Power-plays not all about scoring runs

The real World Cup has begun for India. Sachin, Sehwag seem to have set the tone for the final phase. India should have posted a huge score but they went off the radar during the batting power-play. Sourav Ganguly explains.

The real World Cup has begun for India. Sachin, Sehwag seem to have set the tone for the final phase. India should have posted a huge score but they went off the radar during the batting power-play. It's not about scoring runs in power-play but about the manner in which one needs to bat during that time.

HT Image

Openers on song
It was a good toss to win and it seems that Dhoni's luck with the toss has just got better in the premium tournament.

They say, come the big game and up stands the big man. Sachin did exactly that. The curator prepared an absolute belter and the Indians made the most of it in the begining. Sehwag's innings was that of brutal power mixed with a bit of luck.

This one from the little man would be one for the archives, a prime example of how to bat in one-day cricket and also how to pace an innings. On one end when Sehwag was blazing around, the little man was scoring at a strike-rate of 145! That was the speciality of this knock. He was always in command of his innings, mixed aggression and control with exemplary sensibility.

His shot-making and running between the wickets need to be followed by any aspiring cricketer.

You can't have a better example. Viru should have taken a leaf out of the great man's book and cashed in on his start because he too can be as dangerous in the shorter version. As long as the Sachin-Sehwag partnership was on song, the South Africans looked clueless.

Hussey raring to go
Come Sunday, it will be interesting to watch Australia in action once again after their rain-washed Sri Lanka match. Since then Mike Hussey has joined in that middle-order and the Aussies look to be a more balanced side.

Mike would be raring to go and would like to make full use of the remaining group matches before his team gets into business in the knock-out phase.

PMG