Image Credit- Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Venue- Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan [28 March- 1 April, 2004].
In the summer of 2004, Indian Cricket Team toured Pakistan to play 5 ODIs and 3 Tests. The visitors won the ODI Series 3-2 and all eyes were now upon the test series. The first test was scheduled to take place in Multan and everybody was excited for this thrilling encounter. Indian Captain Rahul Dravid [Saurav Ganguly was out because of an injury] won the toss and elected to bat first. This decision was not a tough one as this venue is renowned for being batsman's paradise. However Virender Sehwag did the unimaginable.
Virender
Sehwag's early strategy of attacking paid off as he reached fifty just before noon. He
maintained the miraculous attack by destroying Pakistan's defenseless bowling
unit and reaching his century in just 107 balls. He didn't indicate that he was going to slow down, so
the bowlers didn't get a break. Sehwag's sheer skills rendered the Pakistan's bowling foursome of Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mohammed Sami,
and Abdul Razzaq ineffective. Sehwag broke Sanjay Manjrekar's record for the most
runs an Indian batsman has scored against Pakistan by finishing Day 1 with an
undefeated score of 221 runs.
The combination between Sachin and Viru was very successful as they put together a record-breaking 335 runs. Sachin acted as the ideal counterbalance on the other end as the latter went bonkers with a couple heavy blows. The audience and the Indian dressing room were on their feet applauding the historic strike when Sehwag plucked a six over long-on off Saqlain Mushtaq's delivery at Multan, rewriting history in the manner that has become his trademark. He accomplished a triple century, becoming the first Indian batsman to do so.
Previously the highest individual score in Test cricket by an Indian batsman was VVS Laxman's 281, which was made at the Eden Gardens against the mighty Australians. However, by reaching 309 runs against Pakistan, the Delhi batsman smashed the 3-year-old record. His skill with the bat was on display during his 530 minutes at the crease, which included 39 boundaries and 6 enormous sixes. It also served as a preview of what was to come in the near future. Sehwag's outstanding performance served as a model for the new batting strategy in the game's longest version.
In response the Pakistanis were bowled out for 407 in their first innings. Yasir Hameed (91) and Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq (77) managed to score half centuries, whereas Irfan Pathan was the leading wicket taker for the Indians as he managed to pick 4 crucial wickets. However the talking point of the Indian bowling was Sachin Tendulkar's delivery to Moin Khan. The spin which Tendulkar generated to dismiss Moin was simply unbeleivable.
The Indians decided to enforce a follow on and it turned out to be a wonderful decision. Mohammad Yousuf scored a fighting 112 before being dismissed by Irfan Pathan. Except him, every Pakistani batsman struggled in front of Anil Kumble who picked up 6 wickets in the second innings. The Pakistanis were bowled out for 216 runs in their second innings and Indians won the game by an innings and 52 runs.
Postscript- Though there were many match winners for the visitors, however it was Virender Sehwag who was awarded the man of the match award for his brilliant 309. He simply outshined everybody.
To watch the innings of Virender Sehwag, Click Here.
To watch the innings of Sachin Tendulkar, Click Here.
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