SK Flashback: When Virender Sehwag came so close to breaking an all-time Test record

To this date, no batsman in the history of Test cricket has scored three triple centuries. However, on this exact date seven years ago, Virender Sehwag came within just a couple of shots to accomplish the landmark during the third Test against Sri Lanka at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

The year was 2009 and the series carried enormous significance for the Indian team. A victory would propel them to the top of the Test rankings for the first time since the rankings were officially introduced in 2003. MS Dhoni’s team had already taken a 1-0 lead and were eyeing another victory in the final Test.

Sri Lanka won the toss and posted 393 in their first-innings at a healthy run-rate of 4.15 per over. While Tillakaratne Dilshan reached three figures, Angelo Mathews narrowly missed out on his debut Test ton after being run-out on 99.

In the absence of an in-form Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay stepped in and formed a solid opening partnership alongside Sehwag. The duo adopted the aggressive approach in a bid to turn the pressure on the Lankans.

Despite the visitors possessing a strong spin combination of Muttiah Muralitharan and Rangana Herath, Sehwag targeted the boundary quite relentlessly. After a 221-run stand, Vijay missed a sweep shot and was trapped in front by the left-arm spinner.

But, Sehwag continued to attack the bowlers without any mercy even as Rahul Dravid ensured that he was not starved of the strike. At the end of the second day, India had reached a commanding position at 443/1 with the Delhi dasher remaining unbeaten on 284.

There was a major buzz ahead of the third day’s play which resulted in a massive crowd thronging the stadium in fervent expectation. Suddenly, Brian Lara’s 400 did not look out of reach for the ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’.

However, the first objective was to reach the required 16 to create history. Not the one to usually care about personal milestones, Sehwag looked to play himself in once again before playing his natural game.

Herath and Muralitharan began the proceedings for the third day. The former was already in the midst of an interesting tussle with Dravid. After being reprieved off a thin outside edge, the stoic right-hander responded uncharacteristically by stepping down the track and clearing the fence.

Meanwhile, at the other end, the seemingly momentous occasion ended in a rather anti-climactic fashion. Upon sensing a flighted delivery, Sehwag looked to reach out in an attempt to maneuver the field. But, the well-disguised dip made the ball drop slightly shorter than he would have anticipated and induced a mistimed nudge.

After almost making a meal of the simple catch, Muralitharan latched on to the rebound to effect stunned silence across the arena. Sehwag’s bid had been cut short by a mere seven runs. Nevertheless, the genial off-spinner congratulated his colossal knock which would eventually pave the way for an innings victory and India’s rise to the number one Test ranking as well.

On a personal note for Sehwag, he remained alongside Sir Don Bradman and Brian Lara as batsmen to have scored two triple hundreds. Chris Gayle would later go on to join the exclusive club after smashing 333 against Sri Lanka at Galle in 2010.