Two of a kind

There was a touch of the bizarre to Australia''s performance for the second day running. On the first, it might be recalled, three of their batsmen ''walked''; on the second six catches were dropped.
This is a Test match remember, not some parody. Somewhere, the script is going haywire.
Come to think of it, if Virender Sehwag spends more than a couple of hours at the wicket, most game-plans do tend to go bust.
The fuzzy-haired opener in fact batted six hours for his superb 155 to upstage Shane Warne''s world record, and if Australia are still not kayoed it is only because the middle order could not capitalise on Sehwag''s innings.
The failures of Ganguly, Laxman and to some extent Dravid show that the batting problems for India are not over yet.
To understand Laxman''s state of mind, you have to watch his feet. Right now, they suggest that he is confused and tentative. To understand Ganguly''s state of mind, watch the first few shots he plays.
Currently he looks edgy and bristling with misplaced bravado. Maybe Laxman needs to shed some caution, Ganguly needs to add some patience and both need to play their natural game. Both are high quality batsmen and crucial to the team''s fortunes.
Sehwag''s supreme effort, of course, not only staved off many disquieting queries about the Indian middle-order, but also rebuffed those who had wanted him out of the Test team.
True, he had been in poor nick in One-day cricket in the past few months. But to use that as a yardstick for denying him a place in the Test team was based on spurious cricket logic, for the two forms of the game are as alike as chalk and cheese.
Indeed, Sehwag''s astonishing record belies the popular perception about him of being a ''slogger''. He has 2000-plus run in 25 Tests with seven centuries which compares favourably with maestros Tendulkar and Dravid.
He has a triple hundred (India''s only) to his credit in the previous series against Pakistan. Before that he scored 195 - the highest in a day by an Indian - against Australia in Melbourne.
So many high scores and such a wonderful strike rate cannot be a matter of good fortune. Sehwag is a highly creative batsman with a sharp cricketing mind, keen ball sense and a gift of timing that has come directly from heaven. He is an original and, like Warne, a paisa vasool entertainer.
The Australian leggie''s big day, however, provided small comfort to his team. He bowled tirelessly to get two wickets, should have had Kaif twice, but would be disappointed that he couldn''t take four more and bowl India out.
Given Kumble''s easy success, Warne''s hard labour would rankle him. But he lacks the Indian leggie''s height and pace to get the extra bounce on this track, his arm''s not high and straight as it used to be. And let''s face it, India''s batsmen have always made him look mortal.
But he''s been a terrific asset for his team and the sport in a roller-coaster career that is now approaching twilight zone. He''s been in and out of the side: he''s been there and done the lot, as it were.
Many experts reckon that had Warne been less controversial, he would have been captain of Australia. That''s a hell of a miss.
But 534 wickets is a heck of a lot. He''s a legend, no doubt. The big question hanging over Chepauk, however, is whether he can win this match for his team.