It is a shame that Sehwag's innings may be regarded in this light. I would venture that this innings was more significant than both Hayden's 380 and Lara's 400 (Hayden played weak opposition and Lara was playing in a dead test match). This was scored in the 1st innings of a first test match against one of the best bowling attacks in the world.

Although Sehwag's knock itself did not put India in a winning position it would have done if the other batsmen had got their strike rates up (Dravid in particular arguably cost India that position). I wonder what would have been said had India won the game?

Im having real problems getting my head around the 'fact' that there have been only three double triplecenturions. When does Lara's 400+ actually start to count as that, a quadruple. Lara is the first but its seems he doesnt have his own category until another 400+ scorer comes along andthey become the 'second quadurplecenturion'.

Many people say that this innings won't be as memorable as it could have been had India won the game. However, bowlers like Ntini and Steyn who are wicket-takers, with strike rates under 55, were absolutely dominated. I will always remmeber the way in which Sehwag flicked an Ntini delivery off his pads for six, that too when he was approaching 200. I never left the TV when Sehwag was batting. I watched every minute of his batting, from session 3 on day two upto session 1 on day 4. I had a lot of other things to do but I just could no do them knowing that I would miss a special innings. The pace at which it was scored was amazing - quicker than a run-a-ball. As Arun Lal said, Sehwag is a great advertisement for Test cricket. At the start of Sehwag's innings there was a sign in the crowd which read, 'the seven wonders of indian cricket - Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman, Dhoni, Bhaji, Kumble'. After this test, Sehwags name will have to be added to thE banner-8 WONDERS OF INDIAN CRICKET

HI,this is in reply to the topic discussed about importance of SEHWAG's innings.My point is that had he not ripped apart the famed SouthAfrican pace battery for so long,India might well have gone down by an innings.Greame smith said that had his team would have backed themselves to win the test had they got Sehwag out for 200 around..IT SIMPLY tells us how important the innings was from INDIA'S viewpoint.
So,i simply say that it was one of the greatest innings matchsaving innings.Can anybody argue with me friend's???

Why do englishmen have problems with Indians??If an Englishman had done that they would have had the Queens honor bestowed upon them.Give it the man that he got India with a sniffing chance on such a dead wicket.Lara's was also insignificant as WI drew botht the matches where he scored more than 300. If an Australian or an englishman would have achieved the feet all would have risen on their feet to applaud..If thats the case the Smith Mckenzie record for the opening partnership should be annuled as they have achieved against Bangladesh who in my opinion should never be playing test Cricket..So please Rob remove this feigned sense of superiority as India has overtaken ur land in all forms ..Sports or ecocnomic achievements( TATA has just bought Rovers) .and also we dont lick USA like u all do..

Id like to think that Sehwag's innings helped india save the match. Going by the way the rest of them played, and the way indians folded after Sehwag's departure, it is only fair to say had sehwag not played this innings, India would be comfortably staring at the wrong end of the barrel at the end of the first innings, possibly even following on.

India were 'dreaming of getting a lead of close to 200 at the end of third day's play was mainly because of this stupendous innings. And to put things in perspective about the pace at which he scored, dravid took six balls less for his hundred (272) than what it took Sehwag to compile his symphony of 319 runs (278).

I think calling it 'the greatest insignificant innings' is a bit harsh on the man.

>>>>> Although Sehwag's knock itself did not put India in a winning position it would have done if the other batsmen had got their strike rates up (Dravid in particular arguably cost India that position).

It can be arguably proved that India would not have won if Dravid had got out early, or not held the innings together. And India might have lost too - remember Melbourne when Sehwag made 195 and the rest contributed nothing. Dravid did not need to up the strike rate as the Indian team's strike rate was always between 4-5. The middle order "Sachin-Ganguly-Dhoni" failed and that is the only reason India could not make 700. Anyway, the match would have been a dull draw only. The fact of the matter is that this 319 was not too useful from a result point of view - in fact, no score would have been useful. It was good to watch, and good for Sehwag's average which is back in the mid 50s now.

The statement "greatest Insignificant" is both contradiction and generalisation. If it is based only on the fact a result did not come out of that effort is a hind sight, and post his innings happenings...Like Failure of Sachin/Ganguly to push advantafe further...like slow 100 of Dravid. Sehwag did what was needed, whe he was on pitch, in the first Innings, against a formidable speed and accuracy hurled to him. The fact that SA survived and thrived in their 2nd innings too, contributed to tame end of the battle. Will that make earlier Heroic display of Sehwag 'insignificant,? Sorry Sir, this time round, I can't agree

Dear Rob,
Sad to read such comments from someone who has spent his life dedicated to sport.
Nothing great is ever insignificant and can't only be regarded in the context of winning or losing. But for a drawn result, perhaps this effort would've surpassed your favourite of Lara's. That for 2 days there even seemed the likelihood of a result on that pitch, credit richly goes to Sehwag.
Here is why this effort was very significant :
1. People watch sport not purely for entertainment, many draw inspiration from it too. Here, we saw a man belying traditional notions about test cricket and sticking to his guns and completing a sensational comeback (his last test innings was a 151 in Australia).
2. It gave hope for a result on a dead wicket after the opposition had made 540.
3. Sheer mastery - art.
Moreover, greatness can even emerge in lost causes. There is no doubt this was a great innings and as for the best knock ever, that will always be arguable, for everyone has their favourite.

Flattest of pitches, home ground, inexperienced bowling attack and the surety that there are atleast 5 other batsmen who can save the match. Yes those are all the ingredients you need to play a reckless innings. It was brutal entertainment but ultimately meaningless. Wally Hammom's triple century was very similar and Astle blasted a fiery double ton too. Great innings represent toil and turning a match on it's head. Azhar Mahmood's century against South Africa in foreign conditions and batting in his first Test with the likes of Mushtaq Ahmed, that is a great innings. Laxman's 281, Lara's centuries in the '99 home series against Australia and Inzi's matching winning effort against Bangladesh were pressure cooker innings, that showed the true test of Test cricket.

Id like to think that Sehwag's innings helped india save the match. Going by the way the rest of them played, and the way indians folded after Sehwag's departure, it is only fair to say had sehwag not played this innings, India would be comfortably staring at the wrong end of the barrel at the end of the first innings, possibly even following on.

India were 'dreaming of getting a lead of close to 200 at the end of third day's play was mainly because of this stupendous innings. And to put things in perspective about the pace at which he scored, dravid took six balls less for his hundred (272) than what it took Sehwag to compile his symphony of 319 runs (278).

I think calling it 'the greatest insignificant innings' is a bit harsh on the man.

