Happy Birthday, Virender Sehwag: Top-10 Facts About The Legendary India Opener

Virender Sehwag redefined the role of an opener in Test cricket and went on to become one of the finest batsmen the game has ever seen. He turns 42 years old today.

Virender Sehwag turns 42 today. The name needs no introduction. Often credited with redefining the role of an opener in Test cricket, Sehwag went on to carve a storied career with his inimitable style of batsmanship that banked on a simple idea: see ball, hit the ball.

When the Delhi batsman burst onto the scene, he drew comparisons with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. While he was known for his quick scoring rate, Sehwag tasted success in red-ball cricket as well scoring two triple-centuries.

In 2003, he became the first Indian to hit a triple-century, reaching the milestone with a six. And four years later, he broke the record for the quickest triple-ton – off 278 balls. His 319 against South Africa remains the highest score by an Indian in the format.

He won the T20 World Cup in 2008 and then the ODI World Cup in 2011 and called time on his career in 2015.

Below we take a look at the top-10 facts from the legend’s career

#Sehwag was banned from cricket by his father after he broke his tooth during childhood. However, with the help from his mother, he kept on pursuing his passion

#He made his first-class debut in February 1998 and didn’t get a chance to bat but took the wicket of former India cricketer WV Raman.

#Two days after celebrating his 20th birthday, in only his second first-class match, Sehwag scored 118 from 147 after coming in to bat at No.7 – his maiden ton. After an impressive season, Sehwag was named in the list of 1999 World Cup probables.

#Sehwag made his India debut against Pakistan in April 1999 and after playing in the middle order for the first 11 ODIs, he was promoted to open the innings in the 12th match. And soon smashed a 70-ball century.

#In November 2001, Sehwag made his Test debut against South Africa in Bloemfontein and scored a hundred in the first innings and 31 in the second.

#The promotion to open the innings in Test came soon enough and he responded with a 96-ball 84 at Lord’s and 106 at Trent Bridge.

#During India’s historic tour of Pakistan, Sehwag created history in Multan by becoming the first ever India batsman to hit a triple-century in Test cricket. He scored 309 and it helped India to an innings win.

#Sehwag set up India’s famous win over England in the Chennai Test of 2008. He blazed away to a 68-ball 83 set the ball rolling before Sachin Tendulkar scored an unbeaten helped India chase down 387.

#With six double-centuries in Test cricket, Sehwag is second on the list of most such scores by an Indian after Virat Kohli who has seven. He also became the second ever male cricketer to score a double-century in ODIs after Sachin Tendulkar.

#Sehwag scored 8586 runs in 104 Tests including 23 centuries and 32 half-centuries. In 251 ODIs, he scored 8273 runs including 15 hundreds and 38 fifties. He also played 19 T20Is and scored 394 runs in them including two half-centuries.