Virender Sehwag made his ODI debut in 1999 under Mohammad Azharuddin. It took the dashing right-handed batter from Delhi two years to become an integral part of the team. Once he cemented his place in the team, the Nawab of Najafgah was a nightmare for bowlers across the world.
The former Indian opener played for India in three ODI World Cups. In his very first tournament in 2003, India reached the finals before losing to Australia. The 2007 World Cup was a huge disappointment for the Indian team. It was in 2011 that Sehwag and the Indian team finally tasted success.
Here we take a look at the best knocks played by Virender Sehwag for India in ODI World Cups. These three knocks best describe the reason why the former Indian opener was feared worldwide.
175 versus Bangladesh – Mirpur -2011
The first game of the 2011 ODI World Cup was between Bangladesh and India. It was the same team that had shocked the Indian fans to knock them out of contention for a place in the next stage. Virender Sehwag made the Bangladeshi fans go quiet by smacking Mashrafe Mortaza for a first ball four in the game.
There was no stopping Virender Sehwag on that day as he scored his then best ODI score of 175. His knock came off 140 balls with the help of 14 fours and 5 sixes as he added 203 runs for the third wicket with a very young Virat Kohli.
114 versus Bermuda – Port Of Spain -2007
India had fallen to a shocking defeat in the first game of the 2007 ODI World Cup to Bangladesh. Their next game against Bermuda was now a must win game that too with a huge margin.
Virender Sehwag chose this moment to score his first ton in World Cup cricket. Batting at number 3 Sehwag scored 114 runs from 87 balls with 17 fours and 3 sixes. This along with fifties by Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, and Sachin Tendulkar saw India score 413/5.
82 versus Australia – Johannesburg -2003
Despite setting a target of 360 runs to win, Ricky Ponting knew one man was standing in the way. Virender Sehwag was the man between an historic chase for India or a third World Cup title for Australia.
Virender Sehwag made his first ODI World Cup special with a fighting knock that had the Australian team in the tenterhooks. The Indian team kept losing wickets at regular intervals but Sehwag wasn’t deterred.
Then aged 24, Sehwag scored 82 runs from 81 balls with 10 fours and 3 sixes. If it wasn’t for a run-out one wonders what the outcome of the game would have been. Till he was batting in the middle even the famed Australian pace battery looked pedestrian.