SK Flashback: Virender Sehwag's 99 before lunch against West Indies in 2006

June 10, 2006

A bright sunny day in the Caribbean island greeted millions of cricket frenzy fans all across the world. After a hard-fought match between the two sides at Antigua in the first test, which eventually ended in a draw, the stage was set for a classic face-off between the two heavyweights of world cricket at Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia.

The Indian team and the men from the Caribbean have been involved in fiercely contested battle over the years and this Test match was no different.

The teams were welcomed with a fresh wicket on offer and tinge of grass on it suggesting the pitch will be conducive for swing bowling. Surprisingly, the Indian skipper, Rahul Dravid won the toss and elected to bat first on a lively wicket.

But as they say, fortune favours the brave, the result of this bold decision is regarded as one of the defining moments in the history of the game.

The event

We are all in readiness for the match to begin and out march the two Indian openers, Wasim Jaffer and Virender Sehwag. Pedro Collins, the left arm pacer with a brand new cherry in his hand is all set to bombard the batting unit of the Indian team with some steamy deliveries.

What followed next in the pre-lunch session is nothing short of spectacular as Virender Sehwag went hammer and tongs against the bowling unit of the Windies and neutralised the advantage of any swing on offer in the early part of the innings.

The Nawab of Najafgarh made optimum use of the close-in fielders in the early party of the innings and smashed the bowlers all around the park to race his way to a well-deserved half century.

The mantra followed by Sehwag in this innings was simple: Anything pitched up was hammered to the cover boundary and anything short outside the off stump was slashed hard to either to the point boundary or above the waiting slip cordon.

Virender Sehwag was at his best in this Test match against the West Indies

With the West Indian attack being pace heavy in the opening session of the day, the over rate was always going to abysmal and they could just manage 25 overs in the session.

The 25^th over was scheduled to be the last over of the innings before lunch with Sehwag on the threshold of creating history of becoming the fifth batsman to score a century before lunch of the Test match.

Desire in the eyes of the millions of Indian fans and anticipation of a history being rewritten in the Indian dressing room, the 25^th over of the innings began with plenty of emotions and excitement.

Virender Sehwag is batting on 93, seven short of recording his name in the history books of world cricket. The only thing between him and this coveted milestone was Collymore, the tall right arm fast bowler who was assigned the job of bowling the last over before lunch.

This is how the over transpired

The first ball was neatly defended back to the bowler by Sehwag. The next one was a bit wide outside the off stump which was slashed to the third man region for a boundary. The ball that followed was a half volley on middle stump which was driven by Sehwag for a single.

The equation stands as two runs required off three deliveries with Wasim Jaffer on strike. The fourth ball of the over was a dot delivery and with it the pressure mounted. Much to the delight of the fans, the next ball was tucked away by Jaffer for the single.

The last ball of the over, it could not get better for the viewers as Sehwag was on strike and needed two runs to achieve this rear feat. With sheer timing on the ball and class pervaded all through his innings, the last ball, unfortunately, was an attempted slog which he failed to connect and the ball trickled to the mid off fielder.

The stylish opening batsman scampered for a non-existent single and survived, being inches away from getting run out by a direct hit.

Alas, the universe had other ideas as the swashbuckling opening batsman was stranded on 99. This destructive knock by the 38-year-old was studded with 15 boundaries and two huge hits over the fence.

Although Sehwag got to his hundred three balls after the lunch interval, he missed a golden opportunity to share a space with the following elite group of people and craft his way into the record books

Batsman	Runs	Opposition	Venue
Victor Trumper	103	England	Manchester
Charlie Macartney	112	England	Headingly
Don Bradman	105	England	Headingly
Majid Khan	108	New Zealand	Karachi

The outcome of the match

There is nothing more demoralising for a bowler to be ripped apart on the first day of the Test match on a wicket assisting their style of play. Despite toiling hard, the Windies bowlers failed to create any chances and the Indian first innings eventually came to an end as Dravid declared at 588 at the loss of eight wickets.

The team total was bolstered by centuries from Dravid (146) and Mohammed Kaif (148*) in the middle order along with a 190 ball 180 from Virender Sehwag. However, this valiant batting effort of the team was not enough as the match ended in a draw with the Windies holding their nerve in the final hours of play.