If we acknowledge that cricket and bollywood are the two main sources of entertainment for Indians, one cannot help but inevitably use parallels to compare these two batsmen and discover how they are so similar, yet so different.

One Mission, Two Strategies

Both started off their careers in style. Dravid, coming in at No. 7, nearly scored a century - getting his runs in his cautious, yet solid approach. In the company of tailenders, he added 123 useful runs for the team – showing his ability to stay put and announce to the world that The Great Wall of Indian Cricket is now under construction.

In contrast, Sehwag was at his swashbuckling best on his debut. Coming in at No 6, he scored 105 runs with 76 of them coming from boundaries. “A ball that deserves to be hit needs to be hit, regardless of the match circumstances” is his mantra that is often quoted by cricket writers the world over.

When we look at the careers of these two batsmen, my mind inevitably goes back to the unforgettable Sholay – Fire vs Fire in Attack by one, Fire vs Fire in Defence by the other!

Sehwag believes in “find an enemy and attack” – or more precisely, “whoever you can attack is your enemy”. This was exemplified in his 309 vs Pak at Multan in 2004 – a match from which I personally derived tremendous vicarious pleasure in seeing Sehwag mince the Pakistan bowlers and send them to despair at a time when Musharaff was very rough with India post his new-found status vis-à-vis USA. Take a look at the scorecard of this memorable test at http://es.pn/sehwag309

This is his “no nonsense, I am Gabbar Singh” approach to the game.

If cricket doesn’t interest you as much as Bollywood, you would find the equivalent of Sehwag’s innings at http://bit.ly/mehbooba1

Dravid is a very private man – even when he is at the crease. A man of very few words, he tries to lead a gentle life at the crease but when he apprehends danger, doesn’t hesitate to either attack or build a solid wall of defence. His attack is best seen when the enemy tries to pierce through the defence. Dravid’s twin centuries of 190 and 103 not out vs New Zealand in 1999 demonstrated this to the hilt. 64% of his 293 runs in this test came through boundaries! Read about this test at http://bit.ly/test1438

A romantic in the way he plays his cricket and collects his runs or chases the target, you can find the equivalent Sholay style of romance at http://bit.ly/romanceincricket

Two Complementary Styles

The times when both have played well and together have been perhaps the finer moments of Indian cricket. In Jan 2006, faced with an imposing 679/7 declared by Pak, these two opened the innings and came at the doorstep of a world record opening partnership of 410! Clearly Sehwag dominated the partnership with 254 while Dravid scored 128 in almost the same time and number of balls. Dravid’s ability to “stay” in the middle was as important as Sehwag’s ability to “score” – each perfectly complementing the other. Else, the sheer weight of a high score could have made the team cave in.

Don’t miss reading about this match and the sensational stuff of Greg Chappel era in Wisden’s Almanack Report at http://bit.ly/almanack1781

If you want to take a look at the Sholay equivalent of the above match, visit http://bit.ly/yehdosti

Living Their Dreams

The most beautiful moment of the The Dravid School of Batsmanship came in the glorious Summer of 2001 at Eden Gardens about which much has been written and spoken.

Literally made to dance on pieces of broken glass, with a gun pointing at him if he ever stops, Dravid (in the company of Laxman) showed the world how he can fight "fire with fire" with the coolness of ice and resoluteness that earned him the epithet “The Wall”. The Sehwag style and temperament is not made for saving and winning matches in situations that require The Dravid Way.

Here is the link http://es.pn/dravidunforgettable

I am sure Basanti would have watched this match and remembered her own strength of mind when she danced http://bit.ly/basanti1

Sehwag’s blistering 293 vs Sri Lanks in Dec 2009 is representative of the type of cricket he has played all his life. Huge scores in quick time that demoralise the rivals and take the game away from them even before they can think of making a fight of it. It was a famous victory. The world thought Sehwag will eclipse the records of Bradman and Lara. Sehwag, in his usual style, decided to make the world wait.  The Dravid style and temperament is not made for situations that require winning The Sehwag Way.

Two Genres, One Class – Top Class

What do these movie clippings and cricket scorecards tell us?

Entertainment – of two completely different genres – Aggression and Fortitude. The Gabbar and Helen style of Sehwag, the Basanti, Jai and Veeru style of Dravid.

Can we compare Gabbar Singh to an Amrish Puri? Maybe to some extent. But can we compare Helen to Hema Malini or Gabbar Singh to Jai or Veeru of Sholay? Definitely not. They belong to completely different genres of acting, as different as night and day.

Any comparison of our cricketing heroes like Dravid and Sehwag should be seen in the same light. The expectations of the masses may change. Connoisseurs are a threatened species and may continue to dwindle. But neither these factors nor the votes, can take away the greatness of the actors themselves.

One is a purist to the core in classical batsmanship; the other a purist to the core within the confines of attacking batsmanship. No wonder then, you rarely or never get to see them playing strokes that are not taught in the Bradman-Gavaskar-Sachin school of cricket. Cricket as pure and virgin as-when-it-was-defined and invented.

Watching them play together is always a delight. Each is a lesson in the art of his style of batsmanship to the other. Dravid, for eternity, would love to master “aggressive cricket” by watching Sehwag at the other end. Sehwag may have a few lessons to learn on how he could have doubled his number of centuries by handling his 80s and 90s The Dravid Way..

Listen to this song from Milan … http://bit.ly/wecomplement

But unlike the song in Milan, the two shall recognize they are different and not learn from each other – for cricket lovers would prefer the way they are.

Whenever I see these two batsmen walking back to the pavilion, as a connoisseur of cricket-viewership, I think of one of my favorite songs from Hum Dono:

Click here to listen http://bit.ly/myheartisnotfull

Thankfully, we see them still playing – and hopefully, the next time I see them – individually or together at the crease, it would be a long, entertaining innings!

Cheers  

Tailpiece:

If you still want to rank one above the other, I suggest you decide with a toss of coin. Unlike the double headed coin Jai used in Sholay, use a legal coin – and if I were to call, I would watch it spin down and rest on its edge even before I say “Heads” or “Tails”. You can tip it whichever way you want, at your peril, depending on who you are!

(Concluded)