da fazobetai： A graphical analysis of Virender Sehwag’s unbeaten 309
da wazamba： 28-Mar-2008
More than half of Sehwag’s runs came on the off side, perhaps an indication that the South African bowlers generally stuck to a line around the off stump. They did stray in their length though – 83 of Sehwag’s 185 runs on the off side came behind square.
Sehwag was at ease against all the bowlers, with only Morne Morkel and Paul Harris conceding less than a run-a-ball against him. He was particularly harsh on Makhaya Ntini and Jacques Kallis. He scored exactly an 100 against the left-arm spin of Paul Harris, against whom he pulled off quite a few reverse-sweeps.
Sehwag dominated India’s batting, outscoring his partners by a 2:1 ratio in the two double-century stands. Opening with Jaffer, Sehwag made 134 out of 213, while Jaffer managed 73. Rahul Dravid and Sehwag were surely in different gears; Dravid could only score 65 off 181 deliveries while Sehwag plundered 175 off 140. The only measure in which Dravid matched Sehwag was in terms of dot balls – Dravid didn’t score off 145 deliveries, the same for Sehwag was 152. Jaffer wasn’t far behind, with 127 dot balls.
Sehwag’s strike-rate, shown here in 25-run slots, had ups and downs. His first hundred came off 116 deliveries, and his innings took off after the 125-run mark, and he rushed from 175 to 200 in just eight balls, a strike-rate of over 300. He motored at a strike-rate of 150 from 200 to 250, and even at the end, after a full day in the Chennai heat, he managed nearly a run a ball.