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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ew  batsmen  have  opened  the  innings  with  such                            with his off-spin as with the bat - and India salvaging a draw in
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       swashbuckling success in both Tests and one-dayers as Virender                          Adelaide. There, his 151 was the first of his 13 Test centuries to
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Sehwag. In physical appearance and style of play, he reminds                            come in the second innings.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       many of Sachin Tendulkar, but Sehwag plays like a Tendulkar
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       less burdened by responsibility, a glorious risk- taker who, when                       In March 2008 Sehwag created history by beating his own record
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       set, can tear even the best bowling attacks to shreds. The spirit                       for the highest ever score by an Indian in Test matches, with his
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       of Twenty20 was in Sehwag’s game before anyone dreamed of                               phenomenal 319 in the first Test against South Africa. At a rate
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       the format – and so it proved during the Indian Premier League.                         of better than a run a ball, this was by some distance the fastest
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               triple century in Test cricket.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Those who have witnessed Sehwag’s rampages do not forget
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       them in a hurry. He failed by one run to join a select band of                          The son of a grain merchant from Haryana, Sehwag has been
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       those who have scored centuries in the first sessions of a Test.                        passionate about cricket all his life. Given his first toy bat before
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       He  has  to  his  name  two  of  the  fastest  double-centuries  ever                   his first birthday, he had set his heart on becoming a professional
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       scored in Tests (one of which he converted into a triple). And he                       cricketer long before leaving school. His father briefly tried to
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       has scored a clutch of one-day hundreds at faster than a run per                        stop him from playing after he lost a tooth aged 11, but with

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       ball, including one off 69 deliveries that is the second-fastest                        his mother’s help he circumvented the ban. It did not take him
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       ever for India. Twin strike-rates of 74.9 in Tests and 96.5 in ODIs                     long to prove that he did indeed have a future, scoring a maiden
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       put him in Adam Gilchrist’s class as a speed merchant.                                  international hundred off 69 balls at the age of 22 before adding
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               a century on Test debut in South Africa three months later.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       But  more  so  than  Gilchrist,  or  any  other  really  fast  scorer  in
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       the modern game, Sehwag has shown a capacity to go on and                               At 29, his best years should be ahead of him, and his performances
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       make really big scores. In fact, his last nine Test centuries have                      as captain of Delhi Daredevils did little to discourage the notion.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       all  topped  150,  a  unique  feat.  Sehwag’s  critics  might  accuse                   Rare was the game in which Sehwag did not at some stage clear
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       him of being a flat-track bully, and his aggressive shotmaking is                       the rope with that trademark clean-hitting – in all, he launched
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       certainly more likely to prosper on new pitches than old, which                         21 sixes in 14 innings, to go with 46 fours – and a marker was laid
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       perhaps explains the discrepancy between his first and second                           down as early as Delhi’s second match, when Sehwag carved
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       innings average in Tests (64 as against 29).                                            his way to 94 not out off 41 balls against Deccan Chargers in
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Hyderabad, hitting 30 runs alone in one spectacular over from
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       For a long time, India were happy to accept the lows with the                           Andrew Symonds.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       spectacular  highs.  Then,  in  2007,  Sehwag  fell  out  of  favour
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       following a slump in form and spent most of the year out of                             After that, the opposition were just relieved if Sehwag made less
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       the team. However, it was decided that India still could not do                         than 20, and although he failed to reach three figures, he more
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       without him for the ICC World Cup or ICC World Twenty20. He                             often than not gave his side a jet-propelled start. An innings of
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       played his part in the Twenty20 triumph, softening up England                           71 off 41 helped sink Chennai Super Kings at the Chidambaram
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       ahead of Yuvraj Singh’s blistering assault with 68 from 52 balls,                       Stadium with an over to spare.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       but missed out on the final against Pakistan.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Not only did Sehwag lead his side to the semi-finals, where for
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       He  was  recalled  to  the  Test  XI  early  in  2008.  Drafted  in  as  a              once  he  failed  in  a  heavy  defeat  to  Rajasthan  Royals,  but  he
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       replacement for the out-of-form Yuvraj for the third and fourth                         scored his 406 runs at a higher strike-rate than anyone else who
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Tests  in  Australia  after  India  had  gone  2-0  down,  he  played  a                made more than 200 in the tournament. Yes, Twenty20 cricket
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       vital part in Australia’s winning streak ending in Perth - as much                      really did seem to have been invented with Sehwag in mind.













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