Sehwag's knock complements the sunshine

By Vijay Lokapally

MOHALI, JAN. 13. When the game ended on Friday, Virender Sehwag requested local coach Manjit Singh to organise the bowling machine. It was getting dark but Manjit, impressed by Sehwag's attitude, conceded to the lad's pleas. That short stint came in handy for the Delhi batsman today as he produced a gem which made an impact on Sanjay Jagdale and Ashok Malhotra, the two National selectors watching this weather- affected Duleep Trophy league match.

Sehwag, a compulsive strokeplayer and most exciting to watch when he gets going, carved out an unbeaten 88, while opener Akash Chopra came up with a gutsy half century to keep North in the fray on a day when bright weather produced bright cricket and a few spectators made an appearance at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium here.

The fans did not regret the visit as the contest for the day ended on a delicate note with neither team - North, 217 for five in reply to West's 284 - sure of snatching the honours for the first innings lead.

Much of the credit for North still having a chance lay with Sehwag, whose knock was built on a confident note. He curbed his penchant to play in the air and picked gaps with elan, treating the seamers with disdain once he got his eye in. His strokes carried a lot of punch and his backfoot play was a delight as he cracked the ball with effortless ease, timing, as always, being his forte. His classy innings would rank as the best batting performance of this contest, regardless of who takes the lead. Sehwag, in his 110-ball innings, has struck ten stunning 4s thus far. Enough to give West a sleepless night.

West, resuming at 174 for five with the sun smiling graciously, garnered 110 valuable runs as the North attack faltered. Left-arm seamer Surinder Singh Bagal, easily the quickest of the bowlers viewed here and the most impressive too, was an exception as he finished with a four-wicket haul, the same as Ashish Nehra from Delhi, who is in the reckoning along with Surinder.

The bowlers erred and the batsmen too let North down before the pair of Sehwag and Chopra tried to repair the damage. Chopra, a sound opener with the right temperament for the job, was the strength for North's recovery. He played the ball on merit and was flawless in his stay before a good ball, whipping in late, ended his 121-ball effort which contained nine 4s.

West folded up 20 minutes before lunch after a poor start this morning. Nayan Mongia inner-edged the ball, while Niraj Patel perished to a good catch at gully by Yuveraj Singh. The West tail hung on to support Sairaj Bahutule, who looked compact right through with enough time to play the ball. Bahutule's 42 off 76 balls contained seven 4s and he was the last man out when he offered no shot. A cameo by Iqbal Siddiqui (20 with four 4s) also came in handy for West.

The scores:

West - 1st innings: Wasim Jaffer c Akash Chopra b Nehra 39, Connor Williams lbw b Surinder 21, Hrishikesh Kanitkar c Akash Chopra b Surinder 61, Jacob Martin lbw b Sodhi 17, Abhijit Kale c Dharmani b Nehra 6, Niraj Patel c Yuveraj b Nehra 24, Nayan Mongia b Nehra 10, Sairaj Bahutule lbw b Gagandeep 42, Zaheer Khan b Surinder 3, Iqbal Siddiqui lbw b Surinder 20, Santosh Saxena (not out) 9. Extras (b-2, lb-11, nb- 19) 32. Total: 284.

Fall of wickets: 1-40, 2-100, 3-155, 4- 155, 5-170, 6-185, 7-202, 8-211, 9-258.

North bowling: Ashish Nehra 24-2-103-4, Gagandeep Singh 20.4-7-47-1, Surinder Singh Bagal 30-7-80-4, Reetinder Singh Sodhi 22-12-27-1, Sarandeep Singh 5-0-14-0.

North - 1st innings: Akash Chopra lbw b Siddiqui 54, Vikram Rathour lbw b Zaheer 16, Yuveraj Singh c Mongia b Siddiqui 15, Dinesh Mongia b Siddiqui 2, Reetinder Singh Sodhi b Saxena 0, Virender Sehwag (batting) 88, Pankaj Dharmani (batting) 28. Extras (lb-6, nb-8) 14. Total (for five wkts) 217.

Fall of wickets: 1-35, 2-63, 3-67, 4-75, 5-112.

West bowling: Zaheer Khan 19-5-47-1, Iqbal Siddiqui 21-3-79-3, Santosh Saxena 14-1-65-1, Sairaj Bahutule 6-0-20-0.

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