Full Name : Virender Sehwag
Date of Birth : 20th October 1978
Place of Birth : Delhi, India
Nick Name : Viru, Nawab of Najafgarh
Height : 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Batting Style : Right-handed
Bowling Style : Right Arm Off break
Role : Opening Batsman, Occasional Off Spinner
Test Debut (cap 87) : 3rd November 2001 v South Africa
ODI Debut (cap 228) :1st April 1999 v Pakistan
Virender Sehwag affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, Zen master of modern cricket,or the Viv Richards of this era, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler. Virender Sehwag played his first One Day International in 1999 and joined the Indian Test cricket team in 2001. In April 2009, Sehwag became the only Indian to be honoured as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for his performance in 2008, subsequently becoming the first player of any nationality to retain the award for 2009.
Cholds multiple records including the highest score made by an Indian in Test cricket (319), which was also the fastest triple century in the history of international cricket (reached 300 off only 278 balls) as well as the fastest 250 by any batsman (in 207 balls against Sri Lanka on 3 December 2009 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai). Virender Sehwag other innings of 309 and 293 are also the second and third best by any Indian player. Sehwag also holds the distinction of being one of four batsmen in the world to have ever surpassed 300 twice in Test cricket, and the only one to score two triple centuries and take a five-wicket innings haul. In March 2009, Sehwag smashed the fastest century ever scored by an Indian in ODI cricket, from 60 balls. On 8 December 2011, he hit his maiden double century in ODI cricket, against West Indies, becoming the second batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to reach the landmark. Virender Sehwag score remains the highest individual score in ODI cricket – 219 off 149 balls. Virender Sehwag is the only player in world to score a double hundred in ODI and a triple hundred in Test Cricket.
Sehwag was appointed as vice-captain of the Indian team under Rahul Dravid in October 2005 but due to poor form, he was later replaced by V. V. S. Laxman in December 2006 as Test vice-captain. In January 2007, Sehwag was dropped from the ODI team and later from the Test team as well. During his term as vice-captain, Sehwag skippered the team in place of injured Dravid in 2 ODIs and 1 Test. Following his return to form in 2008 and the retirement of Anil Kumble, Sehwag has been reappointed as the vice-captain for both Tests and ODIs. By early 2009, Sehwag had reestablished himself as one of the best performing batsmen in ODI cricket.
Early Years
Sehwag was born in a Jat family from Haryana.The son of a grain merchant, Sehwag spent his childhood in a bungalow in a joint family, with siblings, uncles, aunts and sixteen cousins. Though now settled in New Delhi, the Sehwag family hails from Haryana. Sehwag was the third of four children born to father Krishan and mother Krishna Sehwag, with two older sisters Manju and Anju, and younger brother Vinod. Virender Sehwag father attributes his interest in cricket to a toy bat which he was given when he was seven months old. Virender Sehwag attended Arora Vidya School in Delhi, and pestered his parents to let him play cricket, on the basis that he was not academically gifted. Virender Sehwag father tried to end his career when he broke a tooth as a child in 1990, but Sehwag evaded the ban with the help of his mother. Later he attended Jamia Milia Islamia for graduation.
Cricket Career
Early Domestic Cricket
Sehwag made his debut for Delhi cricket team in first class cricket in the 1997–98 season. Virender Sehwag was selected to the North Zone cricket team for the Duleep Trophy the following 1998–99 season, ending fifth in the total runscoring list. The following year he was fourth on the Duleep Trophy run scoring list, including a 274, the highest score of the competition.This was attained against South Zone at Agartala in just 327 balls, and followed a rapid 187 from just 175 in a Ranji Trophy match against Punjab. Virender Sehwag was then selected for the U-19 team which toured South Africa. Virender Sehwag was seventh in the 2000–01 season with two centuries, but his consistency earned the attention of selectors and he became a regular member of the national team in mid 2001.
Since his international career started, he has continued to play for Delhi in the domestic competition whilst he is not occupied with international duty and has captained North Zone to victory in the Deodhar Trophy in 2004–05 and 2005–-06. Virender Sehwag also had a short stint with Leicestershire in county cricket in 2003, but a back injury lead to a mutual termination of the contract.
ODI careerSehwag’s ODI career started poorly when he scored 1 against Pakistan in Mohali in April 1999 when he fell lbw to Shoaib Akhtar. Virender Sehwag bowling performance was also ineffective and expensive, conceding 35 runs off 3 overs. Virender Sehwag did not get another chance in the national team for 20 months.
Sehwag with teammates Harbhajan Singh (Left) and Yuvraj Singh (Middle).Sehwag was not given another match until the home series against Zimbabwe in December 2000. Sehwag rose to prominence in his fourth ODI match in March 2001 when he scored 58 off 54 balls, against Australia in Bangalore. Combined with his three wickets, he help earn India a victory and was awarded his first man of the match award. Virender Sehwag followed this with an unproductive tour of Zimbabwe in mid 2001.
Sehwag had his international breakthrough in Sri Lanka in August 2001 when he was promoted to the opening slot for the tri-series also involving New Zealand. The promotion to open the innings came because regular opener Sachin Tendulkar was absent due to a foot injury.In the match against New Zealand that was to decide the finalist, he scored his maiden century from 69 balls. At the time, the century was the third fastest ODI century for an Indian behind Mohammad Azharuddin’s 62 ball effort and Yuvraj singh’s 64 ball effort. This was his first score beyond 50 in ten matches and saw him named man of the match. This performance earned him a regular spot in the ODI squad in the middle-order. Virender Sehwag bettered his own record by hitting a 60-ball century against New Zealand during the 2009 tour. An innings of note in 2002 was the 22 ball half-century against Kenya in Bloemfontein, tying the second fastest 50 by an Indian. Because of his attacking cricket stroke plays, Sehwag has got many fans, including the WestIndies legend Desmond Haynes, who admitted that he is a great fan of him.
