In the Multan test match between India and Pakistan in 2004, Virender Sehwag had become the first ever Indian batsman in the history of test cricket to score a triple hundred and the former Indian opener recently recalled that knock on Star Sports while talking about the famous India-Pakistan games.
According to Virender Sehwag, he was feeling a little bit of pressure before the Multan test because he had not scored a lot of runs ahead of that series. He had struggled in the previous few test matches and he knew if he didn’t score runs in that series against Pakistan, his test spot could come under the scanner.
Sehwag revealed that prior to his batting in the Multan test, he was determined that he wouldn’t waste the start if he got one and would look to convert the start into a big score, but the new ball spell was going to be a challenge. There was a bit of freshness in the surface and the two opening bowlers that Pakistan had, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami, both were consistently bowling in the range of 150 kph in those days.
Just wanted to get through the new ball spell of Akhtar and Sami: Virender Sehwag
Sehwag said all he wanted to do was to get through that new ball spell of Akhtar and Sami somehow, because the first and the second change bowlers that Pakistan had, they couldn’t crank up the same speeds as Akhtar and Sami. Sehwag revealed that the difference in the speeds was so significant that when he faced Pakistan’s first change bowler Abdul Razzaq, he felt like he was facing a spinner.
Runs: 3️⃣0️⃣9️⃣
Fours/Sixes: 3️⃣9️⃣/ 6️⃣ #OnThisDay in 2004, Virender Sehwag became the first India player to score a triple hundred in Tests 🙌Do you remember the margin by which 🇮🇳 won the Multan Test? pic.twitter.com/YSgGgxk8ba
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Sehwag took a heavy toll on Saqlain Mushtaq in that game as well. Saqlain is currently the head coach of Pakistan national team and was one of the reputed off spinners back in the day. He was actually the first off spinner ever to bowl an away going delivery from the right hander and he was the one who had named it “doosra“. But, Sehwag, during his triple hundred, smashed Saqlain to all parts of the ground.
