THE small crowd at the Sinhalese Sports Club Stadium was awe-struck. The shots flew in all directions and the runs came in a cascade. Leading the charge was a young man they had not heard about much.
It was a day Virender Sehwag decided to do justice to his ability as a clean, hard striker of the cricket ball. The swashbuckling batsman's lightning hundred (70 balls) was the key factor in India's seven-wicket victory over New Zealand in the last league match of the Coca-Cola triangular series on August 2.
Sourav's men, with three victories in three games, after losing the first three, had now made it to the final, scripting a remarkable comeback story. When everything appeared lost, India rose from the ashes.
After the game, Ganguly said it was one of the best one-day innings he had seen. "He picked the gaps with ease and all of them were cricketing shots."
Indeed they were. It was not an easy chase for India after New Zealand made 264 in the allotted 50 overs, Nathan Astle scoring his second century of the tournament - the 108 was also his 11 ODI hundred.
India needed a good start and Sehwag did more than just that. He dismantled the attack with strokes of stunning brilliance, and all that the Kiwi bowlers and fielders could do was to watch the proceedings with a sense of helplessness.
Though the opener showed a penchant for strokes on the on-side, flicking and swinging the bowlers with ridiculous ease, he also drove and cut with power and precision on the off.
The 50 arrived in just 54 balls and the hundred came in 14.3 overs. This meant the Indians could approach the rest of the target without taking undue risks.
The glittering phase in Sehwag's knock came between the eighth and 11th overs when he struck seven boundaries and a six off nine balls he faced from Dion Nash and Darryl Tuffey. The youngster had reached his half century in just 29 balls, a phenomenal strike-rate.
Tuffey, in fact, came in for severe punishment with Sehwag striking him for four fours and a six in the 11th over. It was exhilarating stuff.
Sehwag moved towards his hundred like a blazing magnum and it was one of those rare days when Sourav Ganguly, a batsman capable of clearing the ground with ease, was a spectator to his partner's barrage of strokes.
Ganguly had earlier been fined 75 per cent of his match fee and severely reprimanded by match referee Cammie Smith, following the Indian captain's outburst after he trapped Lanka's Russel Arnold leg-before in the earlier match.
Back to Sehwag. The 22-year-old Delhi batsman entered the 90s, a flat-batted straight drive off Vettori standing out. Parore missed a sharp stumping off Vettori when Sehwag was on 96, but the Delhi cricketer soon completed one of the most memorable hundreds by an Indian in ODIs, playing Vettori to the off-side and taking off for a single.
He threw his hands up in delight, even as he completed the run, and Ganguly was quick to congratulate this outstanding performer with a warm hug.
Sehwag was soon dismissed, chopping a delivery from part-time seamer Craig McMillan on to his stumps, but as he returned to the pavilion, he received a rousing reception from the spectators, and his team-mates.
His 70-ball hundred, the second quickest by an Indian in ODIs, was studded with 19 fours and a six, an astonishing 82 runs out of the exact hundred scored.
With Sehwag's hurricane knock leaving the Kiwis in a state of shock, besides shrinking the run-rate, all that the rest of the batsmen had to do was bat with common sense. Despite a couple of hiccups, the Indians reached the target without too many problems.
Laxman walked back without opening his account, beaten and bowled by an off-cutter from McMillan, but Ganguly, collecting his runs with some pleasing off-drives, reached a well deserved half century before sweeping Harris straight to Fleming at square-leg. The skipper's 64 (103b, 7x4) was a valuable contribution under the circumstances.
Vice-captain Rahul Dravid and southpaw Hemang Badani joined forces at this stage and the two cut all escape routes for the Kiwis with intelligent cricket. Badani, with a forgettable run of scores so far in the tournament, did rise to the occasion, using his feet splendidly to the spinners, and striking two fine sixes, off Vettori and Harris.
Dravid, on-driving gloriously, his body perfectly balanced, finished with a well-compiled 57 not out (55b, 6x4) while Badani remained unbeaten on 35 (38b, 3x4, 2x6) as the target was reached in 45.4 overs. The Indians, out of nowhere, were now in the final.
Earlier, the Kiwi innings revolved around Nathan Astle's beautifully paced 108 (143b, 9x4). The strokeful opener, who has the habit of coming up with something special during crunch games, produced shots on both sides of the wicket.
