Sehwag and India make amends
Sehwag's best ODI score was just one of the many statistical highlights from the opening match of the World Cup
S Rajesh and Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan
19-Feb-2011
The contrast between the 2007 World Cup game between Bangladesh and India, and this one, couldn't have been greater. Right from the toss - India had chosen to bat on that occasion - almost everything was completely different between the two games. The biggest difference was Virender Sehwag's performance: in that Trinidad game he scored 2 off 6; this time he lasted 134 balls more, and, not surprisingly, that made all the difference. Sehwag's presence meant India scored far more runs in the first ten overs, which in turn put pressure on Bangladesh's spinners, who had been completely dominant in Port of Spain. The slow nature of the track meant run-scoring wasn't all that easy in the afternoon, but, as often happens when Sehwag is in this mood, these trivialities didn't matter a jot.
| In 2007 | In 2011 | |
| The toss | India chose to bat | Bangladesh chose to field |
| Score after 15 overs | 40 for 3 | 104 for 1 |
| Dot balls in first 15 overs | 73 | 41 |
| 4s/ 6s in first 15 overs | 2/ 0 | 12/ 1 |
| Performance of Bangladesh spinners | 6 for 117 in 30 overs | 2 for 238 in 33 overs |
| Performance of Bangladesh fast bowlers | 4 for 69 in 19.3 overs | 1 for 129 in 17 overs |
Before the tournament Sehwag spoke about his desire to bat for longer periods, and the manner in which he batted here showed he is serious about implementing those plans. He faced 140 deliveries in this innings, which is the most he has ever faced in an ODI innings, beating his earlier record by one ball. In fact, in 223 ODI innings, he has faced more than 120 deliveries only three times, and both the earlier instances were before 2004.
The way he paced his innings was interesting: he started off in a frenzy, scoring 12 off his first six balls, but then made only 15 off his next 27, so that after the first ten overs he was on a relatively subdued 27 off 33. The start of the second Powerplay made him switch gears, as he struck four fours off his next six balls, a sequence that turned the momentum India's way. At the end of the 33rd, he'd scored 104 off 99, before the batting Powerplay helped him move up a further gear, as he scored 33 off 17 balls during this period.
| First 6 balls | Next 27 balls | Next 66 balls | Last 41 balls | |
| Runs scored | 12 | 15 | 77 | 71 |
The only bowler who controlled the runs against him to some extent was Rubel Hossain, who gave away only 22 off 29 balls. The most helpless ones were Shafiul Islam (32 off 17 balls) and Abdur Razzak (57 off 33).
From Bangladesh's point of view, they made the job even easier for Sehwag by bowling plenty of boundary balls on both sides of the wicket. Sehwag's wagon-wheel of boundaries shows there was little the bowlers could do to stem the runs
More stats from the game
- Highest total in the opening game of the World Cup
India had been on the receiving end in the first game of the 1975 World Cup, when England, propelled by a century from Dennis Amiss, amassed 334 in 60 overs. India's 370 against Bangladesh is not only the highest team total on the opening day of World Cups, but also the fifth highest in all World Cup matches.
The opening day of every World Cup except the 1999 and 2007 editions has seen a century being scored. Sehwag's 175 surpassed Glenn Turner's 171 against East Africa which was scored on the opening day of the 1975 World Cup.
Sehwag, during his 175, went past his previous ODI best of 146. His 175 is the joint second-highest score by an Indian batsman in World Cups, behind Sourav Ganguly's 183 and the fourth highest overall.
Sehwag's 175 is the highest score in ODIs in Bangladesh, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's 141 against Australia in 1998. It is also the highest score by an Indian batsman against Bangladesh and the second-highest overall against Bangladesh, behind Charles Coventry's 194 in 2009.
The 203-run stand between Sehwag and Virat Kohli is the fifth 200-plus stand for India in World Cups, the most for any team. Sehwag was involved a the previous 200-plus stand too, against Bermuda in 2007.
Kohli became the first Indian and the 13th batsman to score a century on his World Cup debut. The previous batsman to achieve this feat was Jeremy Bray of Ireland against Zimbabwe in 2007. Andy Flower remains the only batsman to score a century on ODI debut in a World Cup game.
Among bowlers who have bowled atleast five overs in an innings, Shafiul Islam's economy rate of 9.85 in his seven overs is the highest for a Bangladesh bowler in World Cups, and the fifth highest for a Bangladesh bowler in all ODIs.