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'When those 2 pacers came to bowl, it felt like I was facing spinners': Sehwag's favourite India vs Pakistan memory
India great Virender Sehwag loved batting against Pakistan. In fact, among all teams, Sehwag scored 2347 runs against Pakistan – 1276 in Tests and another 1071 in ODIs.
India great Virender Sehwag loved batting against Pakistan. In fact, among all teams, Sehwag scored 2347 runs against Pakistan – 1276 in Tests and another 1071 in ODIs. He scored 10 centuries and four half-centuries against them across and ODIs and Tests, with some of his finest and most memorable knocks coming against the 1992 and 2009 World Cup winners. Of course, his epic knock of 309 at Multan will take the cake over any other inning that he has played. In 2004, Sehwag became the first Indian to score a triple-century in Tests, which established him as one of the most destructive batters in world cricket.
However, Sehwag revealed that coming into the Test match, he had been hearing whispers that he is not a Test player, with critics targeting his style of batting. In the five-ODI series that preceded the Tests, Sehwag had failed to create an impact so he knew that he had to do something special in the three-Test series.
"My 309-run knock at Multan is my favourite memory from India vs Pakistan rivalry, because no one expected that a player like Sehwag, an opener could score 300. People were saying… when I was playing, the media used to write, the commentators used to say that Sehwag is not Test player, he cannot make big runs this and that," Star Sports uploaded a video of Sehwag as saying on their show 'Frenemies' ahead of Asia Cup 2022.
"The good thing about that innings (309) was that the previous four innings against Pakistan, I had not scored runs. I had this feeling that if I did not score runs even in the Test series, I may get dropped. So, this time, if I get the start, like score 30-40, I have to convert it into big runs."
Sehwag admitted that he was skeptical initially during his innings, but once he saw off the new-ball spell from Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami, he grew in confidence. Four Pakistan bowlers conceded over 100 runs, with Saqlain Mushtaq proving to be the most expensive having bled over 200 runs in 43 overs.
"I had this fear that the ball is new, the wicket is fresh. Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami are both express bowlers. Shoaib was bowling around 155 kph and Sami was constantly clocking 145. But once both of their spells got over, it became easier for me because when Shabbir Ahmed and Abdul Razzaq – those two pacers came to bowl, it felt like I was facing spinner. So once I played out that 12-over spell from Shoaib and Sami, my confidence peaked," he added.