With Ganguly’s injury in the India-England ODI Series in January 2002, Sehwag received another opportunity to open the innings which he seized by scoring 82 from 64 balls in Kanpur in an eight-wicket Indian victory. With good performances as opener, Sehwag was made a permanent fixture at the top of the innings. Sachin Tendulkar, who opened in the England ODI series, was moved to middle order – a strategy that reaped dividends for India in 2002 in ODI matches. In the England series and the preceding tour to South Africa, he compiled 426 runs at 42.6 with four half-centuries .
After modest returns on the tours of the West Indies and England in early and mid 2002, he scored 271 runs at 90.33 in the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka, with two man of the match performances. After running out Ian Blackwell, he was involved in a 192 run partnership with Ganguly, scoring 126 from 104 balls to help set up an eight wicket victory against England in a group match. Virender Sehwag then scored 58 from 54 balls and took 3/25 including two wickets in the final over to help defeat South Africa by 10 runs to help India progress to the final.
In late 2002 he scored an unbeaten 114 from 82 balls that included a 196 run partnership with Ganguly to lead India to a nine wicket win over the West Indies in Rajkot. Virender Sehwag was the only batsman to score a century in the 7 match New Zealand ODI Series where he made two centuries – 108 in Napier in an Indian defeat and 112 in Auckland in a one-wicket victory.
Virender Sehwag had a mediocre 2003 Cricket World Cup, scoring 299 runs at an average of 27, he top scored with 82 in the loss against Australia in the final.
Sehwag in fielding practice.Later in 2003, he scored his fourth century and earned Man of the Match award against New Zealand in Hyderabad, scoring 130 and putting on a 182 run partnership with Tendulkar, to lay the foundations for a 145 run victory.In spite of it, Sehwag struggled for consistency in 2003 and 2003/04 ODI series where he had only one century and 3 fifties, two against minnows – Bangladesh and Zimbabwe and one against Pakistan, in 22 matches.
Even with his inconsistent form, he earned 3 MoM awards in 2004/5 and 2004/05 ODI season with one award each against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. In the match against Pakistan in Kochi he scored 108 off 95 balls, his first century in eighteen months which set up a 95 run victory.
Sehwag then started a two year streak without a century in ODIs, as well as having his ODI tour of Pakistan in early 2006 curtailed due to a shoulder injury. Virender Sehwag drought in limited overs cricket has puzzled cricket experts because of the consistent performances in Test matches with a high scoring rate has not translated into significant contributions in the ODI format of the game. Sehwag was dropped from the ODI Squad for the WI-IND 4 Match ODI series. With debate over whether he deserved to be included in the 2007 Cricket World Cup squad, captain Dravid’s insistence on his retention paved the way to being named in the World Cup squad.However, despite this assurance,Sehwag’s form continued to decline.
Sehwag started the 2007 World Cup in poor form, only being picked for the side because of Rahul Dravid’s wishes. Virender Sehwag scored poorly in the first group match but bounced back to hit a magnificent 114 from 87 deliveries against lowly ranked Bermuda. The Indian team scored 413–5, the highest team total in a World Cup match, and went on to win the match but this was their only win in the tournament.
On 11 March 2009, Sehwag blasted India’s fastest ODI hundred against New Zealand by reaching 3 figures in just 60 balls. Eventually, he led India to win its first series win in New Zealand.
On 8th December 2011, Sehwag scored his highest ODI score against West Indies at Indore slamming 219 runs off only 149 Balls. In the same innings, he also crossed 8,000 runs in ODI Cricket.
ODI summary Sehwag’s scoring rate is extremely quick, at 103.44 runs per 100 balls (it is exceeded only by one current player: Shahid Afridi, who has a much lower average). Virender Sehwag has had more success in run chases, scoring seven of his thirteen centuries while chasing. Virender Sehwag has led India on seven occasions, due to the unavailability of the incumbent due to illness, injury or rotation policy. In December 2011 Sehwag scored 219 in 149 deliveries against West Indies at Indore. Virender Sehwag has the record of highest individual score in ODI.
An innings-by-innings breakdown of Sehwag’s Test match batting career, showing runs scored (red bars) and the average of the last ten innings (blue line).Sehwag’s maiden century in mid-2001 in Sri Lanka was not enough to gain selection in the Test team for the corresponding series.Sehwag made his Test debut in late 2001 in the First Test against South Africa in Bloemfontein as a middle-order batsman. Virender Sehwag scored 105 on debut despite the South African win. Virender Sehwag was given a one match suspension by ICC match referee Mike Denness for overappealing in the Second Test in Port Elizabeth, which lead to political dispute amongst the ICC and the two countries. Virender Sehwag returned for the home series in 2001–02 against England and Zimbabwe. After scoring two half-centuries in the preceding series, he was promoted to a makeshift-opener on the 2002 England tour after the failure of previous openers and an experiment with wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta. Virender Sehwag scored 84 in the new role at Lord’s and then a century in the Second Test at Trent Bridge,and has batted there in Test matches ever since. Virender Sehwag scored his maiden home-century of 147 in the First Test against the West Indies in the 2002–03 home season in Mumbai, which was at the time his top score in Test matches, earning him his first man of the match award.After a poor tour to New Zealand, he scored passed 50 for the first time in 9 innings when he scored 130 in a Test at Mohali against New Zealand in late 2003.
