[134][135][136], Sehwag has been popularly known to sing while batting, and picked the Kishore Kumar song "Chala Jaata Hoon" from the Rajesh Khanna starrer Mere Jeevan Saathi (1972) as his favorte song to sing while batting. This is shown in the recent ODIs against New Zealand where he utilised the pull, hook and flick shots to devastating effect. Second fastest 250 in Tests for which he took 207 balls. Second fastest ODI double century for which he took 140 balls, Third-highest individual score in ODIs: 219, Second-highest number of fours in a Test innings: 47, Second-highest number of fours in an ODI innings: 25, Highest ever Test score in history at a 100-plus strike rate: 319. Sehwag was born in the Jat family[15] of a grain merchant. [22] He has acknowledged numerous times that he consciously attempted to model his playing style on Tendulkar's in his youth. Sehwag made his debut for Delhi cricket team in first class cricket in the 199798 season. 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. He represented India from 1999 to 2013. The subsequent England tour to India was placed in jeopardy when India picked Sehwag in the Test squad. 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. In the second innings, his average drops to 31 and has scored 1,561 runs, with only one century and 9 fifties in 54 innings. 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. This was his first score beyond 50 in ten matches and saw him named the Man of the Match. "I don't think he'll play again. Highest ever ODI batting strike rate among all Indian cricketers who have scored 1,000-plus ODI runs. Fastest to reach to 3000/4000/7000 Test runs. This performance earned him a regular spot in the ODI squad in the middle-order. "[130], Sehwag married Aarti Ahlawat in April 2004[131] under heavy security cover in a widely publicised wedding hosted by Arun Jaitley,[132] the then Union law minister of India, at his residence. He also missed the Second Test against Sri Lanka in Delhi due to illness,[88] but returned to the team in the following match in Ahmedabad and captained the Indians to victory whilst Rahul Dravid was ill.[89] For his performances in 2005, he was named in the World Test XI by ICC[90], 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. [96] 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. [119] 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. Director of Cricket Operations and Head Coach: 2002 ICC Champions Trophy Champions (1st title shared), 2007 ICC World Twenty20 Champions (1st title), 2011 Cricket World Cup Champions (2nd title), Indian cricketer Sehwag announces international retirement, Mike Denness and Indian cricket team incident, List of international cricket centuries by Virender Sehwag, Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), "OTD in 2001, Sehwag debuted in 'white jersey', "Sehwag is world's top cricketer for 2008", "PTI: Sehwag becomes fastest Indian centurion in ODIs", "Ind vs WI: Sehwag slams 112-ball 150 as India eye massive total", "Records / One-Day Internationals / Batting records / Most runs in an innings", "Virender Sehwag slams maiden double century in ODIs, scripts history", "Virender Sehwag becomes 2nd batsman to slam 200 in ODIs", "Cricketnext: Top Performer: Virender Sehwag", "Virender Sehwag appeals to Jat agitators for peace", "The unlikely makeover of Virender Sehwag", "rediff.com World Cup 2003: An encounter with Virender Sehwag's family", "Virender Sehwag's reputation, even as a schoolboy, spread far and wide, writes reporter who discovered the star", "Statistics / Statsguru / V Sehwag/Test matches", "Virender Sehwag named Delhi skipper for IPL 4", "Sehwag, Pietersen unleash the Daredevils within", "AB de Villiers misses out on ESPNcricinfo's all-time IPL XI", "6th ODI: India v Pakistan at Mohali, 1 Apr 1999", "1st ODI: India v Australia at Bangalore, 25 Mar 2001", "Injured Tendulkar ruled out for Sri Lanka tri-series", "9th Match: India v New Zealand at Colombo, 2 Aug 2001", "4th ODI: India v England at Kanpur, 28 Jan 2002", "England v India at Colombo (RPS), 22 Sep 2002", "India v South Africa at Colombo (RPS), 25 Sep 2002", "3rd ODI: India v West Indies at Rajkot, 12 Nov 2002", "2nd ODI: New Zealand v India at Napier, 29 Dec 2002", "6th ODI: New Zealand v India at Auckland, 11 Jan 2003", "Final: Australia v India at Johannesburg, 23 Mar 2003", "9th Match: India v New Zealand at Hyderabad, 15 Nov 2003", "1st ODI: India v Pakistan at Kochi, 2 Apr 2005", "Rahul Dravid is the ICC's player of the year", "India to persist with Sehwag at the top", "Sehwag hits 219, becomes highest-scorer in ODI", "Sehwag's century not enough for place in Test squad", "1st Test: South Africa v India at Bloemfontein, 37 Nov 2001", "Fines and bans handed down to Indian players", "Late wickets lift England after India threaten to cut loose", "2nd Test: England v India at Nottingham, 812 Aug 2002", "Sehwag century dominates West Indians at Mumbai", "2nd Test: India v New Zealand at Mohali, 1620 Oct 2003", "1st Test: Pakistan v India at Multan, 28 Mar 1 Apr 2004", "2nd Test: Pakistan v India at Lahore, 59 Apr 2004", "3rd Test: Pakistan v India at Rawalpindi, 1317 Apr 2004", "India in Pakistan, 200304 Test Series Averages", "Sehwag fined 65% of match fee for dissent", "India ride on Sehwag hundred after Warne's record", "2nd Test: India v Australia at Chennai, Oct 1418, 2004", "South Africa in India Test Series 2nd Test. [45] 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 minnowsBangladesh and Zimbabwe and one against Pakistan, in 22 matches. 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[6]. [103], Sehwag continued his good form against South Africa, in the home series in April 2008, scoring 319 in the first Test at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, having reached 300 off just 278 balls, the fastest triple century in test history. He 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 Denis Compton made 273 runs on the second day of the Nottingham Test against Pakistan. [33] He followed this with an unproductive tour of Zimbabwe in mid-2001. [117] 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. He played for Delhi and Haryana in Indian domestic cricket. Converted 11 successive Test hundreds into 150+ scores. [87], He 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. Second fastest in the world to reach to 7000 Test runs. Only cricketer to be part of two consecutive double-century partnerships in a Test innings. In January 2007, Sehwag was dropped from the ODI team and later from the Test team as well. The knock was voted as the Best Test Batting Performance of 2009 by ESPNCricinfo. 