Sehwag says he has no regrets

A missed opportunity but there is always next time, feels Delhiite

“I am very happy that I scored 293,” Sehwag told newsmen on Friday. “I am extremely happy and proud about the fact that after two triples, I have made a 290 now. I am a very lucky person. I was very happy even yesterday because I got 284. Yes, it is a missed opportunity, but there is always next time. This is my third best knock after the two triple centuries.”

Sehwag refused to be drawn into a debate on whether batsmen should be entertainers. “It depends on individuals and how you look at it,” he offered. “I am an entertainer.” And was all modesty when informed that he was being talked of in the same breath as Viv Richards. “It is a great honour if someone is comparing me with Vivian Richards.”

Sehwag was asked if there was a difference in his approach on Friday morning, when he resumed on 284. “There was no difference,” he retorted. “I tried to take my time. Maybe the ball was not there to hit. I tried to take a single but I misjudged the length and hit it straight to Muralitharan. Yesterday was my day, I utilised the full day and scored 284. I don’t think I was tired physically, maybe mentally I was a little bit so. I was getting spasms in my back but (physio) Nitin Patel and (masseur Ramesh) Mane kaka helped me a lot during the tea break yesterday.”

And did he think of racing to 300 on Thursday itself? “Time didn’t allow me to do so because the game could only go on till 5.00 pm.”

Sehwag said a chat with coach Gary Kirsten in Ahmedabad had helped him immensely. “Gary told me ‘If you survive ten overs, you will be able to score quicker than others and score big hundreds, you know how to get big hundreds’. I tried that and it worked,” he observed.

“I always tell myself that I can bat all day. If there is a ball to be hit, just hit it. I knew that if I batted the full day, we would be in a good position in the Test match. Sri Lanka were trying to stop my runs, not plotting to get me out.”

Paying handsome compliments to Mahendra Singh Dhoni on a third Test ton, Sehwag went on, “It is one of the best hundreds I have seen by a wicketkeeper/lower-order batsman. When Ojha went out to bat, he was in his 50s. Everyone knew MS Dhoni can hit sixes; he did very well by playing out four or five deliveries every over before hitting the sixes. It is one of the best knocks by a lower-order batsman.”