Nottingham, August 09:
After
scoring a sparkling century in the second cricket Test against
England here on Thursday, Virender Sehwag said his success as an
opener in Test cricket was due to the fact that he had been
opening the innings in one-day internationals.
"I feel confident in
opening the innings at Tests after doing so in one-day
internationals," commented Sehwag who has been a middle-order
batsman all through his first class career.
But after being asked to
open the innings in Tests due to the bad form of Shiv Sunder Das,
Sehwag has done a good job, having scored 27 and 84 in the two
innings of the first Test and now 106 here which is his
career-best score.
Sehwag's only other
century in Test cricket came in his debut match against South
Africa at Bloemfontein last year where he batted at number five.
The flamboyant batsman
said it was a difficult pitch to bat on Thursday and he had to
wait for the bad deliveries to score his runs.
"I have never seen the
ball swing as much as it did today. The wicket was a bit damp and
the ball moved all day. There was something for the bowlers
throughout the day," he said, adding that his first century had
come in vastly different circumstances.
"In Bloemfontein, the
ball was coming on to bat. Here it wasn't and the movement was too
much.
"I just wanted to make
the most of bad balls which came my way. One needed to make the
most of scoring opportunities on this difficult day," he said.
Sehwag once again
admitted that he copied Sachin Tendulkar "to a certain extent" but
said there was no comparison between the two.
"The difference between
us is simple. It is on the score board," Sehwag said.
"I feel happy though when
I am compared to Tendulkar whom I copy to a certain extent."
However, the comparison
did come - this time from Matthew Hoggard, the most impressive of
English bowlers on Thursday.
"Sachin was the wicket to
get in India earlier this year but it seems it is Sehwag this time
around," Hoggard, who finished the day with figures of two for 54,
said.
"I think they look pretty
similar and play in identical fashion as well."
"I think India would be
quite satisfied with what they have achieved on the first day. We
certainly would have liked to take more wickets on this pitch."
Hoggard said it was the
kind of wicket where it was difficult to control the swing.
"It was doing too much
and it was not easy to control your line and length.
"Still, I would rather
swing it too much than not swing at all. Really, this was the
pitch you would like to put in a suitcase and carry everywhere."
