Best Aussie attack I’ve seen: Sehwag
First Published : 23 Jan 2012, 18:43
Last Modified : 23 Jan 2012, 18:43
Adelaide, Jan 23: Explosive opener Virender Sehwag, feared by teams across the world, has called the relatively inexperienced Australian bowling attack of the current series one of the best he has faced in his 20 Tests against Australia.
"They are bowling in good areas. They are not giving easy balls to hit boundaries and they are playing with real patience," said the veteran Indian batsman. Sehwag will be leading the Indian team in the Adelaide Test in the absence of regular skipper MS Dhoni's who is serving a one-match suspension for his team's slow over-rate at Perth.
The audacious batsman, who has 95 Tests to his name, said about the opposition, "It is the best bowling attack I have ever seen, especially against Australia, because generally when I have played in the past, I get a couple of balls to hit to the boundary. But now with this attack I hardly get a ball to hit, so I think [it's] one of the best bowling attacks."
Sehwag, who averages 50.93 in Tests, first played against Australia when the team featured the likes of Nathan Bracken and Brad Williams and later faced the celebrated Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz and spin wizard Shane Warne. Having hit a double-ton against England in an ODI before leaving for the tour Down Under, Sehwag has struggled against the current lot of bowlers including Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle and James Pattinson.
Apart from the prolific Indian opener, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Gautam Gambhir have also failed to negotiate the Australian bowlers and come under criticism for their performance. Although master batsman Sachin Tendulkar has looked in good nick, he too has not been able to convert his starts into big innings.
Australia skipper Michael Clarke, meanwhile, hopes his bowlers will continue to trouble the much-touted Indian batting line-up in Adelaide to help sweep the series 4-0.
"It was about picking the best eleven to win the Test," Clarke said about replacing Nathan Lyon with Mitchell Starc on a wicket that will have something in it for the spinners. "I definitely have a lot of confidence in Lyno. I would hate to put that sort of expectation on him.
"I have said from the start that we want to win every Test match that we play and this series is no different. I guess winning the last two Test matches in less than five days has helped everyone recover so all the guys are fighting fit and ready to go," he added.