Anyone who calls this innings insignificant probably didn't see it.
Did you see it Rob? Live? And throughout it's length?

Though not a noted writer like yourself, I have been following this game for over 4 decades now and have travelled the world over following the game and have had the privilege of viewing all of those modern great innings you mentioned either on television or at the ground.

I have never seen anyone bat like that (Sehwag) before. Result or no result. Period. Perhaps you were around to see McCabe's 232 in 1938, but I've seen very little of him or the Don. For me it was a breathtaking display of how it may have been when the great Don destroyed bowling attacks session after session. And in searing heat and humidity.

Sehwag saved the test match for India in Adelaide with 151 and his next test innings did the same thing and gave them a glimmer of hope to perhaps even try and win it.
But, just for the sheer genius and creativity on display, this was significant

Hi,
The greatness of the innings is not decided in hindsight Mr. Rob Steen. You have to assign judgements to them as they flow. And yes, indeed Sehwags innings flowed. In days of cricket having strike rates of late 30s, Sehawag played at more than 100. Sehwags tripe came in 284 balls and Rahul Dravid could manage a measly 100 in 273. Sehwag made 319 off 304 balls where Sachin could manage 0 off 5 balls and Ganguly 24 off 29. Off course he outplayed the fab 4 on the day and due credit should be entailed to this innings. I agree you are not able to digest the fact that Sehwag who was on the sideleines has made such an enormous comeback to the arena. But please believe me, it looked at least for that day that he belonged. Had India got a battery of bowlers with charged batteries, Sehwag could have been the man of the "winning" match. Sehwag places this one as better than Multan because this was under pressure heat and beter bowling and I support him. NIPUN

Context,as you said, is all. So, you should look at the innings in the context in which it came, not in the overall context of a stalemate. On the second day as India commenced their innings, they were under pressure. This pitch was supposed to crack day 3 onwards, so the fear was that South Africa had scored way too many. Sehwag not only obliterated such a thought but even created a window of opportunity for India to grab an unlikely win, certainly saved them the fourth innings. Sure three other batsmen compiled centuries in the same match, but none of them with such ease and irreverence. There are still two Tests to go and Sehwag's counterattack may yet set the tone of the series; it may well be the reason why Smith didn't press for a bold declaration on the fifth day. It's 2nd time around, so it's no longer a freak show, there's nothing flukey about him anymore. Actually, Dravid's double at Adelaide wasn't too different, just textbook elegance, always favored in Test circles.

Hi Rob,
It is a nice piece.Yet,I feel it is a perverted view to describe Sehwag's innings as 'greatest insignificant innings'.It sounds like you are generous enough to laud him for such an effort.You could have very well reserved a better phrase for Sehwag's magnificent effort.

This is total non-sense to degrade a high class innings generated by one of the greatest entertainers in modern day cricket. Even the highly regarded tendulkar's or gangulies are struggling to get hundreds, this man is easily getting big hundreds. Now after his re-entry to test cricket he looks more composed and showing a matured approach. For the forigners, it is really difficult to appreciate the efforts of indians... shame on you Rob...

I have to agree with Will, by the end of the third day Sehwag gave India the chance to entertain thoughts of a victory when 24 hours earlier it looked like South Africa were the only team that could enforce a victory, so it doesn't really seem to top that category. I wouldn't define Nathan Astle's 223 as "the greatest insignificant fourth innings century" either. I'd much rather remember both Sehwag's and Astle's innings as the fastest (in terms of number of balls faced if we're going to get specific).
The term greatness is ambiguous. Many would consider the semifinal between South Africa and Australia in the '99 World Cup to be the greatest ODI rather than the slug-fest at the Wanderers between the same teams. Sehwag's innings was an excellent counter attcking innings (this is the second time he has scored a triple hundred on a dead pitch against an excellent bowling attack), but to struggle to define a niche including the term "greatness" seems a bit excessive and ridiculous.

It is a tad unfair to call it "insignificant". Perhaps with the benefit of hindsight, that might be the case, but when he was batting the game was still wide open. Indian pitches crumble down on the 4th and 5th day and had we posted a good lead, there was an opportunity to get a result. To my mind, what Atherton did against SA and what Astle did against England were great match saving innings. What Laxman and Dravid did against the Aussies was completely different. Their innings converted a losing position into a winning one.

@eddy

Good question, but it is probably some inexplicable quirk of cricket rather than the uniqueness of Lara's achievement because Sir Don had compiled 434, albeit in a first class match and Lara had already made 501 previously. So, the statistical column 400s has not yet been invented for some reason; ought to be by now. It is worth pointing out that when summarizing a batsman's record, a double century or triple is still counted as a CENTURY and the fans are expected to hunt for the details of a batsman's doubles and/or triples.

Tarak:Why do englishmen have problems with Indians??If an Englishman had done that they would have had the Queens honor bestowed upon them.

He mentioned Laxman's 281 as a modern-day epic, so I think his problem is more with the flat pitch and Sehwag's methods. Purists do and will disapprove of his style, but Viru is not listening to them and he better not ever.

Well, Mr. Steen, I had high regard for you for the quality of your articles, but I'm afraid that this one leaves a sour taste in the mouth. I'm no Indian, but you have to stop and admire Sehwag's innings for the sheer brutality! If you don't think that it's great, just consider the fact that no-one else scored with the fluency of Sehwag despite all having played on the same pitch.

To illustrate my point further, take the first match between SL and WI @ Guyana. The pitch for the first 2 days were as flat as a pancake, yet both teams were going at a snail's rate!

I would imagine that any Test innings exceeding 300 is great by default. The effort involved in maintaining that level of concentration under the prevailing conditions, such clear intent, score almost 50 % of your team's runs at better than a run-a-ball, against an excellent pace attack already imbues the innings with greatness. Unfortunately, it didn't break a record (bar it being the fastest, meaningless since it could be be seen as an indictment of the pitch) or force a result; hence the "most meaningless" allotment. It's lack of meaning should not render the innings void of greatness, though. It was a fantastic piece of counter-punching by Sehwag, and on a par with anything else I have seen. Let's look at the innings on it's own, as opposed to placing it in the match outcome context. Although I support SA 100 %, great stuff Veeru, here's hoping you keep it coming for years...

Granted Sehwag belted the living daylights out of SA bowlers, and yes it was one of the "best" innings of all times. But memorable? I think not! I scarcely remember it, and it has hardly been a week. The innings I remember are Dravid's 148 at Leeds ('02), and 233 at Adelaide ('03). Nobody will forget Laxman's 281 at Calcutta, and how about his 148 at Adelaide ('03). I remember how Tendulkar took Warne apart in second innings on a breaking pitch in Chennai ('98), I felt his pain as he battled pinful spasms in his back for 136 in last innings against Pakistan in Chennai ('99) leaving about a dozen runs for last 3 wickets, which were never gotten. These are ALL TIME GREATS, they stand out because runs were made not with the tide but against it. Sehwag's knock was great entertainment. But his three best innings till date for me have been 105 against SA ('01), 195 aainst Australia ('03), and 151 against Australia ('08).

