On 29th March 2004, Virender Sehwag took Indian batsmanship to a different orbit. He achieved something which no previous Indian batsman could achieve in the past 72 years of their test history. Great batsmen from CK Nayudu to Sunil Gavaskar to Sachin Tendulkar, no one could reach the landmark of test triple hundred. VVS Laxman’s 281 in the iconic Kolkata test against Australia in 2001 was the highest score ever by an Indian in tests till the day.
Virender Sehwag was a marquee player for India who had no equal in world cricket with his playing style and audacious hitting. A middle-order batsman from Delhi, Sehwag scored a brilliant 155 on debut on a green-top at Bloemfontein in 2001. But his career, as well as Indian cricket, took a great turn for better when the Indian captain Sourav Ganguly decided to make him open in both ODI’s and Tests. In his first match as an opener, Sehwag scored a 70-ball 100 and never looked back.
India’s tour of Pakistan in 2004 was one of the most high profile test series ever between two bitter rivals. India was touring Pakistan after 15 years and already won a hard-fought ODI series 3-2. The first test started on 28th March at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Ganguly was out due to an injury he sustained during the last ODI and stand-in captain Rahul Dravid won the toss and elected to bat.
It was the Sehwag-saga from the very beginning. He batted with extreme authority and played some audacious shots as always. He reached his 100 with a six on day one. But on day two he did one better when he hit Saline Mushtaq for a huge six over long-on to reach his test triple hundred. He became the first batsman to reach a test triple hundred with a six in the history of the game. Although he was gone for 309, the impact he created on the Pakistani bowlers was long lasting. Especially for Saqlain Mushtaq, who finished his test career after the Multan test with analysis of 1 for 204.
A controversy erupted on the same day when the team management decided to declare with the score at 675 for 5 and Sachin Tendulkar was stranded at 194, six runs away from a double century.
