Virender Sehwag : The Merciless Nawab of Najafgarh

If there is one batsman today that most bowlers fear about, the name has to be Virender Sehwag. The super performer of the Indian cricket team is hard to stop when on a song and is well known for merciless hitting all over the cricketing pitch.

Born on 20 October 1978, Sehwag affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman who has made a big name for himself in the world of test, one day international, and twenty-twenty cricket formats.

Be it a Test match, a One-Day International or a Twenty20 Bash, he is the spectators’ delight, a sixomaniac who skies the ball whether he is on 0 or 99. Also he has the twenty-twenty vision to see the ball a fraction earlier than most batsmen. He hardly moves his feet as he jumps out and a sixer climbs the sky. Then he drives the ball effortlessly straight or through the covers.

Sehwag arrived on the Test scene with a characteristic flourish. In his debut he batted at number 6 and scored 105 adding 222 runs with his hero Tendulkar for the fifth wicket after India was at 4-68. This was against South Africa in the Bloemfontein Test of November 2001. But soon he emerged as his own man. In the 2004 Multan Test against Pakistan, as Tendulkar played a supporting role, Sehwag romped to 309, the first triple century by an Indian. And he brought it up with a six. Two Tests and three months ago in Melbourne, for five hours he fascinated the Boxing Day crowd of 62,600 by belting five sixes and 25 fours in his spectacular 195 he had been dismissed trying the same stroke five runs short of what would have been his first Test double-hundred. At Multan, Sehwag thrashed six sixes and 39 fours in his epic 309 off 375 balls.

After being such a talented cricketer, why does he still has to prove himself every time? Players like Dravid, VVS and Sachin are included in the team no matter even if they are out of form and he is shown the exit doors the day he loses his form. He was dropped in the first two Tests against Australia in the controversial 2007-08 series in Australia. But Anil Kumble picked him in the next two and he scored 151 in the final Adelaide Test. Australian spectators love his unorthodox batting as much as they cheer the elegant stroke-play of Tendulkar, Dravid and VVS.

His highest score is 319 at a strike-rate of 105 against South Africa in the March 2008 Chennai Test. It included five sixes and 42 fours. He had hammered 257 runs in a day.

The star batsman became the only Indian to be honored as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in April 2009 for his performance in 2008 and subsequently becoming the first player of any nationality to retain the award for 2009.

He is an idol for any person who wants to be successful, for that matter in any field of career. So, his presence in the team makes the joy both sweet and sour as he can be helpful but can be destructive also.

Virender Sehwag has many records to his name.

• The prolific run-scorer is credited with the fastest triple century in the history of international cricket (reached 300 off only 278 balls) and the highest score made by an Indian in test cricket (319).
• Sehwag also holds the record for the fastest 250 in 207 balls against Sri Lanka on 3 December 2009 at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai by any batsman. Sehwag is also credited for being the only Indian to score a triple century in test cricket, with 309 against Pakistan in the First Test in Multan.
• If that was not enough, Virender Sehwag also holds the distinction of being one of four batsmen in the world of cricket to have ever surpassed 300 twice in test cricket and the exclusive one to score two triple centuries and take a five-wicket innings haul.
• Most Test runs in a single day by an Indian. Sehwag made 257 in a day against SA in Chennai. He surpassed this in making 284 in a day against Sri Lanka.
• Fastest century in ODI cricket by an Indian - 100 runs off 60 balls against New Zealand in 2009
• Two consecutive double century partnerships in a Test innings. He achieved this record, for the first two wickets in Chennai on 27–28 March 2008 (with Wasim Jaffer and Rahul Dravid respectively). This was the first time in Test history that the first two wickets in an innings have resulted in double-century stands.
• Sehwag took 134 Test innings to reach 7000 Test runs, becoming the second fastest to do so after Englishman Wally Hammond.
• He holds the record for consecutive test hundreds converted to scores of 150+, at 11.

- By Mandar Kelkar