Ahmedabad: Virender Sehwag silenced his critics once again by hitting a scintillating century which has set the tone for India’s onslaught against England in the first Test match at Motera. His 117 off as many balls has given an upper hand to the hosts and if the middle order manages to manoeuvre the next two sessions, the match for sure will be in the firm grip of MS Dhoni and his men.
Speaking about the 23rd ton which came after more than two years and 30 innings, the Najafgarh Nawab said that it was long due but he never doubted his ability to play big innings. “I am pleased to have scored a century after long. It has come at the right time. Every hundred is important. Scoring a hundred in the first innings and first Test match of the series is good. I never doubted my ability and this hundred was long time due,” Sehwag said.
Speaking about the wicket, Sehwag said, “The wicket is slow and therefore it’s difficult to hits shots. I was relaxed after getting to my fifty and played my shots. We hope our batsmen will build on tomorrow to take us to 500-plus. Hopefully, we will bat till tea tomorrow,” he said.
Sehwag said he watched the videos of his past knocks that took cue from his big innings in the past. “I have to thank my video analyst Dhananjay. We watched the videos of my past innings where I got hundreds, till 11 pm last night. I saw that when I played the first ten overs cautiously I had reached 100. I did the same today,” Sehwag revealed.
Praising Gautam Gambhir and Cheteshwar Pujara for their innings, Sehwag said, “Gambhir played well and we gave the team a very good start. We put on more than 100 runs together which is a good sign. Pujara also batted very well. He has patience and hit the loose balls,” he added.
By Indian Sports News Network