Indians replying to this post: Please, pretty please with sugar on top, please don't get into this racist-imperialist bullcrap about Englishmen and brown people. Gavaskar is enough to pull that wagon and he makes me sick enough as it is.

Rob, I would like to add one more innings to the list of great innings, albeit one that was played in a losing cause: Sachin's 136 against Pakistan, ironically at the same ground. I would disagree with the statement that only a favorable end result guarantees an innings "greatness". There is a certain bit of romanticism involved with having been valiant in a losing cause. Just my two cents ...

It was a tremendous innings in a lacklustre partnership. Dravid is a boringly dependable batsman and while he can usually rotate the strike at will, he was all at sea for the first 3 hours of his innings :S

What I would like to take exception especially considering the nature of the article of "the game’s most intimidating pace attack", "best bowling attacks in the world", "excellent bowling attack" etc. being used to describe the South African bowling attack. What are all of you smoking?

Steyn is still green and yet to perform against the better Test teams.

Ntini has a singularly unflattering record in the subcontinent.

Morkel is as green as green can get.

Kallis is a batting allrounder.

Harris is the long lost second cousin (twice removed) of Ashley Giles.

What are we talking about here really? They have pace and potential. Experience and fortitude? No.

When I got up in the morning I switched on Sky and Sehwag was on about 100. I started watching him bat and became totally entranced. So much so that I didnt go to work until the afternoon feigning a headache(I hope my boss isnt reading this) To my mind it was one of the most brilliant innings I have ever witnessed. Ntini, Steyn and Morkel were made to look ordinary by Sehwag yet when they bowled to Dravid they seemed to be bowling hand grenades. It beggars belief that Sehwag was not good enough to play in the tests against England last summer

In response to Tarak's message, if you want to comment on the positives of Sehwag's innings, please do so. As for slighting England, by saying you guys : your own quotes 'India has overtaken ur land in all forms ..Sports or ecocnomic achievements( TATA has just bought Rovers) .and also we dont lick USA like u all do..', could you kindly do us a favour and call your people back from here. Would be greatly appreciated, and I for one would fly down to India to personally thank you for it. Cheers mate!!!!!!!!!!

40,000 people in the ground and a billion people all over the world think that innings os shewag was "significant" and "great" ....and this article to be "insignificant" and waste of time n resource.....

I think everyone has had a good go at Rob's comments. One reason why we all enjoyed Sehwag's blitzkrieg was due to the lame duck batting display by his compatriots like Dravid. Though people have got bored with Dravid's batting style it is very clear that he was playing for his 10000 runs record. Arun Lal once commented during Sehwag's innings that Test Cricket was saved by Sehwag's batting displays. It was such a contrast to watch Dravid plough through his innings and Sehwag dominate the situation even with a lead of 500 plus to overcome. Never the man who cares for his records, he just thanks the heavens when it is all done and dusted. Ganguly and Dravid should take retirement or other emerging Sehwags will never get the opportunity.
If ever there is another triple century at less than 300 balls, 99% chances are that it will be Sehwag again.......

@ Madan.........At last some support for my observation, if you view the 'blow me' blog ive been trying to convince people of this 'three double triplecenturions' scenerio for the past three days!!! eddy

I agree to Rob's view to an extent. Having watched entire test match ball by ball on TV, I can say there was no chance for a bowler to take a wicket.Whether it would have been Lee,McGrath,Warne,Marshall,Holding,Thompson,Lille,Hadlee,Kapil,Imran, no bowler had even 1% help from the pitch to take a wicket. There was no wind even which could help the bowlers to swing or reverse swing.There was no variable bounce and hardly any ball kept low. The kind of across the line and on the up shots that Sehwag played, he would have easily given a catch to the slips or could have been bowled or lbw if there would have been some movement for bowlers.Having said that, to keep hitting the ball for seven hours continuously is no mean achievement and all credit to him for that. But when bowlers get some help from pitch, I don't think Sehwag has skills to survive as his record suggests.

It is quite sad that the match had no result. But given that it is test cricket's unique aspect that the match could be drawn and still have people raving about it, I have no problems with that. But, as someone else pointed out, the innings did give hope of a result on a truly dead pitch. And only very few people can manage to bat like that. Lara is another example. Of course, how exactly one views his inning will depend on who you talk to. So, I see no point arguing about it.

On a side note, posts like Tarak's have to be removed by the moderator. They contribute nothing to the debate and cause unnecessary rift among cricket lovers.

Lara's innings of 153 not out is the best knock in the last 50 years no question considering the bowling attack he was up against, the state of the pitch, his talent of his own team. Infact that series against Australia was Lara vs Australia. He was under tremendous pressure with captaincy being offered for only the first test. He scored a magnificient 213 in the second to retain the captaincy for the series. I am Indian and support all Indian players but we need to appreciate good cricket always.

As an Indian and a cricket lover -- couldn't agree more.I am sorry that you dont write about English football. That sport needs a few writers like you.

Greatest insignificant innings of all time?? How about greatest insignificant blog post of all time? Just because Lara and McCabe conjured wonderful innings doesn;t devalue Sehwag's effort. If not for him, India would've folded by an innings, RSA would've been cock-a-hoop and India would've surrendered the series in classic Men in Blue style. How about greatest series saving innings of all time, if you had put a name on it. Think (a lot) before you put pen to paper man.

Look at it this way...take away Sehwag's innings, and India would have conceded a first innings deficit of 300, probably followed on, and probably lost. So if that isn't a match-saving innings I don't know what is.

I wonder if you would have the same "sane" view if Kevin Pieterson scored a double century of say 175 balls and England did not win the game. Acknowledge a great counter attacking century which saved the match for India and stop comparing it with other so called media created greats. Looking at the way he bats, he puts the team first and his innings next (Scoring 150+ against Australia in the 4th Innings in Adelaide oval without being his aggressive self,195 in the first test against Australia in Melbourne 2004 series etc). Calling it "The greatest insignificant innings" reminds me of an old story called "The Fox and the Grapes".

Insignificant... Are you kidding me...Nice Try Steen. Some Pom gal might fall for it. But, not somebody that knows cricket.

Please do me a favor. Stop writing for some time and take a break... Will you.

