On This Day-December 4, 2009: Virender Sehwag Smashes Majestic 293

Virender Sehwag is widely recognised as one of the greatest openers in the history of Test cricket. He revolutionized the art of batting in Test cricket in the 2000s scoring big runs at a rapid rate hammering into submission the best bowling attacks all over the world. Sehwag not only tormented opposition bowlers and scored heavily but he also created and saved time for the Indian bowlers to pick 20 wickets and win Test matches. He aggregated 8586 runs in 104 Tests at an average of 49.34 including 23 hundreds. His most staggering statistic was his strike rate - at 82.23 it is the highest (min. 2000 runs) in the history of Test cricket!

Also read: On This Day - December 3, 2007: Muralitharan Becomes Highest Wicket-taker in Tests

Sehwag had already recorded two triple hundreds in Test cricket. It was the third and final Test of the home series against Sri Lanka in 2009 at the historic Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Sri Lanka scored 393 at a run-rate of slightly above 4 in the first innings. But the real carnage was to follow on Day 2!

The Indian openers, Sehwag and Murali Vijay gave India a great start - they put together 221 for the first wicket in just under 40 overs. Sehwag had scored a hundred off just 101 deliveries hammering 13 fours and 3 sixes. He stepped on another gear and raced to 150 off just 130 deliveries before registering the second-fastest recorded double hundred in the history of Test cricket - off just 168 deliveries, including 27 fours and 6 sixes! It remains the third-fastest double hundred ever in Test cricket after Nathan Astle - 153 (in 2002) and Ben Stokes - 163 (in 2016). India ended day 2 on 443 for 1 in just 79 overs with Sehwag unbeaten on 284. It remains the third-highest number of runs scored by a batsman on a single day of a Test after Bradman's 309 against England at Leeds in 1930 and Wally Hammond's 295 against New Zealand in Auckland in 1933.

Sehwag was finally dismissed early on Day 3, the 4th of December 2009, for a majestic 293 off just 254 deliveries. He hammered 40 fours and 7 sixes which meant that 202 of his runs (68.94%) came in boundaries! His strike rate of 115.35 in the innings remains the second-highest for a 250-plus knock after Ben Stokes' brilliant 258 off 198 deliveries (strike rate of 130.3) against South Africa in Cape Town in 2016.

India declared their first innings at 726 for 9 in just 163 odd overs. Sri Lanka played out 100 overs but still went on to lose by an innings and 24 runs as the Indian bowlers had enough time to bowl them out for a second time in the match - courtesy the rate at which Sehwag had scored in the first innings.

India won the three-match series 2-0 and moved to Number 1 in the ICC Test Rankings.

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