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http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/cricinfomagazine/content/story/231227.html
Continued from part 1....


The 155 was not Sehwag's only contribution of the match. For sheer drama his brief second-innings knock was almost its equal. India ground out a lead of 141, but Australia's resistance in the second innings was worthy of a champion side. Despite being four down for 150 - effectively 9 for 4 - at stumps on the third day, they still managed, thanks to Damien Martyn and night-watchman Gillespie, to bat for almost the whole of the fourth day. India were finally set 229 to win - more than had ever been made in a successful fourth-innings chase at Chennai. After their labours in the field in the sapping heat, Sehwag and Yuvraj again had the thankless task of seeing out a short passage of play before the close - this time only three overs.

What were the two of you thinking when you went out to bat?

We were determined not to lose a wicket. Otherwise it would have become difficult for us the next day.


How does the other team come at you in situations like this? Do they try to unsettle you even before a ball is bowled?

Hayden talks quite a bit. He was saying things like "This is not the time for openers" and "Let's see how many boundaries you'll hit."


Did you have butterflies in your stomach as you took guard?

Every batsman feels the tension until the first ball is bowled. Then you enter into the game and the nervousness goes away. That's why I prefer not to take first strike. When the first ball has been delivered, or the first over has gone, I feel normal.


Yuvraj appears a bundle of nerves against McGrath - he is nearly knocked over second ball by a bouncer, and he edges the fourth ball just wide of third slip for four. Next ball he manages to get off strike. Sehwag now takes guard to McGrath, and calmly deflects his first ball wide of gully for four.

Bowlers are always trying to read the minds of batsmen. Does it work the other way as well? When you took guard before the last ball of McGrath's over, were you thinking about what kind of ball he'd come up with?

In these last overs of the day everyone knows that the bowler will try to make the batsman play as much as possible. I knew that McGrath would bowl at my off or middle stump and not outside that line because his goal that evening was to get me out in his two overs. If you look at McGrath's first delivery to Yuvraj in the first innings, you'll see it was this wide of off stump (indicates it was about a foot wide). But in the second innings his first ball is right at his off stump. That's the difference between having 13 overs and three overs to bowl.


The second over, bowled by Gillespie, passes without incident. But when Sehwag gets on strike, the bowler makes one rather unusual field placing.

You'll see here that Gillespie places a deep square leg for you from the first ball instead of a normal square leg saving the single. But you hardly play the pull or the hook. Why did he do that?

That's because the target they'd set us was not a big one. And as I said, when only three overs remain before the close then the bowler has to bowl at the stumps. In normal circumstances if he'd done that and I'd played the flick, I'd have got four for it, but now if he strayed onto my legs I'd only get one. He was trying to save three on a possible error because they didn't have many runs to play with.


Gillespie's over passes without incident. Now McGrath lopes in for the final over of the day. Three days previously Sehwag had worked a single off the first ball of the last over of the day, and Yuvraj, given the strike, had lost his wicket. Now it is Yuvraj who pushes the first ball towards mid-on and scampers a single, bringing Sehwag onto strike. McGrath's third ball is just a touch shorter than his usual length. Sehwag hangs back and lashes it in front of point for four. But when the bowler pitches it further up, Sehwag plays in the V.

You're looking to play McGrath very straight here.

In the Bangalore Test he'd got three batsmen out with deliveries that pitched and then darted back in. I didn't want to attempt the flick because if he produced another ball like that then there'd be a good chance of him getting me out lbw.


Now only the last ball of the day remains. McGrath walks back to his mark, turns, runs in and bowls a length ball just outside off stump. Sehwag's hands go out at the ball and he rifles it back past the bowler's left hand for his third boundary of the evening. The crowd erupts; Sehwag strides off quickly, chin up, leaving the Australian fielders in his wake. India have finished with 19 for no loss.

From your body language as you left the field it seemed that that you were trying to tell the Australians... (Interrupting)

...ki hum log kal jeetne waale hain. (That we're going to win tomorrow.) It's important to have positive body language in such situations. You have to show the other team that you're here to win.


When you walked off at the close of the first day you were making small talk with the Australians. This time you just strode off...

Because I still had work to do the next day.


Heavy rain the next day denied Sehwag the chance to build on his work of the previous evening, and washed out a Test match that was poised for a thrilling finish. India subsequently lost the series 1-2.


Chandrahas Choudhury is a writer based in Mumbai. Nishant Arora is chief cricket correspondent with CNN-IBN