Virender Sehwag then scored 195 against Australia on Boxing Day 2003 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Virender Sehwag dismissal on the first afternoon lead to an Indian collapse and eventual defeat.
In early 2004, he became the only Indian to score a triple century in Test cricket, with 309 against Pakistan in the First Test in Multan, beating V. V. S. Laxman’s previous Indian record(281 against Australia) and helping India to a total of 5/675, the highest ever against Pakistan. It was Sehwag’ssixth Test century in 21 Tests.India went on to win by an innings, with Sehwag named man of the match. Virender Sehwag also scored 90 in the Second Test defeat in Lahore and was named man of the series for his efforts after being the highest run scorer and average for the series. Virender Sehwag later auctioned the bat with which he made the triple century, for Rs. 70,000, to aid in relief efforts for the tsunami victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
In the First Test of the 2004 Border Gavaskar Trophy in Bangalore,Sehwag was fined for showing “serious dissent” towards umpire Billy Bowden following an LBW dismissal. Replays showed that he had hit the ball off the middle of his bat onto his leg, which later led to an apology from Bowden. Sehwag scored 155 in the Chennai test match to set up a triple figure lead for the Indians, but the match was rained out on the final day with the Indians requiring 229 for victory. In the home series against South Africa that year, he scored 164 in the drawn First Test in Kanpur, and 88 in the Second in Kolkata, which India won to claim the series.Sehwag was again named man of the series.
Sehwag failed on the tour of Bangladesh, but on the 2005 home series against Pakistan, he scored 173 in Mohali, 81 in Kolkata and then 201 in Bangalore, totalling 544 runs at an average of 90.66 to win the man of the series award. Virender Sehwag passed the 3000 run mark in Tests during the Bangalore Test, becoming the fastest Indian to reach the mark in terms of innings played. Virender Sehwag performances over the preceding 12 months earned him selection in the ICC Test Team of the Year as well as nomination for Test player of the year.
Virender Sehwag earned selection for the ICC World XI which played Australia in the 2005 ICC Super Series, where he top scored in the first innings with 76. Virender Sehwag attracted some criticism at the end of 2005, having failed to pass 50 in four Tests against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. Virender Sehwag also missed the Second Test against Sri Lanka in Delhi due to illness, but returned to the team in the following match in Ahmedabad and captained the Indians to victory whilst Rahul Dravid was ill.
Sehwag bowling in the nets.Sehwag scored his first century in a year when he compiled 254 against Pakistan in the First Test in Lahore in January 2006, the highest ever Test score at a strike rate of over 100 and the second fastest double century ever. In doing so he was involved in a 410 run partnership with captain Rahul Dravid, the highest ever against Pakistan and in Pakistan, and just four short of a new world record opening partnership in Test matches. Sehwag went on to lampoon the Pakistani attack led by Shoaib Akhtar. Sehwag however failed to pass 50 in the following two Tests against Pakistan, and aside from a 76* in the Second Test in Mohali against England, fell seven times for less than 20 runs to the new ball , leading criticism of his position in the team.
During the 2006 West Indies tour, Sehwag narrowly missed out on scoring a century in the opening session of the Second Test in St Lucia, ending with 99 at the interval. Virender Sehwag went on to compile 180 in just 190 balls, and also collected four wickets for the match to be named man of the match. Although Sehwag had collected more than 50 wickets in ODIs, he was substantially used as a Test bowler for the first time on the West Indies tour, taking nine wickets in the first two Test matches when he was used in the absence of off-spinner Harbhajan Singh as India opted to only use one specialist spinner. Virender Sehwag had previously only three wickets at Test level . Virender Sehwag was also fined in the First Test for excessive appealing.
Poor form saw Sehwag being dropped from the Test team in 2007. In December 2007, he was recalled for India’s tour of Australia after being omitted form the list of probables, amid calls for his return by several commentators, most notably Ian Chappell.
Though he was omitted from the team for the first two matches, both of which India lost, he was picked for the third Test at the WACA in Perth after scoring a century in a tour match against the ACT Invitational XI. Virender Sehwag played a key part in India’s victory, making 72 runs at a brisk pace and taking 2 crucial wickets Virender Sehwag scored a match-saving 151 in the second innings of the fourth Test in Adelaide. This was his first century in the second innings of a test match, and was notable in that he rejected his usual, aggressive batting style in favour of a more defensive approach which was the need of the hour.
Sehwag continued his good form against South Africa, in the home series in April 2008, scoring 319 in the first Test in Chennai, having reached 300 off just 278 balls, the fastest triple century in test history. Sehwag became only the third batsman after Sir Donald Bradman and Brian Lara to score 2 triple centuries in Test Cricket. Virender Sehwag scored 257 runs the third day of the match, which was the most runs scored by an individual batsman on a single day of a Test match since 1954, when Dennis Compton made 273 runs on the second day of the Nottingham Test against Pakistan.
Virender Sehwag has a habit of making big centuries, with his last eleven centuries having all been over 150, including two triple centuries and further three double centuries which surpassed Sir Donald Bradman’s record of having seven consecutive centuries beyond 150.
In the first test against England in Chennai in December 2008, Sehwag’s rapid 83 off just 68 balls,in the last session of the fourth day, set India up for its record run-chase of 4/387, the highest successful target on Indian soil. Virender Sehwag got the man-of-the-match award despite Sachin Tendulkar scoring an unbeaten century later in the same innings and Andrew Strauss scoring a century in each of England’s innings.