This is a bit funny. First Tony Greig carps about how Dravid is not so great, where he gave more credit to Sehwag. And now Mr. Steen here is even discounting the significance of Sehwag's innings. Amazing! Something must be up the non-indian CI editors' backside, they don't want to appreciate the significance of the Chennai test to India. The end of the test was lame because of South Africa's possibly defensive mentality (but it could also have been a clever ploy to tire out the bowlers for the next test), and also because of Dravid's lack of form. The match for entirety of South Africa's first innings and India's first innings for as long as Sehwag batted, was one of the best. Very few test matches played on such flatbeds have been turned on its head in such spectacular manner. Speaking of insignificant innings, Lara's 375, 400* in tests and 501* in first class, Hayden's 380 against Zimbabwe stand out way above any other innings ever played. Thank you Mr. Steen for your stupid carping.

Not a very good lob, Rob! Unfortunately a dour innings like Atherton's 185 automatically qualifies as an epic back-to-the-wall-knock. However, we look at Sehwag's innings in a different light because of its sheer audacity! Imagine Sehwag getting out for 10, and India collapsing for 290, following on, and losing the game. It could have happened. Therefore I look at Sehwag's innings as a fascinatingly brutal counterattack when it was not expected. He managed to turn a game on its head when it was least expected. This performance could have been the Botham of Headingly or the Laxman of Kolkata, if only the rest of our batting had performed, and if our bowling had more teeth.

Madan, don't waste your time with Tarak. He is rather confused, yammering about Tata and Rover etc.

Anyway Rob is right, it was a wonderful knock, but not a great one. Period! Sehwag will come back with another triple maybe that one will be a great knock. If he does come with another 300+ then that will seal his reputation as a great player!

Rob,
Totally stupid article. I would compare this Sehwag's innings with Lara's 153 for the sheer genuis. In my book Sehwag is a GREAT. For anyone having 10 Test centuries in excess of 150 at a terrific strike is a GREAT. I don't care what you think.

Dear Sir:

Your insights are fascinating but fatally flawed.... or so would a respected English scribe would begin.

I have nothing much to add.

Mr Steen, the unfortunate thing is that he is an opener - does it mean he took the crease "when there was no crisis???"
Maybe if he had taken the crease at 154 for 9, and went on to score 319, it would have qualified.
So openers take note, 'you can never be match-savers'!

Hi Rob,
There is a flaw in your reasoning.As per your definition of a significant innings being either a match winning or a match saving one, this is clearly a match saving one (you seem to convey the opinion that only second innings are match saving ones). Take away shewag's score from the total and India are facing certain follow-on and anything could have happened in the follow -on second innings under pressure. So even by your definition this has to be a significant innings. Given the heat, humidity of chennai and the quality of bowling attack and the speed with which it was conceived it has to be termed an exceptional innings. Besides all other parameters it is important to consider the entertainment factor for the spectators and advertisement for the game . If you take this into account, then this is one of the majestic innings in modern times.

the 2 greatest test match innings of my time are Lara's 153 and VVS Laxman's 281 against australia.they came against the best opposition of their time,under unimaginable pressure.even they can easily rank as the greatest ever.on the context of the match and flair i would rate Laxman's knock slightly ahead of Lara's innings.

What a narrow-minded perspective! The innings was not insignifcant at all if we look at the larger picture. Innings like these help keep Test cricket alive, not to mention the fact that it has helped revive the career of one of the game's best entertainers and stroke makers. If we look at this from the series perspective, there will be an interesting mental battle between the South African pace attack and the Indian batsmen. Will the batsmen tremble if Sehwag gets dismissed early? Will South Africa adapt a surprise strategy for the Indian openers? This has given a whole new twist to the series despite the first game being a draw.
Any innings in test cricket that draws an audience in itself and leaves the spectators in awe is significant. Thats miten's lob.

Insignificant ? How can you experts say that without considering what if shewag hadnt played that knock. At the end of second day 540 behind, when not many teams can even dare survival, India , read sehwag's magnificant triple century. did the unthinkable and reversed the situation for SA where they were under severe pressure to perform yet again to save the game. SA being a great team they are batted extremely well to give the match the dullest of results. So on a hindsight I'll say sehwag's historic knock was match saving one that couldnt have come at a better time. This draw also has put us in a better position to win even one of the remaining test and pocket the series.

Rob, By calling it Insignificant you are essentially belittling an innings that was coregeous and destructive. Didn't you read SA Coach - Micky Arthur's comments the next day that he never thought of the scenario ? What other characterstics do you need to prove that the Sehwag's Innings is way up there? Even if he is not in the same league as Bradman, he nevertheless has shone in his own way. You need to recognize that. Imagine he had just scored 0, India might have collapsed to a follow-on. From that sense, he just save the test. I don't know why it can't be seen that way?

The greatest insignificant innings is also perhaps reserved for Rob's favorite Lara for his 400* at home against England. In fact he was criticized by Steve Waugh in the media for playing out the first innings (without declaring and giving his team a chance to win) just to get his record knowing the test would finish in a draw. Lara in an interview said and I quote "Unlike Australia, West indies is not a winning team and such records would inspire the West indies". Unlike Lara who played for his records, Sehwag helped place India in a potential winning position from requiring 340 just to avoid a follow on. He got the deserving praise from South Africa's coach who said when someone plays an unbelievable innings like that one can only put your hands up and appreciate him or hit him over the head with a stump!

I am not a huge fan of Sehwag and was was baying for his blood when he had a dip of form last year. But, I would always call a spade a spade and give credit where it is due. This was a great innings by any standards but I wouldnt call him a great player yet. He can still be inconsistent and may get out for 0 in the next test. That desnt take the greatness of things away. How can you say this is not a significant innings? 1)This was the first innings of the 1st test, chasing 540 as an opener. So he has produced this gem under pressure 2)If he hdant made that score, who knows? I ndia may have followed on and may even lost the match, so in that context it was a match saving innings 3)Again, he gave indians a sniff of victory with the pace at which he scored. If the indian blwoers could wipe the saffers out (like they themsleves folded), this might have a match winning innings.
For anybody to make a huge score, either the opposition be weak or the pitch flat and not swinging and seaming.

Sehwag was the only one with the audacity to envision a victory after day 2 of the match. On day 3 he made that a very real possibility with supreme dominance of inch of the field & everyone on it and even off it! The SA bowlers, fielders, captain & coach had no answer & nowhere to hide. The look on Styens face after Sehwag just whacked him to the boundary said it all!! So did the way he reached 100, 200 & 300!! He can't be blamed or his innings diminished by the failures of others. The rest of the Indians played slow & the SA even slower (in their 2nd innings!). It was pathetic! I would have Sehwag as my captain any day over Kumble & Co!

