Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag is perhaps the most devastating opening batsman that the cricketing world has ever seen. Sehwag possessed an uncanny ability to brutalise the bowlers irrespective of the playing conditions or the match situation.
Whether he was batting on 0 or on 99, the Delhi dasher recognised only one form of batsmanship – attack. Virender Sehwag’s exploits with the bat across the different formats of the game have helped him establish his position among the all-time greats of the sport.
Throughout his glittering career, Sehwag had several iconic moments which are still etched in the memory of his fans and fellow cricketers alike. Here we take a look at 10 of the best in chronological order:
#1 A century on Test debut against South Africa, 2001
Perhaps the toughest match for a cricketer during his career is his debut game, especially when it comes against a strong opposition playing in its own backyard. However, if you are Virender Sehwag, things suddenly start to seem a whole lot easier.
Coming in to bat at No. 6 with Team India in deep trouble at 68 for 4, it was a dream come true for Sehwag as he joined his idol Sachin Tendulkar at the crease. What followed for the next 284 deliveries was sheer magic as the young gun and the master added 220 runs for the 5th wicket and revived the Indian innings.
Even after Sachin was dismissed for 155, Virender Sehwag carried on his own merry way and got to his maiden century in his very first Test innings. As soon as his wicket fell, though, the Indian innings collapsed and the next four wickets fell cheaply.
India eventually lost the Test by 9 wickets, but Sehwag received a lot of appreciation for batting the way that he did in his debut match.
#2 Mauling the England bowlers in the 2002 Champions Trophy
One of Virender Sehwag’s most special ODI knocks came against England during the ICC Champions Trophy in 2002. This was a period in the Delhi batsman’s career when he was still trying to find his footing in the national team and he chose a grand stage to show the world what he was capable of.
England batted first at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and despite a decent bowling performance from the Indians, they posted a formidable 269 for 7 on the board. Nasser Hussain, the English skipper, was hoping that they would be able to pressurise Team India with this kind of target but Sehwag had completely different plans.
The right-hander unleashed a scathing attack on the bowlers and smashed the ball to all parts of the ground. Virender Sehwag plundered 126 off just 104 deliveries and dominated an opening partnership of 192 runs with skipper Sourav Ganguly to put England out of the game.
Ganguly, too, ended up getting a century as India won by 8 wickets with 63 balls to spare. As expected, Sehwag grabbed the Man of the Match award for his unbelievable display of attacking batsmanship.
#3 Twin ODI centuries against New Zealand in the 2002/03 series
India’s tour of New Zealand in the 2002/03 season was surely among their most forgettable ones as they were blanked out 2-0 in the Tests and lost the ODI series by a 5-2 margin. The only highlight of the series for the Indians, though, turned out to be Virender Sehwag’s terrific performance as he was the leading run-scorer from either team in the one-dayers.
While all other batsmen were struggling to score runs, Sehwag notched up a couple of centuries on pitches which were tailor-made for the seamers. The first of them came in a 35-run loss at Napier, where the swashbuckling batsman played a lone hand of 108 off 119 balls in an Indian score of 219.
In the 6th ODI of the series in Auckland, Virender Sehwag scored yet another century (112 from 139 balls) and led India’s run chase of 200. Although the other batsmen nearly ruined Sehwag’s efforts after his dismissal, last man Ashish Nehra somehow managed to see the team through to a 1-wicket win.
#4 Epic 195 against Australia at Melbourne, 2003
Virender Sehwag made his first major impact as a Test opener during India’s memorable tour to Australia in the 2003/04 season. The Indians were upbeat after their historic victory against the hosts in the 2nd Test at Adelaide and were looking to carry forth their momentum into the next match at Melbourne.
Sehwag appeared to have taken the responsibility for doing this as he launched into the Australian bowlers from the very outset. In just the 50th over of the Indian innings on Day 1 of the Test, the hard-hitting batsman had reached a century off only 144 balls.
By the time Virender Sehwag was dismissed with the team score at 311 for 4, he had smashed 195 in 233 deliveries, falling agonisingly short of a possible first double century. The Delhi cricketer, however, would go on to score 4 double centuries and 2 triple tons later on in his career.
#5 Conquering Multan with first ever triple ton by an Indian batsman, 2004
Despite having had many great batsmen in their ranks, the Indians didn’ t have a single triple centurion in their rich cricketing history. However, this was all about to change on 29 March 2004 in Multan as India set foot on Pakistani soil for the first time in 15 years.
The carnage began on Day 1 of the Test itself as Virender Sehwag bludgeoned the home team’s bowlers all around the park to get to a maiden double century off just 222 deliveries. Sehwag ended the day on an unbeaten 228 and expressed his will to go for 300 in an interview after the end of play.
The ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’ lived up to his promise and became the ‘Sultan of Multan’ by slamming the first ever triple hundred by an Indian batsman. Sehwag’s score of 309 set up the match beautifully for India and they registered a victory by an innings and 52 runs, the first against Pakistan in their backyard.