Virender Sehwag has been noted for his record against Pakistan, averaging over 90 against and in Pakistan, scoring four centuries against India’s arch rivals. The disparity in his average in the first and second innings is often noted, being 68 and 25 and all but one of his fifteen Test centuries having come in the first innings.
During Sri Lanka’s tour of India in 2009, in the 3-match test series he finished with the highest run getter of the series with 491 runs. In the last test match, he made 293 with the help of which India won the test match. In this innings he established many records: 1. Scoring the second fastest 200. 2. Scoring the fastest 250 off just 207 balls. 3. Third highest run scorer on a single day. [284 n.o] Virender Sehwag missed accomplishing the feat of being the only player to score three triple centuries. Virender Sehwag was caught and bowled by Murlitharan short by just seven runs. This innings, which consisted of 40 fours and 7 sixes, was described as his third best by him after his two triple centuries.
Indian Premier League
Sehwag was the captain of the Delhi Daredevils in the first two edition of Indian Premier League, before he quit the position to concentrate more on his batting transferring it to Gautam Gambhir. However, for the fourth edition of IPL, he was the only player to be retained by the franchise, again as captain of the Delhi Daredevils.
Sehwag in Non-India Colours. Virender Sehwag was selected in the ICC World XI for the 2005 ICC Super Series against Australia in late 2005, but only managed 64 runs at an average of 21.33 . Earlier in 2005, he was selected for the Asian Cricket Council XI for the fundraising match against the ICC World XI in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Playing Style
Sehwag batting in the nets. Sehwag was often compared to Sachin Tendulkar in his early days due to the similar batting style, build and appearance. Virender Sehwag has acknowledged numerous times that he consciously attempted to model his playing style on Tendulkar’s in his youth.
Sehwag’s technique is often cited as being particularly unorthodox, often backing away (considered technically incorrect) to free his arms whilst playing his shots, in particular to cut or drive spinners inside out. Virender Sehwag is frequently cited by commentators for his extremely strong (physically) square cutting and upper cutting and power through the off-side. Virender Sehwag is also an excellent player of the late cut. In particular, his tendency to strike the ball in the air and risk dismissal is a trait which has seen him noted for his chancy and adventurous mindset. Virender Sehwag is also noted for a relative lack of footwork,with his timing often attributed to his eyesight. Of late,[when?] Sehwag has shown a proclivity to be dismissed by inswing deliveries, something attributed to his leaden-footed batting style. Virender Sehwag has also got dismissed playing the cut shot when the ball was too close to his body to cut, especially in limited over matches.
Virender Sehwag is often noted for his extremely attacking style of batting, and in 2005 he was described by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack as the “most exciting opener in the world” due to his aggressive style in Test matches, his strike rate being inferior only to that of Adam Gilchrist and Shahid Afridi. Sehwag has also been noted for his apparent disregard for the match situation, exhibited by aggressive batting even when his team is in a poor position or after being out-manoeuvred by the bowler in the recent past. This is a two-edged sword, as it allows him to not be psychologically hindered by previous failures, but can also lead to excessive aggression. Virender Sehwag was quoted by Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer as a sophisticated slogger. But over the years, his style has changed from “reckless hitting” to that of “controlled aggression”, according to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald. Previously Sehwag was known predominantly as an offside player, with a weakness against straight short pitched bowling. However in the last two years[when?] he has improved his leg side and bouncer hitting considerably. This is shown in the recent ODIs against New Zealand where he utilised the pull, hook and flick shots to devastating effect.
As of 15 March 2010, Sehwag has an average of nearly 68 in the first innings of test matches where he has scored 5130 runs, 18 centuries and 12 fifties in 76 matches. In the second innings, his average drops to 31 and has scored 1561 runs, an only century and 9 fifties in 54 innings. The first and second innings difference of 37 runs is one of the highest and indicates a lack of ability in dealing with more difficult batting conditions as the pitch deteriorates. However, his match-saving second-innings 151 against Australia at Adelaide during the 2007–08 Border-Gavaskar series, and a match winning 92 in trying situations at Nagpur during the 2008–09 series, went a long way towards repairing that image. In the 2008 Test series against England, Sehwag played a key role in the fourth innings of the first Test in Chennai. Virender Sehwag amassed 83 runs in 68 balls, which helped India chase down an improbable target of 387 with six wickets to spare. This was the highest successful run chase in India, and the fourth highest in Test history. For this effort, Sehwag was adjudged Man of the Match. On 12 August 2011, Sehwag became only the third Indian in history to achieve a king pair (2 golden ducks consecutively) and the 15th player to do that of all time, but weeks later he again scored crucial and aggressive pair of 55 against West Indies.
Controversy
Main article: Mike Denness and Indian cricket team incident
In November 2001, Sehwag was involved in controversy in the Second Test match between India and South Africa at St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth, when he was given a one Test ban for “excessive appealing” by ICC Match referee Mike Denness. Virender Sehwag was one of six Indian players to receive bans, four of which were suspended bans. The unprecedented severity of the bans precipitated an international cricketing, political and administrative crisis, with the Indian cricket establishment threatening to call off the tour unless Mike Denness was removed as match referee from the third test match. ICC backed Mike Denness and the South African board backed the Indian cricket establishment and did not allow Mike Denness to enter the stadium on the first day of the third test match. ICC declared that the match was ‘unofficial’ and ‘friendly five day match’and the series was officially declared as a 2 match series and South Africa as 1–0 winners. The subsequent England tour to India was placed in jeopardy when India picked Sehwagin the Test squad. Subsequent to this development, ICC issued a warning that any match withSehwag in the cricket team will not be considered an “official” Test match until Sehwag had served his one match ban. After negotiations with ECB and ICC and in general interest of cricket,Sehwag was dropped from the team for the first Test against England.
