India at the Champions Trophy: Virender Sehwag's trailblazing blitz vs England turns virtual knockout to lopsided affair

No bowler was capable enough of keeping Sehwag in check, no part of the ground was spared his pyrotechnics as he put on a masterclass.

Having expanded its wings from eight teams in the first edition to 11 in the second, the ICC KnockOut Trophy underwent a dramatically transformational change by the time of the third stanza, moving from a direct knockout to a league-cum-knockout tournament featuring 12 sides in 2002. The event was rechristened the ICC Champions Trophy, with Sri Lanka as the hosts.

Virender Sehwag during his innings against England(Getty)

The teams were divided into four groups of three each, with each pool topper advancing to the semifinals. India were clubbed with Zimbabwe and England, not exactly the Group of Death, though Sourav Ganguly’s men were pushed all the way in their Pool 2 opener by the African nation. Powered by a memorable 145 by skipper Andy Flower, Zimbabwe came within 14 runs of India’s 288 for six when their challenge ended.

With England brushing Zimbabwe aside by 108 runs, the stage was set for a virtual quarterfinal between the same sides who had played out a compelling final in the NatWest Trophy at Lord’s just two months previously. India had scaled down England’s 325 for five with two wickets and three deliveries to spare, courtesy a wonderful sixth-wicket stand of 121 between Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, so revenge was on England’s minds when the teams lined up at R Premadasa Stadium on 22 September 2002.

Conditions at the Premadasa during the tournament were largely good for batting in the first half and not so great under lights, so England might have felt they had a more than competitive total on the board when they finished on 269 for seven after Nasser Hussain opted to bat. Despite opener Nick Knight’s 50 and handy middle-order contributions from Ronnie Irani and Owais Shah, England were in a pickle at 153 for five at the start of the 34th over when an unexpected source came to their rescue.

Somerset all-rounder Ian Blackwell had been picked in the ODI squad for the first time as much for his power-packed left-handed batting as his modest left-arm spin. In only his second outing, he counter-attacked with flair and panache, fusing the fearlessness of the 23-year-old he was with the shot-selection of the seasoned campaigner he wasn’t. In the company of the experienced Alec Stewart, he added 104 for the sixth wicket, lording the stand whilst smashing 82 off just 68 deliveries, with six fours and three mighty sixes.

Six of the eight previous matches in the tournament had ended in favour of the team that had set a target, and England were quietly confident when they walked out to defend their total. Their optimism lasted precisely five overs, the time it took Virender Sehwag to get his eye in. The dashing opener from Delhi had fond memories of 50-over cricket in Colombo, having brought up the first of his 15 ODI tons at the neighbouring SSC ground in August 2001 when he hammered 100 off 70 deliveries against New Zealand.

Reprising those heroics, Sehwag decimated England from the time he smashed two fours in the sixth over, bowled by Matthew Hoggard. It was embarrassingly one-way traffic from then on. Ganguly himself was no slouch at the top of the ODI batting order, but he was made to look positively pedestrian as Sehwag cut loose with a vengeance. No bowler was capable enough of keeping him in check, no part of the ground was spared his pyrotechnics as he put on a masterclass liberally dotted by strokes off the back foot square on the off-side, his favoured scoring area. Hoggard, Andy Caddick and Dominic Cork tried to test out the non-existent bounce in the surface, Sehwag cut and ramped and upper-cut and occasionally pulled them with impunity, leaving Hussain’s men shell-shocked and utterly clueless.

So rampant was Sehwag that he reached his century in just the 22nd over, off 77 deliveries with 16 fours and a six. Just how much he dominated the first-wicket stand is evident from the fact that when he reached three-figures, Ganguly had made just 33 and when he was dismissed, drilling Blackwell back to him for 126, his captain had reached a stately 54 off 72 deliveries.

Ganguly slams century, too

The opening salvo of 192, in only 172 deliveries, all but settled the issue. Sehwag’s 104-ball blitz had transformed a potential thriller to the most ridiculously lop-sided non-contest and not even VVS Laxman’s run out after being left for dead by Ganguly dampened the mood in the Indian camp. England’s euphoria at Laxman’s dismissal disappeared at the sight of Sachin Tendulkar walking out at No. 4; Ganguly shifted gears with the little man’s arrival, going from 57 in 80 when Laxman fell to 100 in 103 deliveries.

Victory came by eight wickets with 63 deliveries to spare. Comprehensive, anyone?

Brief scores: England: 269/7 in 50 overs (Nick Knight 50, Ronnie Irani 37, Owais Shah34, Ian Blackwell 82, Alec Stewart 35; Ashish Nehra 2-49, Anil Kumble 2-58) lost to India: 271/2 in 39.3 overs (Virender Sehwag 126, Sourav Ganguly 117 n.o.) by eight wickets. PoM: Virender Sehwag.