Will Sehwag bloom at No. 6?

Last time Viru took guard lower down, he batted like a man forced to swim in someone else?s trunks.

The last time Virender Sehwag took guard closer to the bottom of the order than the top, he batted like a man forced to swim in someone else’s wet bathing trunks.

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That was in the second innings of the third Test against England in Mumbai in March, when Viru waded in at number seven.

His 20-ball endeavour was no day at the beach: V Sehwag lbw b Anderson 0. India crashed to 100 all out, and with that defeat by 212 runs. The circumstances, however, were exceptional. Injuries had robbed India of the services of six first-choice players.

On Tuesday at Newlands, the circumstances were again exceptional. This time because India find themselves one win away from their first series victory in South Africa.

That fact alone deserves a long moment of careful thought, and many who have applied their minds to the delicious possibility of an Indian triumph in SA will have reached the conclusion that the Sehwag, who has floundered his way through this series, is unlikely to aid the cause.

His contribution of 45 runs in four innings — 33 of them in one knock — is proof enough of that, but if more were required we need only remember the ragged strokes and unsure footwork that have afflicted him on this tour.

But Sehwag has not been discarded completely, as many thought he would be. Instead, he will bat at number six. That decision was made on Monday afternoon at India’s last practice before the match. It is difficult to believe that Sehwag was not the topic of discussion in an increasingly heated conversation at the nets involving Rahul Dravid, Greg Chappell and Dilip Vengsarkar.

One of them might have said Sehwag should be dropped. Perhaps the other two favoured giving him a last chance, not least because the South Africans still fear Sehwag and prize his wicket highly.

Sehwag has been granted that chance. Just as he was given an opportunity to make his debut against South Africa in Bloemfontein in November 2001.

Even then he wielded his bat like a cutlass, and a certain swagger dictated his footwork. He took the fight to the South Africans, hitting 19 boundaries and scoring 105.

He did so on a pitch that required only a dotted white line down its middle to be declared a road. It was a surface not unlike the one that basked unthreateningly in Newlands’ sunshine on Tuesday.

And where did Sehwag bat on that momentous day in Bloemfontein? At number six.