Personal Life
Sehwag married Aarti Ahlawat in April 2004 under heavy security cover in a widely publicised wedding hosted by Arun Jaitley, the then Union law minister of India, at his residence. The couple have a son, Aryavir, born on 18 October 2007.
Sehwag is fondly referred to in the media as the Nawab of Najafgarh, Najafgarh being his home locality in Delhi. A lifelong vegetarian, Sehwag owns a vegetarian eatery, Sehwag Favourites, which opened in late 2005 at the Fun Republic cineplex in Delhi, following in the footsteps of his role model Sachin Tendulkar. The majority of the products on the menu are named after cricketing themes related to his memorable innings, such as Multan Ke Sultan Ki Tikdi, meaning dish for three persons, which alludes to his triple century in Multan and is priced at 309 rupees. There are plans to expand the chain across India with a second outlet already planned in Ludhiana. Sehwagdoes charity work for UNICEF.
International Centuries
List of international Cricket Centuries by Virender Sehwag
ore Against Pos. Inn. Test Venue H/A Date Result
1 105 South Africa 6 1 1/2 Goodyear Park (now Springbok Park), Bloemfontein Away November 3, 2001 Lost
2 106 England 2 1 2/4 Trent Bridge, Nottingham Away August 8, 2002 Draw
3 147 West Indies 2 1 1/3 Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Home October 9, 2002 Won
4 130 New Zealand 2 2 2/2 Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali Home October 18, 2003 Draw
5 195 Australia 2 1 3/4 Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Away December 26, 2003 Lost
6 309 Pakistan 2 1 1/3 Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan Away March 28, 2004 Won
7 155 Australia 2 2 2/4 MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai Home October 15, 2004 Draw
8 164 South Africa 1 2 1/2 Green Park, Kanpur Home November 23, 2004 Draw
9 173 Pakistan 2 2 1/3 Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali Home March 10, 2005 Draw
10 201 Pakistan 2 2 3/3 M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore Home March 26, 2005 Lost
11 254 Pakistan 1 2 1/3 Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Away January 16, 2006 Draw
12 180 West Indies 2 1 2/4 Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet Away June 10, 2006 Draw
13 151 Australia 1 3 4/4 Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Away January 28, 2008 Draw
14 319 South Africa 2 2 1/3 MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai Home March 28, 2008 Draw
15 201* Sri Lanka 2 1 2/3 Galle International Stadium, Galle Away July 31, 2008 Won
16 131 Sri Lanka 2 1 2/3 Green Park, Kanpur Home November 24, 2009 Won
17 293 Sri Lanka 2 1 3/3 Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai Home December 3, 2009 Won
18 109 South Africa 2 1 1/2 Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur Home February 8, 2010 Lost
19 165 South Africa 2 1 2/2 Eden Gardens, Kolkata Home February 15, 2010 Won
20 109 Sri Lanka 2 2 1/3 Galle International Stadium, Galle Away July 20, 2010 Lost
21 109 Sri Lanka 2 2 3/3 Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo Away August 5, 2010 Won
22 173 New Zealand 2 1 1/3 Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad Home November 4, 2010 Draw
The Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad, where Sehwag made his third highest ODI score
The Queen’s Park Oval in the Port of Spain, where Sehwag made a century in the 2007 World Cup
Key:
Symbol Meaning
* Remained not out
Pos. His position in the batting order
Inn. Innings in the match
H/A/N Whether the venue was at home (India), away (opposition’s home) or neutral.
S/R His strike rate
Lost The match was lost by India.
Won The match was won by India.
No. Score Against Pos. Inn. S/R Venue H/A/N Date Result
1 100 New Zealand 2 2 142.85 Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo Neutral August 2, 2001 Won
2 126 England 1 2 121.15 R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Neutral September 22, 2002 Won
3 114* West Indies 2 2 139.02 Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, Rajkot Home November 12, 2002 Won
4 108 New Zealand 2 2 90.75 McLean Park, Napier Away December 29, 2002 Lost
5 112 New Zealand 2 2 80.57 Eden Park, Auckland Away January 11, 2003 Won
6 130 New Zealand 1 1 97.01 Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad Home November 15, 2003 Won
7 108 Pakistan 1 1 113.68 Nehru Stadium, Kochi Home April 2, 2005 Won
8 114 Bermuda 3 1 131.03 Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain Neutral March 19, 2007 Won
9 119 Pakistan 2 2 125.26 National Stadium, Karachi Away June 26, 2008 Won
10 116 Sri Lanka 1 1 128.80 R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Away February 3, 2009 Won
11 125* New Zealand 2 2 168.91 Seddon Park, Hamilton Away March 11, 2009 Won
12 146 Sri Lanka 1 1 143.13 Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, Rajkot Home December 15, 2009 Won
13 110 New Zealand 1 1 118.2 Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla Neutral August 25, 2010 Won
14 175 Bangladesh 1 1 125 Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka Away February 19, 2011 Won
15 219 West Indies 2 1 146.97 Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore Home December 8, 2011 Won
Arjuna Award (2002)
Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World 2008, 2009
ICC Test Player of the Year 2010
Padma Shree 2010
Records
Highest individual score in history in an ODI match 219 against West Indies on 8th December 2011 at Indore, surpassing previous record by Sachin Tendulkar (200)*.
Fastest 250 in Test cricket in terms of balls faced (207).