#6 Saving a Test at Adelaide in 2008
Considering his tendency to go after the bowlers from the very start of his innings, Virender Sehwag is probably the last person one would depend on to save a Test match. However, the belligerent batsman has even managed to pull this off just for the sake of his team.
The 2007/08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy was a fiercely-contested one and also saw a number of controversies emerge, particularly during the 2nd Test at Sydney. After lagging behind 2-0 in the series, India pulled one back by winning the 3rd Test at Perth.
The final Test played at Adelaide was a must-win game for the Indians to level the series and even though they notched up 526 in their first innings, the pressure was back on them when the Aussies posted 563 in theirs. By the time India came out to bat late on day 4, a victory was out of the question but they needed to bat through the remaining overs.
With Rahul Dravid retiring hurt early on Day 5 and the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly falling for low scores, the onus was on Sehwag to anchor the innings to safety. The situation saw the Delhi lad display a totally different side of himself as he showed immense restraint in helping the team survive the day.
Virender Sehwag was eventually dismissed for 151 off 236 balls with around 12 overs left to play and the tailenders negotiated them safely.
#7 Bettering his own mark with 319 against South Africa, 2008
Many legendary batsmen over the years have spent an entire career in the hope of scoring a triple hundred but have failed to achieve the feat. However, there are just 4 batsmen in cricket history who have managed to notch up two of them – Donald Bradman, Brian Lara, Chris Gayle and Virender Sehwag.
It took Sehwag just about 4 years after his iconic 309 at Multan in 2004 to crack yet another score in excess of 300, this time at home against the touring South Africans. Having conceded 540 runs to the visitors in their first innings, India needed something big to overshadow the mammoth total.
Perhaps only one man in the team could do the job and he managed to do it in great style. By the end of Day 2, Virender Sehwag was batting on 52; however, 257 runs had been added to this figure when play ended on Day 3 of the Test at Chennai.
With Sehwag unbeaten on 309 at the start of Day 4, many expected him to go for Brian Lara’s record score of 400 but the dashing opener could add just 10 more to fall for 319 off just 304 balls. Till date, Virender Sehwag remains the only Indian batsman to score a triple-century, let alone two.
#8 The great Indian chase at Chennai, 2008
One of the finest chapters in Virender Sehwag’s legendary career came about in a Test match against England at Chennai in 2008. The touring Englishmen had India on the mat, having given them a formidable target of 387 to chase down in a little under 4 sessions.
There was a lot of doubt on everyone’s mind over how the Indians should approach their innings except for one man – Virender Sehwag. As the innings got underway, one could not help but sense Sehwag’s intention to win the match as he took the English bowling attack to the cleaners.
Courtesy of some dazzling strokeplay, the Indian opener raced away to 50 off just 32 balls. When Graeme Swann finally got rid of Sehwag for 83, India were left with just 270 runs to chase down with an entire day’s play still in hand.
A century by Sachin Tendulkar with able assistance from Yuvraj Singh saw the home team clinch victory by 4 wickets. However, it was Virender Sehwag who picked up the Man of the Match award for his outrageous knock.
#9 Racking up the then fastest hundred by an Indian, 2009
Virender Sehwag always seems to have had a soft corner for the country of New Zealand as he played some of his best ODI knocks there. This included his 60-ball century against the home side at Hamilton in 2009, the fastest ODI century by an Indian until it was eclipsed by Virat Kohli’s 52-ball century against Australia in 2013.
In a rain-curtailed match, the Indians were eventually given a target of 281 to chase down in 47 overs. Sehwag led from the front as India reached 83 in their first 10 overs when there was another rain interruption. Unfazed by the weather, the Delhi dasher went about business in his usual aggressive fashion.
In the 19th over of the Indian innings, Virender Sehwag smashed a six off opposition skipper Daniel Vettori to come up with the then fastest ODI hundred by an Indian. The Duckworth-Lewis method came into play in the 24th over but India were already past the required mark thanks to Sehwag’s blinder.
#10 Double century in ODI cricket
Although a number of batsmen have eclipsed the 200-run mark in ODI cricket now, but Virender Sehwag was one of the first few cricketers to accomplish the feat. In fact, he turned out to be the second batsman in the history of one-day internationals to get there after his idol and teammate, Sachin Tendulkar.
The innings came in 2011 in the 4th match of a bilateral series against the West Indies at Indore. Sehwag blasted 219 off a mere 149 deliveries, which became the record for the highest individual score in an ODI innings until Rohit Sharma got his epic 264 at the Eden Gardens.
The highly-entertaining knock from Virender Sehwag helped India post a huge total of 418 for 5 on the board and they won the match by a margin of 153 runs. Sehwag, who was also captaining the team in the match, rightfully received the Man of the Match award for his innings.
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