Virender Sehwag is perhaps the best Test opener the world has seen. He, apart from two triple tons to his name, came close to a third one as well, against Sri Lanka in Mumbai in 2009. But former Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has revealed what the dasher told him after he got for 293.
“I remember he was batting on 290 against us in Mumbai and I think it was Dravid who told him to hang on as he can get to his 300 the next day. The next morning, he tried to tap it but got out caught and bowled and told me ‘I should have never listened to Rahul and instead gone after you’,” Murali told ESPNCricinfo.
It was the third Test of the series between the two teams. Earlier, the Lankans were bowled out for 393. “Sehwag could understand and read what I was bowling. He says he didn’t read me but what I can say is that he played me in a different manner (than the rest). He was very dangerous. I’ve said this many times,” he added.
“For Sehwag, I would keep fielders because I knew he will take a chance. He thinks, on his day he can attack and take on anybody in the world. So, we would try and set a defensive field and wait for him to make a mistake and give us his wicket. But Sehwag’s attitude was like ‘I will give myself 2 hours and score 150 runs. If I bat the entire day, I will score 300.’ So he might get out after lunch but by then he would have scored more than a hundred runs. Most of the batsmen batting on 98-99 would look to complete the century by taking singles but Sehwag will go for a six. Sehwag didn’t care whether he got a century or not. He just went for his shots,” Murali added.
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