Skipper Stephen Fleming too was in fine touch, as he compiled a neat 66 (110b, 6x4, 1x6) before being stumped by Dighe off Yuveraj Singh. However, the man who provided the innings thrust in the final overs was Lou Vincent (45, 37b, 3x4, 2x6), whose pulling on this day was particularly impressive.The Indian attack, with the exception of a persistent Ashish Nehra, was below par though Yuveraj Singh bowled his left-arm spin within his limitations to return useful figures. The Indians appeared in trouble when the Kiwis got to 264, but Sehwag had other ideas.
The scores:New Zealand: M. Sinclair c Badani b Zaheer 3; N. Astle c Sehwag b Nehra 108; S. Fleming st. Dighe b Yuveraj 66; C. McMillan c Sodhi b Yuveraj 4; L. Vincent b Nehra 45; D. Nash c Nehra b Zaheer 0; C. Harris (not out) 1; A. Parore lbw b Nehra 0; D. Vettori (not out) 2. Extras (lb-16, w-18, nb-1) 35. Total (for seven wkts. in 50 overs) 264.
Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-166, 3-182, 4-247, 5-259, 6-262, 7-262.
India bowling: Zaheer 9-0-59-2; Nehra 9-1-30-3; Harbhajan 10-1-46-0; Sehwag 3-0-26-0; Ganguly 6-0-23-0; Sodhi 4-0-27-0; Yuveraj 9-0-37-2.
India: S. Ganguly c Fleming b Harris 64; V. Sehwag b McMillan 100; V. V. S. Laxman b McMillan 0; R. Dravid (not out) 57; H. Badani (not out) 35. Extras (b-4, lb-1, w-4, nb-2) 11. Total (for three wkts. in 45.4 overs) 267.
Fall of wickets: 1-143, 2-146, 3-179.New Zealand bowling: Tuffey 6-1-37-0; Mills 3-0-26-0; Nash 4-0-29-0; Vettori 10-0-56-0; Harris 8-0-39-1; Astle 6-0-26-0; McMillan 8.4-1-49-2.
HE is among the quietest members of the team and at the SSC ground the other day, Virender Sehwag let his batting speak for him.
Normally not the kind to reveal his emotions on the field, Sehwag could not contain his joy when he set out for his 100th run, throwing his hands up in delight.
Sehwag's performance is no flash in the pan. He has been among the most consistent performers in the domestic circuit and has earned his success the hard way.
What stood out in Sehwag's onslaught that left the Kiwis dazed was his positive approach from the word 'go'. There were no half-hearted measures, no self-doubts from the word 'go'. And there were no doubts about the winner of the Man of the Match award too.
The team management had given him the job to open after Yuveraj Singh and Amay Khurasiya had failed in the slot. He has looked the challenge in the eye.
Sehwag did not get too many runs in the second game against New Zealand at the Premadasa Stadium, yet he appeared confident, driving the pacemen with ease, before departing to a close run out decision.
He got a start, but could not consolidate against Sri Lanka in India's fourth match, was dismissed first ball, trapped leg-before by Chaminda Vaas at the SSC Stadium, and then arrived his unforgettable innings.
Sehwag must have been under tremendous pressure to perform, but he approached the challenge in the manner he knew best - knock the stuffing out of the bowlers. In the domestic circuit, the man is known for his explosive ways. This time he accomplished the feat on the international stage.
Yet, it was no crude hitting - Sehwag conjured some outstanding cricketing shots, driving, cutting, pulling and flicking both the pacemen and the spinners.
The 22-year-old batsman has gone through a lot in recent months, but never allowed his spirits to drop. He was the Man of the Match in the day/night ODI against Australia in Bangalore, making a brisk, stroke-filled half-century and then striking crucial blows with his off-spin, the in-form Matthew Hayden being his prize catch. A spirited performance against a formidable rival.
Sadly, he broke a finger in the same match, missing the rest of the contests. He had a lacklustre one-day series in Zimbabwe, and went through a tough initial phase in the Coca-Cola Trophy here, where Sehwag's off-spin more than his batting helped him keep his place in the side. And now he has broken the shackles. Virender Sehwag is here to stay.
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