Virender Sehwag started his Test career at No. 6, during the tour of South Africa in 2001. With India in trouble on the first morning at Bloemfontein at 68 for 4, Sehwag forged a counterattacking stand of 220 with Sachin Tendulkar and helped himself to a century on debut

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Sehwag was promoted to open the batting during the tour of England in 2002. He became the solution to India’s opening woes with a century in the second Test at Trent Bridge, making the position his own

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Sehwag’s first Test century on Indian soil came during the home series against West Indies later in the year. He smashed a match-winning 147 in the Mumbai Test

 

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Boxing Day, 2003: after a watchful start, Sehwag cut loose with a boundary barrage, smashing a 233-ball 195, containing 25 fours and five sixes. True to his style, he tried launching his double-century with a six but smashed a full toss to the boundary fielder

 

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The first Test in the revival of India-Pakistan bilateral ties began with a bang as Sehwag brought up his first triple-century in Tests. He had the audacity to reach his century and triple-century landmarks with sixes. The ‘nervous 90s’ never existed in Sehwag’s vocabulary

 

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Sehwag had the ability to take control of an innings even with others failing around him. His 155 against Australia in the Chennai Test of 2004 is an example. The rest of the top order failed to match up and his knock helped India to a first-innings lead. Rain, though, had the final say

 

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On the return trip to Pakistan in 2005-06, Sehwag tormented the hosts in the first Test of a series yet again. He smashed 254 off 247 balls and shared a mammoth opening stand of 410 with Rahul Dravid, missing the world record set by Pankaj Roy and Vinoo Mankad by just four runs. It was at the time the fastest double-century by an Indian in terms of balls faced (182)

 

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Bizarrely, a second-innings ton had eluded Sehwag. Nearly seven years after his debut, he broke the jinx with 151 in a high-scoring draw in Adelaide in 2007-08. It was a significant knock for Sehwag, who was under pressure having gone 13 innings without a century

 

 

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The follow-up innings was brutality personified. On a featherbed of a pitch in Chennai, Sehwag belted his second triple-century, smashing 319 off only 304 balls, breaking the record for the fastest Test triple (278 balls). It was a day the records went tumbling

 

 

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Sehwag’s 201 in Galle was one of his most valuable knocks because it came in trying conditions. India were undone by the mystery spin of Ajantha Mendis in the opening Test but in Galle, Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir attacked the Mendis-Murali combo to set up a series-levelling win. Sehwag was undefeated; besides Gambhir’s 56, the next highest score was 39

 

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In one of the most frenetic displays of batting in a single day of Test cricket, Sehwag ransacked the Sri Lankans in Mumbai with 293 off 254 balls, scoring 284 in one day. He also went past his own record for the fastest double-century by an Indian (168 balls)

 

 

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From end 2009 to mid 2010, Sehwag was unstoppable. He blasted four centuries in five Tests (against South Africa and Sri Lanka) but it could have been five in five, had he not fallen for 99 at the SSC

 

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In an otherwise forgettable tour of Australia for Sehwag and India, the batsman brought up 8000 Test runs in the MCG Test of 2011-12

 

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Photographed before his 99th Test, Sehwag was under immense pressure to deliver having gone two years without a century. He broke the rot with a run-a-ball 117 against England in Ahmedabad to give India first blood in the series

 

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