Virender Sehwag's first innings in England - a sublime 71 off 65 balls at Lord's - might have surprised some of the crowd who were looking forward to watching the holy trinity of Ganguly, Tendulkar and Dravid. But it won't have come as a surprise to the England team, who were on the wrong end of a couple of Sehwag assaults in the one-day series earlier this year that were every bit as blistering as this one. The defining feature of his innings was how he punished both good and bad balls alike. From 43 balls that pitched on a good length, Sehwag leathered 47 runs - that's a rate equivalent to 6.56 per over. The best example was his fierce, almost flat-batted six over long-on off Ashley Giles's very first delivery. So much for a sighter.

Sehwag was also notably more productive when he played forward. He scored 41 from 27 balls off the front foot (9.11 per over), and 18 from 29 off the back foot (3.72 an over). All this, with a style and grace that confirmed his billing as a pocket version of Tendulkar. If he carries on like this, English crowds will be seeing a lot more of Mr Sehwag.

Rob Smyth is on the staff of Wisden.com.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd