Cricket: Kamikaze batsman wins Indian hearts

Virender Sehwag was pondering his next shot on the pool table in Colombo in 2001 when a giant television screen flashed up an image of Sachin Tendulkar dancing down the track for one of his trademark pull shots.

The 22-year-old Sehwag, still with only nine one-day cricket matches behind him, gaped in obvious admiration before potting the black.

He played his first big knock the following week, 100 off 70 balls against New Zealand.

Today, bowlers worldwide would be loath to choose whether they would rather bowl at him or Tendulkar.

The opener from New Delhi has captured India's imagination just like his idol Tendulkar did as a curly-haired 16-year-old in 1989. His explosive shots and kamikaze approach have endeared him to millions of fans.

Once called the "poor man's Tendulkar" and "Tendulkar Mark II", Sehwag has emerged out of his hero's shadow by hitting eight centuries in 28 tests.

It is perhaps unfair, and too early, to compare the two. Tendulkar is 31 now and well past his peak. Sehwag, 26, is starting his international journey with a fresh hunger for runs.

They have obvious similarities - they are both short, stocky, reclusive and go hell-for-leather after the bowling -but hail from totally different backgrounds.

Tendulkar, raised in a cricket hotbed in Mumbai's Bandra locality, was spotted early after excelling in school matches.

He made Mumbai's domestic team when he was barely in his teens, got a test debut at 16 and never looked back.

For Sehwag, the son of a contractor in a flour mill, the journey to fame was not as smooth.

His cricket heroics as a youngster were limited to street matches, and he was allowed to take up the game seriously only when he was 15, after his matriculation exams.

But like Tendulkar, Sehwag's aura relies not just on how many runs he makes but how he makes them.

The good news for India is that his rise to stardom has almost coincided with Tendulkar's gradual decline.

Just three years ago, Tendulkar's early dismissal invariably meant India would crumble to a low score. Rahul Dravid's purple patch since 2002 and Sehwag's emergence have changed that.

Can Sehwag, like Tendulkar, go on to score nearly 10,000 test runs and hit more than 30 centuries? On present evidence, he may be well on his way.

- REUTERS