Virender Sehwag scored the first ever fifty in Ice Cricket by reaching the milestone in just 25 balls to help his team Palace Diamonds post a respectable 164 for 9, batting first in the first match of the St. Moritz Ice Cricket Challenge at St. Moritz in Switzerland.
However, Sehwag’s heroics with the bat was not enough to secure a victory for his side as former England middle order batsman Owais Shah overshadowed him to take Royals home with six wickets in hand and 28 balls to spare.
Shah hit a swashbuckling 74 not out off just 34 balls with seven sixes and five boundaries.
While most of the other batters of his team struggled to get the ball off the square, Sehwag made matters look ridiculously easy on his way to 62 off just 31 balls.
The Diamonds captain got to his fifty off just 25 balls, that too with a towering six off former New Zealand left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori. Scoring at a strike rate of 200, Sehwag hit five sixes and four boundaries on the newest form of the game.
Former India fast bowler, RP Singh rightly described Sehwag’s innings by stating “Some things never change, strike rate of Virender Sehwag is one of them.”
Sehwag was finally dismissed by Shoaib Akhtar when he mistimed a pull shot to get hold out at deep mid wicket for 62.
A host of former international greats including Virender Sehwag, Shahid Afrirdi, Jaques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Mike Hussey and Zaheer Khan is taking part in the St. Mortiz Ice Cricket Challenge. The match was played on a frozen lake in temperatures as low as -5 degree Celsius.
The second match will be played on Friday on the same venue and Sehwag’s Diamonds will look save the series after their crushing defeat on Thursday morning.