Few batsmen possess the calm Virender Sehwag oozes in the middle, no matter the situation. Playing on a grassy track here two years ago, he went berserk, hitting two sixes in Dale Steyn’s first over. On Thursday, he was lot more mellow on a slow track, dealing mostly in cuts and pulls.
The contrasting knocks in different situations had one thing in common though: his sense of humour. When Chris Martin delivered a no-ball in the third over of the day, Sehwag immediately signalled at the umpire, asking for a free-hit, even though it’s not available in Test cricket. “There are so many ODIs and Twenty20 games these days. I thought I could get the umpire to signal in my favour,” Sehwag said later. “After I signalled a free-hit everybody laughed. We should enjoy Test cricket also.” He had done the same against Steyn two years ago. “That was just to get a laugh out of him, so that he wouldn’t bowl that fast.”
Unlike last time when India were out for 76, it wasn’t needed on Thursday. Sehwag carved Martin to the point boundary the next ball, before finishing the over with two more boundaries. At 15 runs, it was the most expensive over bowled the whole day. Trust him to squeeze out ever run when he’s at the crease, even when it’s not from his bat.
The Kiwis couldn’t have hoped for a poorer start to the tour. In India, winning the toss is usually half the battle won. India skipper M.S. Dhoni, who hadn’t won a single toss in his last nine Test matches, finally found luck with the coin here on Thursday. Asked whether he wanted to bat first, Dhoni replied: “Well, of course we want to bat.” Harbhajan Singh, back in the pavilion, high-fived his teammates with enthusiasm upon hearing the news.