Fastest 300 in Test cricket in terms of balls faced (278).
Most Test runs in a single day by an Indian. Sehwagmade 257 in a day against SA in Chennai. Virender Sehwag surpassed this in making 284 in a day against Sri Lanka. The latter was the second consecutive innings in which India scored more than 400 runs in a single day in Tests. Sehwag also made a century at faster than a run a ball on the previous occasion.
Only Indian batsman to have scored two triple centuries in Test cricket. Virender Sehwag is one of the four batsman in the history of Test cricket to score two triple centuries, alongside Australia’s Sir Donald Bradman, and the West Indies’ Brian Lara and Chris Gayle.
Fastest century in ODI cricket by an Indian – 100 runs off 60 balls against New Zealand in 2009.
Second fastest ODI 50 by an Indian. – a record, he shares with Rahul Dravid, Kapil Dev and Yuvraj Singh – when he took 22 balls against Kenya in 2001
Six double centuries – the first three of which came against Pakistan.Greg Chappell and Thilan Samaraweera are the other players to have scored multiple double centuries against Pakistan (2).Sehwag and Tendulkar are the only Indians to have made six Test double centuries.
Highest score by an Indian batsman in Test cricket. Virender Sehwag first achieved this when he scored 309 against Pakistan in Multan in 2004, and bettered his previous record in March 2008 at Chennai against South Africa by scoring 319.
Fastest triple century: Virender Sehwag second triple century scored at Chennai on 27–28 March 2008 against South Africa was the fastest in terms of balls faced by any batsman (off 278 balls).
Consecutive 150+ scores in Test cricket: Virender Sehwag holds the record for consecutive test hundreds converted to scores of 150+, at 11.
Virender Sehwag is one of the only five players to have scored more test hundreds than test fifties (15c/14f), along with Don Bradman (29c/13f), Mohammad Azharuddin (22c/21f), Matthew Hayden (30c/27f) and Kevin Pietersen(13c/11f) as on 7 August 2008
Two consecutive double century partnerships in a Test innings. Virender Sehwag 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. Virender Sehwag equalled this in the innings against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, combining with Murali Vijay and Dravid for the first and second wickets.
Virender Sehwag is the first person in the history of test cricket to hit two triple centuries and take five wickets in a Test innings.
Virender Sehwag had launched all five of India’s innings in 2011 World Cup to date by hitting the first ball for four. The suffering bowlers were Shafiul Islam, Jimmy Anderson, Boyd Rankin, Mudassar Bukhari and Dale Steyn.
Test Matches Awards
Man of the Series Awards
1 India in Pakistan Test Series 2003/0 440 Runs (3 Matches, 4 Innings, 1×100, 1×50); 6–0–27–0; 2 Catches
2 South Africa in India Test Series 2004/05 262 Runs (2 Matches, 3 Innings, 1×100, 2×50); 1 Catch
3 Pakistan in India Test Series 2004/05 544 Runs (3 Matches, 6 Innings, 2×100, 1×50); 5–2–14–0; 2 Catches
4 Sri Lanka in India Test Series 2009/10 491 Runs (3 Matches, 4 Innings, 2×100, 1×50); 16–3–47–1; 1 Catch
5 India in Sri Lanka Test Series 2010 348 Runs (3 Matches, 5 Innings, 2×100, 1×50); 7 wickets
Man of the Match Awards
1 West Indies Wankhede, Mumbai 2002/03 1st Innings: 147 (24×4, 3×6); 2–0–7–0
2nd Innings: 1 Catch
2 Pakistan Multan 2003/04 1st Innings: 309 (39×4, 6×6); 2–0–11–0
2nd Innings: 3–0–8–0; 1 Catch
3 Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore 2006 1st Innings: 254 (47×4, 1×6); 6–0–24–0
4 West Indies Gros Islet, St Lucia 2006 1st Innings: 180 (20×4, 2×6); 16.1–5–33–3
2nd Innings: 30–9–48–1
5 South Africa Chennai 2007/08 1st Innings: 319 (42×4, 5×6); 11–1–37–1
2nd Innings: 22–2–55–1
6 Sri Lanka Galle 2008/09 1st Innings: 201 (22×4, 4×6)
2nd Innings: 50 (6×4, 1×6)
7 England Chennai 2008/09 1st Innings: 9 (2×4); 1–0–8–0
2nd Innings: 83 (11×4, 4×6); 6–0–22–0
8 Sri Lanka Mumbai 2009/10 1st Innings: 293 (254); 1 Catch
2nd Innings:9–2–24–0
ODI Cricket Awards
Man of the Series Awards
1 India in New Zealand ODI Series 2008/09 299 (5 Matches, 5 Innings, 1×100, 2×50); 2 Catches
2 India, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka Triangular Series 2010/11 268 (5 Matches, 5 Innings, 1×100, 1×50);
1 Australia Bangalore 2000/01 58 (54b, 8×4); 9–0–59–3
2 New Zealand Colombo (SSC) 2001 100 (70b, 19×4, 1×6); 3–0–26–0
3 England Kanpur 2001/02 82 (62b, 14×4); 1–0–9–0; 1 Catch
4 England Colombo (RPS) 2002/03 126 (104b, 21×4, 1×6); 5–0–25–0
5 South Africa Colombo (RPS) 2002/03 59 (58b, 10×4); 5–0–25–3
6 West Indies Rajkot 2002/03 114* (82b, 17×4, 2×6); 6–0–29–0
7 New Zealand Napier 2002/03 108 (119b, 9×4, 2×6)
8 New Zealand Auckland 2002/03 112 (139b, 11×4, 3×6)
9 New Zealand Hyderabad 2003/04 130 (134b, 15×4, 2×6)
10 Zimbabwe Hobart 2003/04 90 (102b, 5×4, 5×6); 10–0–40–2; 1 Catch
11 Sri Lanka Colombo (RPS) 2004 81 (92b, 6×4, 2×6); 9–0–37–3
12 Bangladesh Dhaka 2004/05 70 (52b, 9×4, 3×6); 6–1–31–0
13 Pakistan Kochi 2004/05 108 (95b, 9×4, 3×6); 5–0–26–0
14 Bermuda Port of Spain, Trinidad 2007 115 (87b, 17×4, 3×6); 5–0–15–0
15 England Bangalore, India 2008 69 (57b, 9×4, 3×6)
16 England Cuttack, India 2008 91 (73b, 15×4, 1×6)
17 New Zealand Hamilton, New Zealand 2009 125* (75b,14×4, 6×6)