Robs description of Sehwags knock sounds as:
unparallel, greatest among greats.He finds himself short of superlatives,adjectives to describe quality of stroke play against most accurate striking bowlers in the contemporary cricket.Rest of the so called great batsmen were struggling against same bowlers.The desired impact of winning need contribution from bowlers also. The other described great innings had support of bowlers if not batsmen.Hence Rob's titling the innings as insignificant firstly does not match with his write up and also sounds bad in ears. In modern day cricket what we have witnessed in 2nd and 3rd day of Chennai test was massacre of aptly equipped army of fast bowlers with flawless ease.There was only one man who was noticeable on the field rest of them were only completing the motions of their allotted acts.Well done Rob but for title.

By this logic every innings played in a drawn match is insignificant.

I think the writer is spot on, notice how he doesnt really mention Lara's 375 & 400, he is talking about his 153 against aussie, which was an altogether different affair!

Media men never cease to amaze me. At the end of day 3, Cricinfo commentators were touting India's prospects of winning after Sehwag managed to bludgeon a spectacular 300-odd run not-out innings with a strike rate greater than 100%. After the test was over, it was described as a dull draw to a monotonous test! How on earth can 319 from 309 deliveries be described as monotonous?!

Whilst the result was not a positive one, the fact that Sehwag through sheer fearlessness managed to create a window of opportunity for India, even after SA posted an imposing total, means his innings must be considered great. Moreover, consider this context: remove Sehwag's innings and India scored 308 for the loss of 9 wickets - still 32 adrift of the follow-on target.

Sehwag's innings may not have singlehandedly won the test match for India but he had a bloody good go. In doing so, he may have saved the match. But on that point, we'll just never know...

Dear Mr Rob you are contradicting your own statement here. you have mentioned in the same article quote (By any estimation, the greatest innings, surely, are those that reverse the tide, either saving or winning a match.) unquote. Has Sehwag innings not saved the Test match for India. Tell me what would have happened if Sehwag has not scored 319 runs, india could have lost the test matches by 10 wickets on fourth day itself.

Nice article !! But Its an Irony that Rob Steen could have classified this as one of the greatest knocks, had Sehwag scored it coming say 5th down in this very same match..after say Sachin, Sourav, Laxman, Dhoni all failed to score well. In which case without Sehwag's knock India really would have followed on and defly lost the match from there on. Same innings, in the same match would have been an epic had it come down the order.

Rob is being unduly harsh here. This was undoubtedly a modern classic. Against quality bowling, Sehwag came out and pretty much thrashed the daylights out of them consistently for four sessions. This was a test match that India was losing on the second day. By the start of day four, it seemed possible for India to push for victory. The Indian middle order and their bowlers messed it up. Sachin and Dhoni did not stand up when it counted -- Ganguly was going well until he got out. The fast bowlers just sprayed it around -- even a restrictive spell and some good fielding would've put some pressure on the Proteas.
Unfortunately the rest of the Indian team did not seem to have taken inspiration from Sehwag's masterpiece. It was the greatest innings that I saw simply because there was only one man could get Sehwag out on that day, and that was Sehwag himself.

I do not understand the logic of the people who rate the ability of a player and the importance of an innings by the incompetency of his contemporaries and the inability of his colleagues to rake up such an innings. Sure Lara's innings was one of the best you saw, but would you have given it the same importance if he did it with 6 wickets to spare rather than 1 ?

you require an adrenaline rush for your brain to actually appreciate the innings played.

most of us, are happy with our brains working at normal harmonal levels.

It seems almost ironic that the greatness of Sehwag's innings is what makes it mediocre in the author's eyes. If sehwag had scored may be just 200 and the match were a bit closer, this would have been a match saving innings- something that would have translated it into a great knock. At times, it more important to just evaluate innings like these not within the context of the game but for what it is in the purest sense; and then enjoy it for what it is and for what it was never.

Sehwag is hardly to blame for the Test being drawn. Most triple centuries come against weakened attacks, this was against a full-strength and potent SA bowling lineup. Most triple centuries also result in drawn matches unless the other team capitulates and loses by an innings.

Full credit to Sehwag. Great innings in my book.

Nice Point Of View!!!

However, Why can't we just leave it as a significant innings in an insignificant test match??
For sure it was a great test of endurance in that heat and humidity, even if you disregard the condition of the pitch.
Now
In response to Mr Kevin George's message," could you kindly do us a favour and call your people back from here. Would be greatly appreciated, and I for one would fly down to India to personally thank you for it. Cheers mate!!!!!!!!!!""

Well, Georgie boy it's a bit too late now, the virus has spread all over UK !! and very soon in the near future the UK govt. is going to make the entry of skilled Indians even more easier than it is now!!! One day you will have to accept/realise that just like IPL we ( Indians ) are here to stay in UK!!! So you can run from us now !!!

Cheers Mate...innít?

I have to agree with Rob. I would be immensely impressed with Sehwag's innings if his had been the only, or one of two, centuries in the match. The fact that centuries were made by such batsmen as Amla and McKenzie, who I'm sure most would agree are not yet batsmen of oustanding quality, makes me wonder what scores batsmen like Ponting, Gilchrist, Jayawardene, Sangakkara and the like might have made on such a lifeless pitch. If Tendulkar had gotten in, there is no doubt in my mind you'd see a similarly attacking innings from him. What I would have given for Gilchrist's last innings to be on a pitch like this.

Good article. I totally agree.

I love watching Sehwag, he is awesome!
But he was batting on a dead track.

It was a good innings, but not as good as alot of people are making it out to be. Look at the other scores in the game. Batting was easier than normal.

Boma.

Replying to the quotes from "Kevin George" Could you kindly get all your people from Goa before they pollute this land any more and then I'll personally visit Eng and have a pint of Carling with you. Cheers to the lager mate!!!! Long live The Queen [Camella]. We gave you Freedie can't ask for more mate.

I'm glad Sehwag didn't get the record. I think it's one of those records that should be in the hands of a true legend of the game - Lara, Sobers, Hutton, etc. I was a bit annoyed for this reason when Hayden held it as well (and I'm Australian!).

Sehwag is not (and never will be) in the same bracket as the three players listed earlier. He's not consistent enough. When he gets his eye in, he does tend to go onto a really big score (which distorts his average somewhat), but to truly measure his worth, you have to ask if the likes of Brian Lara or Len Hutton would ever have spent a year on the sidelines. It's inconceivable.

Sehwag is a very good player, but he's not a great of the game. If he does get a decent score, it tends to be a big one, but he's too inconsistent for that to count for anything.

Good on him for getting a triple, but I'm glad he didn't get near the record.

