edge in the last over before tea, Mishra, the best bowler on show, having the last laugh.

He had scored, but got out at the wrong time, just like Chopra spoiling his well-compiled 84. The visitors ended Day One on 330/7.

Much more than Gambhir’s early dismissal, Chopra’s knock or Joginder’s failure of standing up on a big match was the success story of Sehwag.

Delhi don’t need to monitor other scores in Kanpur or Chennai to save relegation. They have now put up enough on the board.

Brief scores: Delhi 330/7 in 90 overs (Virender Sehwag 106, Aakash Chopra 84, Rajat Bhatia 55 not out; Amit Mishra 3/67) vs Haryana.