18 Sri Lanka Rajkot, India 2009/10 146 (102b,17×4, 6×6)
19 Sri Lanka Dambulla, Sri Lanka 2009/10 99* (100b,11×4, 2×6)
20 New Zealand Dambulla, Sri Lanka 2009/10 110 (93b,16×4, 1×6)
21 Bangladesh Dhaka 2010/11 175 (140b,14×4, 5×6, SR 125.0)
22 West Indies Indore 2011 219 (149b,25×4, 7×6, SR 147.0)
However inconsistency and successive back and ankle injuries have prevented him from cementing his place in the Indian team. Ashish Nehra career statistics are better in ODI cricket than in Test cricket, but with 144 ODI wickets at an average of 30.54 his average is higher(lesser the best) than all three of his main competitors for fast bowling places in the Indian team – Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar, who all have bowling averages below 30. The new crop of fast bowlers like Munaf Patel, RP Singh and Ishant Sharma also add to the competition. Nevertheless, Nehra completed recovery from a bowel injury in March 2006 and is trying to make a comeback into the Indian team.
Gambhir attended Modern School, New Delhi.Gambhir was selected in 2000 for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. Gautam Gambhir is set to tie knot with Natasha Jain, who belongs to a prominent business family based in Model Town, in a simple ceremony in late 2011.
While Gambhir was out of the Test team, he played a number of One Day Internationals for India between 2005 and 2007. However, he was not selected for the 2007 World Cup as the selectors opted for a top-order of Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, and Sachin Tendulkar. It affected him badly and Gambhir later said that “When I got dropped for the World Cup, there were times I didn’t want to play anymore. I didn’t want to practise. I couldn’t motivate myself.”Gambhir scored his second century on that tour and was subsequently selected for the One Day International on India’s tour to Ireland in 2007. Gautam Gambhir scored an unbeaten 80 against Ireland in the first game of that tour and was awarded the man of the match award for that effort. In the post-match interview, he indicated that performing more consistently was a top priority for his career as he had done so in the past.
Gambhir was forced to miss the Test series in Australia due to a shoulder injury. In the 2007–08 CB Series, he scored an unbeaten 102 at The Gabba against Sri Lanka in a match washed out due to rain. Three weeks later at Sydney, he scored a career-best 113 off 119 balls against Australia, in a high scoring match which India lost by 18 runs. Gautam Gambhir finished the CB series as the leading run-scorer with 440 runs.In 2008 Gambhir finally solidified his place in the Indian Test team with a string of high scores. Opening the batting with Delhi teammate Virender Sehwag, he scored 858 runs at over 61 in seven matches as of December including a double century against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However in the same match he was involved in controversy when he elbowed bowler Shane Watson while taking a run. Gambhir asserted it was accidental, but was banned for one Test. Gambhir scored 463 runs in the series, which despite missing the last match was more than any other player in the series.
Gambhir played his first major Test series outside the sub-continent, having toured New Zealand in 2009. In the second Test match he scored a match saving 137 in the second innings. Gautam Gambhir stood more than five sessions in the middle and faced over 430 balls. This innings led Virender Sehwag, Gambhir’s opening partner, close friend and captain for the match, to call him ‘The Second Wall’ in reference to Rahul Dravid. Gautam Gambhir then scored 167 in the second innings of the Third Test to give India an unassailable lead, but rain helped the New Zealand batsmen to hang on for a draw. Gambhir, with 445 runs in six innings at an average of 89, helped India win 1–0 to script a series win in that country after 41 years.
Preparations for the 2007 Cricket World Cup improved as India recorded identical 3–1 victories over West Indies and Sri Lanka and Dhoni had averages in excess of 100 in both these series. However, India unexpectedly crashed out the World Cup after losses to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Dhoni was out for a duck in both these matches and scored 29 runs in the tournament. After the loss to Bangladesh in 2007 Cricket World Cup, the house that Dhoni was constructing in his home-town Ranchi was vandalised and damaged by political activists of JMM. The local police arranged for security for his family as India exited the World cup in the first round.
On the West Indies tour in 2006, Dhoni scored a quick and aggressive 69 in the first Test at Antigua. The rest of the series was unremarkable for Dhoni as he scored 99 runs in the remaining 6 innings but his wicket-keeping skills improved and he finished the series with 13 catches and 4 stumpings. In the test series in South Africa, Dhoni’sscores of 34 and 47 were not sufficient to save the second test against the Proteas as India lost the test series 2–1, squandering the chance to build on their first ever Test victory in South Africa (achieved in the first Test match).Dhoni’s bruised hands ruled him out of the third test match.