@Danny

Those other batsmen you mentioned have all had their chances and they have played good innings, but this one is different. You won't see a similar attacking innings from those batsmen because they can't score at that rate consistently without being worried about getting out. Sehwag is special and you have to give him credit for that. It's very difficult to score at a breathtaking pace and score huge, both at the same time. What you're saying amounts to saying, "oh, everyone is making centuries here, so what's the big deal if he got a triple? He does it all the time" :P

Also, to everyone who is bashing Dravid, I think it was a reasonably good innings, since he didn't let wickets fall, and allowed Sehwag to score at his pace. To his credit, Dravid holds the record for the maximum number of century partnerships (72) in Test matches, and that's what he did again.

Although the innings was a remarkable feat, but yet another reason that disqualifies it from great is the nature of the flat track; again Sehwag's other 300 was also made on one of the flattest tracks (Multan) that could exist. Would Sehwaq reproduce something remotely similar on seaming tracks is the question?
I feel it is too soon to claim that Sehwag is already one of 5 greatest Indian batsmen. If he demonstrates consistent weakness against the moving ball, then it wll be hard to put him in that bracket. Not ironically Sehwag's best efforts come against Pakistan, and with Pakistan the matches would usually be played in the flat wickets of the subcontinent. Mind you, Sehwag is a very enterataining player to watch, but judgment on greatness seems to be floating around too much and too soon.

"in modern times, three of the greatest are unquestionably" ....

They were great innings and one could name 100 more innings (10 of them could just be from Gilchrist) that are ALMOST up there. But, one innings certainly ranks equal with that if not above: Gooch's unbeaten 154 @ Headingley against a formidable WI attack in 1991.

The use of the term "unquestionably" is unquestionably unacceptable and ultimately INSULT to some other great innings of the modern times (assuming post-1980).

A very well written piece Rob. Don't forgot about Lara's 213 in the game before - equally brilliant. In this era at least, only Brian and Sachin truly deserve to be called great. The pretenders to the throne are still 'merely' very good at this stage. Cheers.

Well Rob, I think you're being a touch unfair on Sehwag, because your statement, to me, assumes that India could have managed the draw without Sehwag. India is notoriously unpredictable and since the South Africans were coming on strong, I was anticipating a pathetic collapse on the part of the Indian batting line-up. Sehwag's innings, and to a lesser extent Dravid's, took the sting out of the South African attack and kept India afloat. Certainly Grame Smith was confident that South Africa was going to take this first test, but I feel Sehwag was the spanner in Graeme Smith's "works." That said, I consider the result of this match to be regrettable and the BCCI is to blame for allowing matches to be played on pathetic pitches like the one at Chennai. Sehwag's innings would have taken it's rightful place amongst the "great" innings, had this pitch not been so pathetic. Of course, a different pitch might have prevented such an innings from taking place; but the BCCI is still to blame.

totally disagree..again an englishman who cant accept indian / asian success..the best critic of any innings is the opposition n just read Arthur,kallis' comments on the innings.it was absolutely incredible to score at such a pace for so long...firtst tony greig said sachin scorin 15000s in odis s no gr8 task , then he said dravid s an average player n 10000 club is nuthin n now this..im no longer going to read such biased / silly articles...go n watch ur gr8 swashbucklers alistair cook , michael vaughan , strauss n ian bell perform n keep talkin abt ashes 2005 for another century for u ll never win another one

You might refuse to use the word arguably, but that does not put the matter beyond argument. All I hear is you really feel strongly about it, and that you don't think others opinions important (relatively) in the matter. But that does not change the fact that it is just that, your opinion. You don't get to choose whether it is arguable or not, by the very definition of the word arguable.

In response to Kevin George's message: I don't for a minute condone what Tarak said in his post but your message was just as uninformed and prejudiced. I almost want to say yeah we will leave - but in a couple of hundred years or so. After all your forefathers pillaged and raped India for a few hundred years. Cheers Mate!!!!!

Not quite. Lara's and Bradman's twin 300+ scores were equally great insignificant innings for they all ended in draws as well. Hayden's butchering of the hapless Zimbabwe attack apart, only Sobers's 365 stands as a significant great 300+ innings of the best lot. Beauty, my friend, lies in the eye of the beholder - a glass is half full too.

You british people can't digest that some Indian (read black) is doing so well against SA (read white). period.

Miten: innings was not insignifcant at all if we look at the larger picture. Innings like these help keep Test cricket alive

Exactly!!! The crowds milling in the Chennai heat to catch the action had to be seen to be believed. Suddenly, for just one day, Indai v/s SA took precedence over Chennai Superkings and thank God for that. In fact, the queue of fans waiting to get in on the fourth day was so huge that by the time many got in, that which they came for was already not to be, for Sehwag was gone. I don't blame McKenzie, Amla or Dravid in any way and in light of the middle-order collapse, Dravid's knock is even more valuable. They all played solid Test cricket the way they knew it; Sehwag is in a different zone altogether.

Rantings of an Englishman....i fled when i saw the headline and the sehwag pic..somethin within me instinctively yelled...rantings of an englishman

the key words in this post are "greatest insignificant", rather than "most insignificant" the innings was fairly useless but great, as there was no chance of a result on this flatbed; puzzling why pitches are prepared this way.
alot of flack has been thrown at lara's 375,400* and haydens 380 as being boring? how insignificant can a world record that everyone would like to have be? had sehwag snatched the record, obviously it won't be as insignificant as it is.

@Chris

>>I'm glad Sehwag didn't get the record. I think it's one of those records that should be in the hands of a true legend of the game - Lara, Sobers, Hutton, etc. I was a bit annoyed for this reason when Hayden held it as well (and I'm Australian!).

Ahem !

How much cricket do you watch, mate? Before applauding the greatness of Sehwag's innings, I would like to correct you about Hayden, first of all - The man has piled on 8242 runs @ 53.5 over 167 innings with 30 ( yes, 30 ) staggering hundreds, and you had the audacity to be "annoyed"... Thats interesting...

Also, Chris; it should be noted that legends are not born.. they are made.. Sehwag has a long way to go; but I do think that he's a legendary batsman in the making..

Coming back to Sehwag's innings, I think that the readers doesnt need my comments to make their decision on if it was great or not... any cricket lover with a passion for the game would grade it alongside the best test innings the world has ever seen. Period!

Rob Steen's column appears far more insignificant than Sehwag's blitzkrieg. Smashing Ntini, Steyn & co bananas for more than a day while making a mockery of 540 runs and setting up a possible win - not significant enough? If Steen was asked to write his column in the Chennai heat, he may have bettered the stupidity of his argument.

