The Sehwag storm struck South Africa with full force and pretty much blew everything in its way: he scored his 13th 150-plus score.
Amid the mayhem, it was easy to forget the cool, pleasant breeze that Sachin Tendulkar's 92nd international century was - his fourth in four Tests. Once the two quietened, South Africa struck back with three wickets to restore a semblance of a contest in the match.
The Sehwag storm struck South Africa with full force and pretty much blew everything that came its way. He rattled them first with a vicious assault on the new ball, then put behind him the Gautam Gambhir run-out, and came back to punish the bowlers some more after lunch. Amid the mayhem, it was easy to forget the cool pleasant breeze that Sachin Tendulkar's 79-ball half-century was.
There were two critical moments that hugely altered the flow of the game on the second day. Sehwag - 43 off 21 then - had the fastest Test fifty in sight when he ran Gambhir out, and chastised himself into playing disciplined cricket for a bit. Around the same time Morne Morkel indulged in some reverse-rattling, took out M Vijay, troubled Sehwag with accurate bouncers, produced an edge only to see JP Duminy drop it at first slip when Sehwag was on 47. Would Sehwag have gone at an even more frenetic rate had Gambhir not got out in that fashion? Would South Africa have been in control had Duminy held that catch?
It all started when Dale Steyn managed zero swing. Somehow the ball didn't come out right, the seam was wobbled, and Nagpur was a distant memory. And when there is no swing, pace is Steyn's biggest enemy. The faster they came the faster they went off the bat. Nor did he get the bounce of Morkel, which meant that when Steyn went for the ribs Sehwag could easily flick it past midwicket.
The storm started with that gentle little flick and then came three boundaries in three balls in the third over: placed over point, whipped to square leg, and then slashed past point. Morkel got the treatment in his third over. Three boundaries through the off side, one off a 152.6 kmph delivery, and Sehwag was soon 29 off 15. Wayne Parnell replaced Morkel immediately, and he was carved for a four and a six into the rubble of a stand being reconstructed - from one sight of debris to another.
Sehwag drove the next ball he faced for four, and then came the run-out. An inside edge rolled past square leg, and after an early call for two, he saw he had to run around the bowler to complete the second. That left Gambhir stranded midway down the pitch. It was time for drinks and Sehwag threw away his protective gear in disgust before settling down.
That was when Morkel came back, and sorted Vijay with a barrage of bouncers - one hitting him in the helmet - and then came the pitched up sucker delivery. Morkel was persistent, big-hearted, and accurate in that burst. Sehwag almost shut shop, and only 24 runs came in 8.4 overs. Sehwag kept swaying out of the line, but then came an even better delivery - short of a length, just outside off, and squaring Sehwag up. It took the edge, but Smith and Morkel watched in agony as Duminy's horror Test continued. It was Smith's regulation position, but he didn't want to put his injured finger further at risk.
Sehwag realised the cautious approach might not work, and returned blazing after lunch. For company he had Tendulkar. If you were a bowler, there was nowhere to hide.
Steyn learnt that early in his second spell - punch, whip, steer, 10 runs off three deliveries. Steyn to Sehwag then: 11 balls, 25 runs, five boundaries. Tendulkar joined the fun, defending everything full, but steering Steyn for two boundaries. Paul Harris, meanwhile, didn't have the luxury of a big score and bowled round the stumps, and was slog-swept and driven inside-out by Sehwag for a six and a four.
Back came Morkel, the best bowler on the day, and was given the worst treatment a best bowler can be given. This time Tendulkar took the lead. Two fullish deliveries, two clips to the on side, one to the left of square leg, one to the right. In his next over, he gave Sehwag width with three deep fielders on the off side - one to the left and one to the right. Sehwag was 89 off 72, and Tendulkar 38 off 61. India were 165 for 2 in 30.2 overs and South Africa's two best bowlers negated.
The pair toyed with the bowling with paddles from outside off, reverse-sweeps and clips past midwicket. Almost incident free, both reached their landmarks, and also took the partnership to 150. Harris eventually started bowling over the wicket, and was penalised with four wides because the circumstance was different in Nagpur. And it really was.
