Virender Sehwag served Indian Cricket for a long time. He graced the world of cricket with a trailblazing approach to playing the gentlemen’s game. His dominant, swashbuckling, and fearless batting captured the imagination of Indian fans. He particularly liked the limited-overs format where he could play with more freedom and exploit the powerplay to give India a thunderous start every time he stepped on the field. Sehwag was arguably one of the best openers the world cricket has ever seen. Let’s take a look at the top 3 knocks of Virender Sehwag in ODIs.
Top three knocks by Virender Sehwag in ODIs:
3.) 146 vs Sri Lanka
The Sri Lankan team was on the tour to India and both sides started the series with a cracker of a match at Rajkot. Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and elected to field first. Conditions at Rajkot were batting-friendly and the Indian team looked to take advantage of the same. Virender Sehwag once again came to the party and smashed Sri Lankan bowlers in every corner of the ground. He built a massive partnership of 153 runs with Sachin Tendulkar to give India a solid start and continued the innings with MS Dhoni when Tendulkar got out. His blitzkrieg troubled the Sri Lankan bowlers. When he got out, India was in a very comfortable position. At the end the Men in Blue clinched this match but with the barest of margins.
2.) 175 vs Bangladesh
In the 2007 ODI World Cup Bangladesh pulled off a surprise and knocked India out of the tournament. The Men in Blue had an opportunity to avenge that loss in the tournament opener of the 2011 ODI World Cup. Virender Sehwag had no doubts about his job and he was in no mood to spare the Bangladeshis to start the World Cup campaign with a victory. Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field first but Sehwag proved their decision wrong. He dominated the Bangladesh bowling lineup throughout the innings and posted a huge target on the board along with Virat Kohli. India eventually clinched the match with utmost ease and kicked off their campaign on a high.
1.) 219 vs West Indies
Indore witnessed one of the greatest limited-overs innings in the 2011 ODI series between India and West Indies and the show was called the “Virender Sehwag Show”. Indian team batted first and Virender Sehwag did what he does best. He took on the West Indian bowlers and charged at them right from the start. Sehwag became the second batsman to score a double century in an innings in the ODI format. He broke the little master’s record and surpassed him scoring 219 runs. This momentous knock will always remain a highlight of Sehwag’s career.