Not only was that 153 by Lara one of the great innings, it was perhaps the greatest match of the last decade. I do think that sometimes great innings by lesser players get overlooked because of the lacking "name value." In that very same match where Lara scored 153.....people forget the first innings. Australia having scored well over 400, WI were facing an irretrievable first innings deficit at 100 for 6. It was a brilliant salvage job by Sherwin Campbell to get them upto 300 plus with a century. That ultimately got them back in the game. No one remembers that as well though.

Not only was that 153 by Lara one of the great innings, it was perhaps the greatest match of the last decade. I do think that sometimes great innings by lesser players get overlooked because of the lacking "name value." In that very same match where Lara scored 153.....people forget the first innings. Australia having scored well over 400, WI were facing an irretrievable first innings deficit at 100 for 6. It was a brilliant salvage job by Sherwin Campbell to get them upto 300 plus with a century. That ultimately got them back in the game. No one remembers that as well though.

Hm. Talking about insignificance, tell me, how did the rest of the batting order perform? With the dismissal of Sehwag, India lost 9 wickets for how much, 160 odd?? Take out Sehwag's innings, and what are you left with as India's response, in response to a 540?

Does that make his innings significant in any way? It is unfortunate that you chose to judge his innings by the overall result of the match and the otherwise dominance of the bat over the ball, rather than by the situation at which the innings was constructed.

Given a choice, I'd watch an insignificant Sehwag innings any day in preference to reading a pityful article such as this from you.

First of all I would like cricinfo please start doing a QA of the articles and prevent such kind of are. Of course with all due respect to the writer, who has written 'great' articles in the past but this article as described in the article was nowhere near 'great'.
It was absolutely unecessary to explain the usage and context of various english words in an article about cricket?
I can say for sure after reading this article that it was neither great nor fantastic nor astounding nor terrific !!

Virender Sehwag's epic innings was one of the greatest innings played by indian batsman but this article was the most insignificant article ever written.

thanks
regards

People and critics alike have not been fair to Sehwag.

- Flat track? Arn't others also batting on the same tracks? Correct me if I'm wrong but I think ALL the test triple centuries have come on easy tracks.

-Not winning/drawing the test? Had Sehwag failed, India could have been under pressure. And had Indian batsmen carried the momentum on the 4th day, SA could have been under pressure! Its a tribute to his genius that a dead-as-a-dodo track gave the possibility of a result within 5 days!

Still, the tag of greatest insignificant innings is not too bad. We can see that Rob's rated this innings better than Lara'a or Hayden's record breaking ones, or for that matter, many other triple centuries.

Fantastic innings at better than a run a ball. What more could be asked of Sehwag? This triple was not scored in mum's backyard on a Saturday afternoon barbecue. It was scored against a fantastic bowling and fielding team. With this innings Sehwag put his team in a good position chasing down SA's huge 1st innings total of 500+. Besides, it was never going to be an Indian win after SA's 1st innings, but Sehwag's innings certainly saved the match for India. People can say what they like about dead wickets, but this wicket was the same for both teams throughout the match. It may not have been helpful to the bowlers, but it was not the kind of wicket that a nobody (like me) could come along make a triple either. It still took considerable skill and powers of concentration on Sehwag's part. Well done, mate. Love your work.

Hanif Muhammad's 337 epic against the mighty Westindies is the greatest knock of all time.!!!

Sehwag cannot be considered a great player nor his last innings great. His innings was impressive, but the Indians in this forum seem to have forgotten the South African's first innings score and their centurions. I would agree with Rob in that great has to be associated with the outcome. Gavaskar,Lara,Richards,Bradman,Beneaud sre great. Tendulkar does not fall into the graet category. How many matches has he ever won for India? Such a boring batsman to watch.

Its shame to hear the comments like this. Ask the South African coach about the importance of the innings. look at the array of strokes played by him. Its a chance less and match saving innings. We should give full credit to him.

this is for Omer-

if the Multan triple century as well as this one was disqualified from greatness thanks to a dead track, then I wonder how come no Pakistani was able to match upto him ? How come no Pakistani batsman has managed to rack up 2 triple centuries despite having played innumerable test matches on dead sub-continental tracks ? the fact is that this was a good bowling attack, and the situation was such that had Sehwag gotten out earlier, India could well have lost the test. it was a stupendous innings in the sheer audacity of stroke play and the counter-attack completely put the pressure back on SA- after having scored 540 !! Had Kevin Pietersen been the batsman to have scored these many runs at this fast clip against SA, I'm pretty sure this kind of an article would'nt have been written by Rob.

The only reality is the scoreboard, so why do we need a defense or attack against a subjective characterisation like "greatness"? Rob, if you think it was not great, you're right. If someone else disagrees, that's fine too. Just because it's so easy and convenient to opine and be heard nowadays, we don't need to comment / counter-comment. And if your view is governed by your being an Englishman, so be it. The comments suggest a nationalist flavour also, don't they?

A few people here sound like they are desperately trying to convince themselves, more so than others, about the chimerical failure of Sehwag on the seaming tracks outside of the Sub-Continent. I fail to assert whether that classifies as perverted dogmatism by a bunch of obstructionists who are plain unwilling to come to terms with reality or genuine gibberish of a herd of ignoramuses, but it is indeed amusing that Sehwag, burdened with all the mediocre credentials thrust on him by this ridiculous fraternity, is still perhaps the only Indian batsman to stand out on particularly pacer-friendly pitches of NZ, Eng, RSA and Aus during his tenure as an opener, that too without sacrificing his usual stroke-play. As to this article, one necessarily needs to be impregnated with an abundance of comic self-importance and confounding parochialism to go with his ability to conjure up profoundly preposterous conclusions in order to retain some sort of crediblity as a cricket-journalist in England!

To start with, I must say that all the Indians who are going against Rob are poor in understanding his column. He is by no means telling that Sehwags innings of 319 is not great or does not deserve any credit. Insted he is trying to convey the fact that this innings of sehwag, though one of the best in test cricket, is not close to any of the match winning innings described above. There is no way that this innings is close to VVS Laxmans 281 or Brian Laras 213 both versus Australia.
A innings becomes great not by the amount of runs that it contains but the situation when those runs came....
Thats all I have to say....

Rob.....Its a wonderful article...

