Pleasing to watch Sehwag if you are not in opposition: Strauss
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Chennai, Dec 14: Rather than rejoicing at his back-to-back centuries in the first Test here, England opener Andrew Strauss is happy to see the back of Virender Sehwag, who departed after a fiery 83 that put India in a position of strength chasing 387 for victory.
"Scoring was not easy on this track but Sehwag is exceptional. He always takes the game to the opposition and plays a different game to the most people in the world. It's amazing to see the freedom with which he plays, exceptionally pleasing to watch if you are not in the opposition," said Strauss, who backed up his first innings score of 123 with a 108 in the second essay today.
"He rode on his luck a little bit. I would also say that the new ball is the best time to attack because it comes nicely on to the bat. After 1-12 overs, it tends to sit on the wicket. But that's the kind of player he is. He has given India a sniff of victory," he added.
The left-hander felt there was no way skipper Kevin Pietersen could have set a field for Virender Sehwag.
"It's pretty tricky for a captain to set field to player like him. We had some field set for him, but he went over the heads of fielders. One ball he played Anderson between first and second slip. No one could do anything about that whatever the field placements or otherwise," Strauss said.
But the important point was to hold the nerves and wait for the mistake to happen.
"When one is playing like that it is important you don't get carried away. When someone takes so many risks it will be one risk too many. You do not get wild when someone is batting like that." PTI
"Scoring was not easy on this track but Sehwag is exceptional. He always takes the game to the opposition and plays a different game to the most people in the world. It's amazing to see the freedom with which he plays, exceptionally pleasing to watch if you are not in the opposition," said Strauss, who backed up his first innings score of 123 with a 108 in the second essay today.
"He rode on his luck a little bit. I would also say that the new ball is the best time to attack because it comes nicely on to the bat. After 1-12 overs, it tends to sit on the wicket. But that's the kind of player he is. He has given India a sniff of victory," he added.
The left-hander felt there was no way skipper Kevin Pietersen could have set a field for Virender Sehwag.
"It's pretty tricky for a captain to set field to player like him. We had some field set for him, but he went over the heads of fielders. One ball he played Anderson between first and second slip. No one could do anything about that whatever the field placements or otherwise," Strauss said.
But the important point was to hold the nerves and wait for the mistake to happen.
"When one is playing like that it is important you don't get carried away. When someone takes so many risks it will be one risk too many. You do not get wild when someone is batting like that." PTI
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