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 outmanoeuvred by the bowler in the recent past. Highest individual score while carrying the bat through the complete innings. Though now settled in New Delhi, the Sehwag family hails from Haryana. ICC backed Mike Denness[123] and the South African board backed the Indian cricket establishment[124] and did not allow Mike Denness to enter the stadium[125] on the first day of the third test match. [16] He spent his childhood in a joint family with siblings, uncles, aunts and sixteen cousins. [4] He worked as stand-in captain Occasionally during absence of main captain of India, also worked as Vice-Captain for Indian squad. [67][68] India went on to win by an innings, with Sehwag named man of the match. [111] 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. [92] Sehwag went on to lampoon the Pakistani attack led by Shoaib Akhtar. He did not get another chance in the national team for 20 months.[32]. [98], Poor form saw Sehwag being dropped from the Test team in 2007. [citation needed], Sehwag's aggressive batting has found success at the top of the batting order. [50] However, despite this assurance, Sehwag's form continued to decline. 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, for the fourth edition of IPL, he was the only player to be retained by the franchise, again as captain of the Delhi Daredevils. [citation needed], In eight Test matches since April 2012, he has managed to score just 408 runs at an average of 31.38, with highest being 117. 70,000, to aid in relief efforts for the tsunami victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. He scored 105 on debut despite the South African win. [5] In March 2009, Sehwag smashed what was till then the fastest century ever scored by an Indian in ODI cricket, from 60 balls. [14] Now, he is serving as the member of Anti Doping Appeal Panel of National Anti Doping Agency under Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India. Sehwag has shown a proclivity to be dismissed by inswing deliveries, something attributed to his leaden-footed batting style. Only batsman in the history to have scored 7,500-plus runs in both Tests & ODIs as an opener. [129] In October 2015, Sehwag told to Zee News " I was planning to retire in 2007 when dropped from the team but Tendulkar stopped me from doing so. [121], He was voted as 4th-scariest batsman to face in the "World's Scariest Batsman" poll of international bowlers. However, his match-saving second-innings 151 against Australia at Adelaide during the 200708 Border-Gavaskar series, and a match winning 92 in trying situations at Nagpur during the 200809 series, went a long way towards repairing that image. Most international runs in career as an opener: 16,119. [71][72] He later auctioned the bat with which he made the triple century, for Rs. [82], Sehwag failed on the tour of Bangladesh, but on the 2005 home series against Pakistan, he scored 173 in Mohali,[83] 81 in Kolkata[84] and then 201 in Bangalore,[85] totalling 544 runs at an average of 90.66 to win the man of the series award. The Indian team scored 4135, 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. [citation needed]Sehwag played as an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and also bowled part-time right-arm off-spin. 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. His bowling performance was also ineffective and expensive, conceding 35 runs off 3 overs. His highest score of 219, the highest ODI score ever,[147] was made against the West Indies at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. [11], 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. [57] Sehwag made his Test debut in late 2001 in the First Test against South Africa in Bloemfontein as a middle-order batsman. In the same innings, he also crossed 8,000 runs in ODI Cricket. He played his first One Day International in 1999 and joined the Indian test side in 2001. He scored a match-saving 151 in the second innings of the fourth Test in Adelaide. This page was last edited on 3 July 2022, at 11:19. In July 2014, he played for the Rest of the World side in the Bicentenary Celebration match at Lord's. He has the record of 2nd-highest individual score in ODI. (284 n.o), 2007 - Polly Umrigar Award for International cricketer of the year. ICC declared that the match was 'unofficial' and 'friendly five day match'[126] and the series was officially declared as a 2 match series and South Africa as 10 winners. [14] On 7 November 2015, Sehwag scored 55 runs in game 1 of the Cricket All-Stars Twenty20 series for Sachin's Blasters, and was the only person from either side (against Warne's Warriors) to score a half-century, 5+ sixes and a strike rate of over 150 (SR of 250). Of late,[when?] Sehwag started the 2007 World Cup in poor form, only being picked for the side because of Rahul Dravid's wishes. Only Indian to have twice scored 1400-plus Test runs in a calendar year. [17] Early in his career he had a reputation for being an attacking batsman and his coach was coach Amar Nath Sharma. 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. [95] He went on to compile 180 in just 190 balls, and also collected four wickets for the match to be named man of the match. Sehwag was again named man of the series. Highest ever Test batting strike rate among all the cricketers who have scored 2,000-plus Test runs. In the last test match, he made 293 with the help of which India won the test match. Highest score by a captain in the ODI innings (219). [69] He also scored 90 in the Second Test defeat in Lahore[70] and was named man of the series for his efforts after being the highest run scorer and average for the series. For this effort, Sehwag was adjudged Man of the Match. Third fastest Test double hundreds in terms of balls faced. Combined with his three wickets, he help earn India a victory and was awarded his first man of the match award. He 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. He played a key part in India's victory, making 72 runs at a brisk pace and taking 2 crucial wickets[102] 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. It was Sehwag's sixth Test century in 21 Tests. [122], 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.