Dhoni is now the second wicketkeeper to have effected 6 dismissals in an innings apart from a fifty in each innings of a Test match. Denis Lindsay had accomplished the feat for South Africa against Australia at Johannesburg in December 1966 – 69 & 182 and 6 ct. + 2 ct.
In the 2005–2006 Test Series against West Indies, Munaf proved he was arguably the fastest bowler in India, bowling regularly at speeds of over 85 miles per hour (137 km/h) and has produced balls at a pace over the 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) mark.However, more impressive than his ability to bowl at a very quick pace has been his control, a skill lacking in recent Indian fast bowlers. In the West Indies, however,Munaf suffered the ignominy of being hit for 6 fours in an over by Ramnaresh Sarwan. Patel fell short of the record of conceding the most runs off an over by 4 runs.
Munaf Patel was selected for the 2009 tour to Sri Lanka and played in the opening match. Munaf Patel bowled five wicketless overs for 32 runs. Munaf Patel then picked up a groin injury before the second match and was replaced in the squad by Lakshmipathy Balaji.
In the 2005-06 Challenger Trophy, Chawla was selected to play for India B. Although he only bowled three of a possible ten overs in the first match of the series, conceding 21, he picked up two wickets in the next match against India A, and as India B reached the final against the Seniors, he took the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar – bowled with a googly – in an effort described by Cricinfo as “impressive”. Piyush Chawla also dismissed Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, to end with three for 49, but the Seniors still won by three wickets. Two weeks later, he made his first class debut for Central Zone against South Zone in the Duleep Trophy, and scored 60 in a 92-run eighth-wicket stand with Harvinder Singh. Piyush Chawla also finished with match bowling figures of 27.2-3-100-6, admittedly only getting one of the top five batsman once. Piyush Chawla has been known by Kiran More since the age of 15 and at only 17 has potentially got a great cricketing future in front of him. Piyush Chawla proved himself again when he took 4 wickets in 8 overs conceding only 8 runs in the U-19 World Cup final of 2006. Piyush Chawla also made 25 (n.o.) runs.
Test Career 
Personal Life
Sreesanth was selected for India-A side in a tour match against the visiting New Zealand side at Rajkot. Sreesanth claimed one wicket in twelve overs after being restricted with a hamstring injury. Sreesanth also missed five Ranji Trophy games in that season, although he still travelled with the side for away games. This led to rumours that an astrologer convinced him to take a break from competition to preserve his longevity in the sport, which Sreesanth categorically denied, maintaining that he was training only to regain his fitness.
2010 South Africa tour of IndiaIn South Africa’s tour of India in 2010, Raina was called in the squad for the second test, but was not selected in the playing XI. Suresh Raina captained the Indian team for the Tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe as all the other first-choice players were rested from the tournament. India lost the first match under his captaincy against Zimbabwe by six wickets, but won the next match against Sri Lanka. The Indians then lost their remaining two matches and did not make the final.
At the end of the season,Raina set the record for scoring the most no. of runs in the tournament and also taking the most no. of catches, two records that are still to be broken.Raina also had hit the second maximum no. of sixes behind Adam Gilchrist in the three editions of the league. Suresh Raina was retained by the Super Kings for the 2011 Indian Premier League along with Murali Vijay, Albie Morkel and skipper Dhoni.
Kohli played for Royal Challengers Bangalore at the 2008 Indian Premier League. Virat Kohli was bought for $30,000 before the first season in 2008. Virat Kohli did not perform well, scoring only 165 runs in 13 innings at an average of 15 and taking only 2 wickets in his bowling. But he improved marginally in the second season, scoring 246 runs in 16 innings with an average of 22.36 and taking 9 catches and 2 run outs. In the third season he scored two half centuries. Virat Kohli scored 307 runs in 13 innings at an average of 27.90. In the fourth season of the IPL, he was the only player that Royal Challengers Bangalore retained, preferred over the likes of Rahul Dravid and Ross Taylor.
Kohli played in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy after Yuvraj Singh was injured, and since mid-2009 has been the reserve ODI batsman. Yuvraj regained fitness for the home series against Australia, so Kohli only played in occasional matches in the series.
Kohli was named vice-captain of the ODI side for the Tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe in June 2010 as all the other first-choice players skipped the tournament. In the same series, he became the fastest Indian to score 1,000 runs in ODI cricket. Virat Kohli was India’s leading run-scorer in 2010, with 995 runs including three centuries from 25 matches at an average of 47.38. Kohli was preferred over Raina for the 2011 World Cup and became the first Indian to score a century on World Cup debut. Virat Kohli also scored 59 against West Indies while sharing a 122-run patnership with Yuvraj Singh. Virat Kohli 83-run partnership for the third wicket with Gautam Gambhir was instrumental in India taking the upper hand during their run chase against Sri Lanka in the final. Virat Kohli made 282 runs in 9 innings at an average of 35.25. Between 1 January 2009 and 1 September 2011, Kohli was India’s second highest run-scorer in ODIs with 1,994 runs at an average of 47.47.
In November and December 2011, the West Indies toured India for three Tests and five ODIs. Following his ODI success against England the previous month Kohli was included in the Test squad ahead of Raina. In competition with Yuvraj Singh for the number six position,it was not until the final match of the series that Kohli was selected in the team. The match ended in a draw, and having won the first two Tests took the series 2–0; Kohli scored a pair of fifties in the match, passing his previous highest score of 30. India won the subsequent ODI series 4–1 and Kohlimanaged 243 runs at an average of 60.75 with a highest score of 117.
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