Sehwag On the Verge of History

Virender Sehwag, the mercurial Indian batsman, stands on the verge of history today after playing the most brutal innings in Test history, on day two of the final Test with Sri Lanka.

Sehwag hammered 284 from just 239 balls and will become the first man to complete three Test triple-tons if he can find another 16 runs tomorrow, moving past Brian Lara and the great Don Bradman.

It will also most likely be the fastest triple in history, surpassing his own record of 278 balls against South Africa in 2008.

After struggling for consistency in the early part of his career, Sehwag has come of age, forming a key cog in the Indian Test side.

It can’t be easy playing in a side with greats of the game such as Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. But if he finds the 16 runs he needs tomorrow, his name will be etched into the history books as holder of a record that will take some beating.

Dilshan Proves He’s No Flash in the Pan

Another day, another hundred for Tilakaratne Dilshan.

The oft-quoted notion is that Sohail Tanvir, the unorthodox Pakistan seam bowler, was the first player to make a career out of Twenty20 cricket. But, while Tanvir has struggled to impress in other forms of the game, Dilshan has used his prowess in the shortest form to propel himself to the forefront of Sri Lankan cricket.

The creator of the crazy Dil-scoop (see video below), Dilshan has seen his career take an extraordinary turn in recent years and he continues to impress in all forms of the game.

Always a huge talent, Dilshan never delivered the consistency required to cut it at the top and found himself not only shifted around the batting order but also in-and-out of the team for long periods.

That was until this year. After being brought back to the side and promoted to open the innings early in 2009, the World Twenty20 in England provided the stage for Dilshan to blossom.

His Dil-scoop baffled, his hitting destroyed and his consistency impressed the selectors enough to give him a chance at the top of the order in all forms. And boy has he taken it.

Since the turn of the year he has hit more than 1000 runs in Test cricket at an average of almost 68, with six hundreds.

But, perhaps the most astonishing statistic of all is the rate at which he has scores his runs. A strike rate of 83.15 would have been scarcely believable only a few years ago.

Dilshan must now be considered one of the best – and most innovative – batsmen in world cricket. Having added substance to his style he represents the changing face of cricket.

With a top-score of 168 in Tests – and that was against lowly Bangladesh – all he needs to really confirm his status is a really big score against top-class opposition. One suspects it will not be long in coming.

Dravid Delivers Timely Reminder of Greatness

Rahul Dravid today passed 11,000 Test runs in one of the innings of his life on day one of the first Test with Sri Lanka.

‘The Wall’, as he is nicknamed, hit a superb, unbeaten 177, displaying his full array of shots and batted as purposefully as he ever has in Test cricket.

Dravid’s innings, spanning 251 deliveries and featuring 26 fours and a six, saw him pass Steve Waugh to become the fifth-highest run-scorer in Test history.

He now lies within 1000 runs of second placed Brian Lara, with Ricky Ponting third and Allan Border fourth on a list topped by his team-mate, Sachin Tendulkar.

India’s most valuable player for long periods since 2001, Dravid has the record of a genuine great. More than 11,000 Test runs at an average of 52 should guarantee a mark of greatness.

But Dravid has spent large parts of his career in the shadow of others. Even during his golden periods, he had the looming presence of Tendulkar to contend with. And now the flair of  Yuvraj Singh and pin-up appeal of Mahendra Singh Dhoni threaten to push him into the background.

A sign of the changing face of world cricket, Dravid represents the last of a dying breed – the attritional, defensive Test batsman.

If many possess a broader range of strokeplay, few can match Dravid’s temperament and nigh-unbreakable powers of concentration.

This latest landmark represents a remarkable turnaround. Less than a year ago, pressure was growing on the Indian selectors to axe him from the Test team, amidst a run of low scores – as often happens when a 30-something hits a barren run.

But he hit back in typical style in the second Test against England, at Mohali in December 2008 – his 137 spanning 328 balls and almost eight hours. His innings today was of a different kind, but further underlined his class.

Yet you sense that Dravid’s approach, in an era where streaky hair, sixes and podium dancers rule the roost, will go unappreciated.

But the history books will tell a story of a man of unmatched will and technique approaching perfection. He would walk into any of the great sides and should be celebrated as one of the true greats of the game and a master of the finer arts of cricket’s purest form.

Click here for highlights of day one of the first Test