Muloghonto
U19 12th Man
One swallow does make a summer if you are in the arctic. Sehwag hasnt played much in these nations. IIRC, he's had 3 series in England, two decent, one abysmal. Yes, he did fail in South Africa and New Zealand but as i said, New Zealand cannot be counted against him, considering that a third of his matches were played in a series where a 50 was equivalent of a century, so abysmal were the pitches.
As for Aussie pitches, the ball does swing more at Sydney and MCG than it does at Perth.
Its not a copout to say his away record coincides with his poor form because Sehwag in poor form has been poor in India as well, if a batsman has 2 poor patches and ends up playing more matches overseas in those poor patches than rest of his career, he will have a poor overseas record. Doesnt mean he is a crap batsman. A poor overseas player is one who dominates home conditions but very next series craps the bed overseas. That hasnt been Sehwag's trajectory, he's either dominating in a stretch or struggling over a stretch.
Sehwag does not have the classical textbook technique but he does have proper technique. The things that matter technically, Sehwag has demonstrated in his batting: a still head, balanced when connecting with the ball, soft hands.
Those are the technical goals that one strives for, the footwork, straight bat, playing in the V are methods to get to those technical fundamentals. Turned out Sehwag had such a great eye that he was able to skip ahead and get to those technical perfections without the classical aid to it.
Sehwag has limited experience overseas. He's done well in Australia & West Indies, he did competently in England except for one series.
he had a good debut series in South Africa.
As i said, Sehwag's overseas record is better than it looks because in the context of it, Sehwag's rough patches have coincided with chunks of away tests played by India.
Against an ATG attack on seaming conditions, i honestly expect a Sehwag at his pomp to put up figures like 5,10, 15, 20, 200, etc. I dont expect him to be consistent but i do think he can annihilate any attack at his pomp, more so at home but also at overseas, as his centuries indicate.
It must also be noted that Indian pitches generally tend to be more receptive to swing on the first day and half than most Aussie pitches (minus Brisbane) tend to be. Indian pitches have been short on bounce but not on lateral movement.
You do realise that those pitches made many that Hobbs and Hutton scored hundreds upon look flat. Even if i admit pace bowlers were military mediums back then, which i don't, green tops were designed for such bowlers.
) and then right at the end. both sehwag out to bond on a pitch which isn't really a green top anymore. one lbw and one caught at cover.
