'The simple plan is to stop him from scoring' - Inzamam
Sehwag's comments after the first Test, about loving Pakistan's bowling and their defensiveness in preparing such a flat pitch, added a pinch of masala when it was most needed. If it was meant to stir, then it probably has; Inzamam touched upon it in his column yesterday and some within the team suggested, wryly, if he is dismissed early at any point, celebrations might be exaggerated.
Sehwag's bluster has clearly registered for there was a firm, testy rebuttal from Inzamam of his charge that Pakistan had been defensive in Lahore. "I don't understand why Pakistan would play defensively. After putting so many runs on the board in Lahore why would we be defensive? I think many people realised soon after the weather changed in Lahore that the match was heading for a draw. We knew after that it would be difficult to get a wicket on this pitch."
But as ever, Inzamam's recipe to stop Sehwag was plain. "The simple plan is to stop him from scoring. We just want bowlers to bowl in those areas where we feel, according to our strategy and planning, he can be stopped." Those areas are likely to be short and into his body, cramping his style and curbing his runs.
The Sachin clone tag may have been shed but increasingly Sehwag is attracting a similarly obsessive and skewed following. Someone piped in, prematurely, that the series involved Pakistan and Sehwag, rather than India. Inzamam dead-batted, late as ever, "He is a very good player and he is in form. India also has other good players in the team. In every series there is one batsman who gets into a good run of form. His team depends on him for runs and the opposition looks to get him out early."
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Get Sehwag out, you have Laxman, get Laxman out, you have Tendulkar, get Tendulkar out, you have Ganguly, get Ganguly out, you have Yuvraj, get Yuvraj out, you have Dhoni, and your plan is to stop Sehwag from getting a big score. I know Sehwag has been of phenomenal form against Pakistan, but just targetting him won't do anything.