Bloemfontein Test, Day 1, Close
Saturday, November 3, 2001

Virender Sehwag was a revelation – a hundred on debut is a dream. The temperament that he showed today was truly admirable. It's so easy for a young player to be satisfied with a half-century, especially against a team like South Africa, but Sehwag showed that he is different.

It's very easy to lose your composure once a huge inspirational presence like Sachin Tendulkar is dismissed, but Sehwag showed no discernible change in his application after he was out. The team's interest was foremost in his thoughts, and he set himself for the big one and achieved it in style. In fact, even after getting his hundred he carried on in the same determined fashion, which is quite praiseworthy.   Sehwag showed in the one-dayers, especially while bowling at critical times, that he has a sharp cricketing brain, and his temperament and success in the one-dayers and this Test is a great plus for Indian cricket.   The day also proved why South Africa are a notch below Australia. Both South Africa and Australia know that the Indians are suspect against the short, rising ball, but while the Aussies, during their tour of India, concentrated outside the off stump to get their wickets, the South Africans were too short and erratic to be effective. In fact, Sourav Ganguly's was the only wicket they claimed with a short delivery. South Africa clearly don't have the cricketing nous of the Australians, and that was reflected in their performance today.   Deep Dasgupta looked most impressive to me. I have always maintained that a player has to be given a fair chance to prove himself, but we tend to get restless and panicky. There was no reason to send for Sameer Dighe just because Dasgupta didn't impress in the one-dayers. Dasgupta looks a good No. 7 batsman for India to me. His stay at the crease was most reassuring, and it's just possible that this confidence will extend to when he's keeping wicket.   The pitch looks a good one to bat on, so I would expect the South African batsmen to bat with an equal degree of comfort when they come out. It's not going to be easy for the Indian bowlers, and Harbhajan Singh's injury is a setback for them because if there was one bowler who might have troubled the South Africans it was Harbhajan rather than Anil Kumble.   But all in all it was a great day for India, considering their dismal start. This batting line-up, with Rahul Dravid opening, looks very good for this series. And with so many youngsters coming good, the future looks very exciting for India too.

Sanjay Manjrekar, mainstay of the Indian batting in the late 1980s and early '90s, was talking to H Natarajan. His column will appear on Wisden.com at the end of every session during this series.

More Sanjay Manjrekar
Tea: This is why Tendulkar is a genius

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd