Virender Sehwag, who scored his second double century (201) in Tests on Saturday, slammed the Chinnaswamy wicket for its dead-pan response to the bowlers.
"This is not at all a good Test match wicket. They scored 570 runs and we are now close to 400. There is absolutely nothing in it for the bowlers. There is no competition between bat and ball," he said in the post-match press conference.
"It depends on the strategy Pakistan adopts from here. If we bat till lunch tomorrow, the pressure will again be on them [Pakistan] and they will have to decide whether to force a result or play out a draw."
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Sehwag said he came out in the morning with the aim of playing out the day, but lost his concentration after he completed the double hundred.
"I don't think any of the bowlers troubled me. [Mohammed] Sami was directing the deliveries at my ribs, but I was completely unfazed by them.
"It was only after I reached 200 that I lost my concentration. Ideally, I would have like an over or so after reaching the double hundred to settle down again. It is the 3-4 balls after such a landmark that are the most crucial."
The 25-year-old had scored a triple hundred (309) against Pakistan in Multan last year and has now scored 944 runs in six matches against them. But he said the big hundreds against the neighbours does not mean that he takes exception to their bowlers.
"My aim is to score against all the teams. It is not that I'm extra charged for the matches against Pakistan. I only want to play my normal game and score consistently for my team," he said.
Sehwag, who was seen as too flashy for an opener, in the process of his 201, scored the fastest 3,000 Test runs by an Indian. He took 55 innings (and 34 Tests) to reach this landmark, overhauling Mohammad Azharuddin's previous Indian record. Azhar needed 64 innings (and 43 Tests) to complete his 3,000 Test runs.
Sehwag now has 10 centuries in 34 matches, and his last six have all been 150-plus.
"Last time, in Mohali, I was out for 173. I reached the double hundred today. The difference is, maybe, of 27 runs only, but it means a lot. I didn't repeat the mistakes I made in Mohali today; that's what I am happy about," he said.
Sehwag dedicated his innings to his wife, Aarti, who was in Bangalore for the match.
"She was with me all the time," he said, breaking into a smile for the first time in the post-match conference.
The world may be comfortable with less-frantic Test openers, and commonsense has dictated more caution in longer version of the game than in the One-Day Internationals, but Sehwag is not sold to such dogmas.
"I will not change my game. I play my normal game, if the ball is there to hit, I hit, be it in the Test matches or the one-dayers."
With the kind of touch he is in, who would disagree?
Sehwag's performance is rooted in this supreme confidence. And as long as that stays bowlers can only provide the spark for this dynamite to explode.
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