In response to Karthik's criticism of the SA pace attack. All 3 opening seamers have strike rates around 55. That's a wicket every 9 overs, and is up there with the best of them. Steyn is rated as the form paceman currently playing on the planet. Ntini's sad subcontinental record notwithstanding, he is still rated as one of the top ten best pacemen on the planet. Harris was the third most successful Test spinner in the last calendar year, behind Murali and Kumble, and took more wickets than both Harbajan and Kaneria, at an average and strike rate which Giles never achieved in his career. Kallis has a bowling average of around 35, which makes him much better than just a batting allrounder. SA's 4-man bowling attack stands up well against most of the top teams in the world, green or not, poor subcontinent record or not. Therefore, we should not attack Mr Steen's asseessment of SA's attack, and keep the blog focussed on discussing Veeru's awesome achievement.

First Tony Greg (10000 RUns - Average Player) and now another Englishman. Sorry dear you have no right to issue CERTIFICATES, days have gone of your dominance to the world. Sit quitely at Home now and watch the Records on T V instead. I strongly beleive that ASIANS are underestimated in all aspects of life, instead we are LEADING in all, every where be it I T, Defense, Automobiles, Aerospace etc.

My Dear Avinash,

I think you have not seen him make century on debut in SA, His centuries against Aus in Aus....
His centuries against NZ in NZ on green tops in 2003 when everyone else in the Indian team came a cropper.

Give the credit that the Man deserves. There is no denying that this man has revolutionized the way test cricket ( and as an opener along with the likes of Jayasurya ) is played hence on.

Kudos to you Sehwag and may your breed prosper..

We can assume from everyones reactions that Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly and Dhoni would've been completely incapable of saving the test match? If that's the case why are they even in the team? Sehwag has to be the greatest batsman of all time to be able to score 300 on a pitch where none of those guys could bat for time.

In many of the comments I can see a tendency to disparage Dravids innings to show that Sehwag was good. Yes Sehwag indeed was, and yet he has to do a great deal to reach where Lara is. Also in terms of sheer service to the nation, he has a long way to go before he comes close to Dravid too. If Dravid would have failed in this test, India would have lost. Period. Sehwag of course was the star of the test and deserves all the accolades. But lets not blow it out of proportion.

In my opinoin this Innings has more significane that that og Brian Lara's 400.
When Sehwag was in the middle anyone who was following the match had never had a doubt that India would loose the match, if Sehwag would havebeen out before he scored a hundred looking at the way the rest of the indian batting was piled up by the south African pace battery i tink india should have followed on batting in the second innigs & would have faced an innings defeat. I dont think anybody realizes how important this innings was just because the knock came so early in the innings, am sure this innings would have been consudered of much bigger value if he had scored in the second innings if India had followed on.
So lets give all the credit to Sehwag for the way he batted & dominated the best pace attack (arguably) in the world.
Also lets not forget the pressure under which he was batting, his place was on the stakes when satrted the innings @ chennai & he batted with such ease as if he dont care.

Why always indians are under rated ?. One Englishman saying, 10000 runs club is over hyped. Am asking him, how many Englishmen in that club.. In My view, viru's innings is a master class innings.. He played in too hot condition, faced steyn and ntini to score his sencond triple century.

One of the greatest innings by an Indian. Rob's headline would have read " The Greatest Innings Ever" if it were an Englishman in the same circumstances. Its a bias we Indians live with and choose to ignore.

I think of all the comments (I read each and every one with as much interest as I followed Sehwags GREAT innings) on this article the only sane voice seems to come from Jack Dawson. Rob does recognise the innings from Sehwag but he is trying to put it into perspective and comparing it with other GREAT innings. Which one or two or three are more GREAT than the others will always be a point of view depending upon what aspects one wants to consider.
I think people should have debated the opinions without needing to denigrate any one or two or three and some remarks could possibly have been addressed in a more gentlemanly manner - after all aren't we all commenting and opining upon an incident in a gentleman's game then again the recent tendency towards sledging seems to be spreading to the viewing public also.
Sehwag's innings was great to watch - it entertained everyone and so many statistics have been quoted that there can be no doubt that it was a heroic effort - my tuppence on this.

Is Mr Steen the greatest insignificant cricket writer of all time - discuss.

How anyone can think Lara's 153* is the greatest ever innnings, when he was dropped twice, is beyond me.

I disagree. He is an "astoundingly" insignificant writer. And i refuse to use "arguably" in the previous sentence.

Sehwag's batting pains me; it pains me for it makes a mockery of all that i have held dear for so long; it makes a mockery of Tendulkar's genius, his batting and his longlist of fabulous innings, and similarly of Gavaskar's and so on. It makes me wonder what these "greats" were doing, if all that they did could have been done the Sehwag way. He pains me for he upset my revered yardsticks and frameworks of batting, and batting in test matches at that, that allowed me to make sense of a Sachin's or a gavaskar's great knocks. He pains me for he makes me feel i was wrong all along the way.
By god sehwag is brilliant, and if he lasts and ends up playing similar knocks for another 4-5 years he will have reworked our yardsticks for measuring batting greatness. But then the question is how long will he last, and last with his style of batting?

Rob,
I understand and agree with the message you were trying to convey by your article but not by the manner in which it was put. To describe this innings as insignificant is too harsh.I agree that Sehwag's splendid knock pales in comparison to the innings mentioned by you but by no stretch of imagination was this innings insignificant.His innings opened the game and gave India a chance to think of victory even after conceding 540 runs.
Going by your arguments I guess Lara's 400 was the greatest insignificant innings or how about Jayasuriya's 340? Atleast Sehwag had to face much
better bowlers than them.

As Usual another Englishman not praising a wonderful performance by an Indian.
It always happen that if an indian performs, it is not of much significance compared to English player no matter how insignificant it is.
on the other hand if something goes wrong by an indian, even if it is a romour it will be portrayed as the worst ever ( Example of Harbajan's incident in Aus Series this year).
You Englishmen cannot digest the success not only by Indian(also other countymen) Coz you still live in early 1900's
Wake up now!!! the world has changed...

All Credit to Sehwag, who batted magnificiently under the same conditions as did Sachin, Dravid, Graeme Smith & Kallis. Especially the way he batted against the negative tactics of SA captain & Paul Harrris's bowling on legstump over the wicket. He left The SA Coach & Captian Clueless,made them surrender by not taking the second new ball early when it was due.Even The Great Sachin Couldnt Bat like Sehwag in Bangalore against Ashley Giles

bull's eye.. puts things in perspective... i do think ( we) Indians have a habit of making things look bigger than they actually are. I am shocked at why commentators are gloating over Sehwag's knock whereas they should have been crying for Dravid's blood for not winning this test.. Agree with the view that the usage 'great' has been made ubiquitous nowadays. Indians need to cut emotions out of logic, if our cricket is to move forward. My view is that this knock has indeed been made insignificant by incompetency of other india cricketers to force a result. Indian cricket fans hardly have the intellect to realise that. Till that day comes, india will always remain as a fringe player in world cricket.