After South Africa had made 540 against India in the first Test in Chennai in 2008, they would have felt pretty confident of themselves. And who can blame them for the misplaced sense of optimism? After all they were in control things, albeit only for a little while.
Then one man walked out to bat. Wielding the willow like a Samurai sword, Virender Sehwag strode into the middle to take strike and begin the innings for the hosts. Less than a decade old in the international arena and well shy of his 30th birthday, Sehwag already had the reputation of playing Test cricket in the ODI mode. Not only did he score quickly, he scored big and consistently. The Proteas found that out the hard way.
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There was virtually nothing in the pitch to trouble Sehwag much, not that it would have made any difference, such was his mood. The opener did not bother to settle in and we saw a flurry of boundaries. At close of play on Day 2, India were 82/0 and he was batting on 52, a sign of things to come.
Day 3 was one South Africa would want to forget. Sehwag launched a brutal assault that opened a deep wound in a world class bowling attack. He seemed to be turning the knife again and again so that the visitors did not know from where to stop the leakage of runs. When the ball hit his bat, more often than not it found itself against the boundary boards and sometimes even over it. When play ended, India were 468/1 and the man himself was batting on 309.
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Visions of him breaking Brian Lara’s 400 not out and becoming the highest individual Test scorer were high when play resumed on Day 4. Sadly he added just 10 runs to his overnight score and perished for 319, the highest Test score by an Indian till date. When he fell, India’s score was 481, meaning he had done the bulk of the scoring, which is harly a surprise. India eventually made 627 and the match was drawn. The series ended in a 1-1 draw at the end, but that is another matter altogether.
Sehwag’s 319 came in 304 balls with 42 fours and 5 sixes. His 300 came in 278 balls, the fastest ever in Tests. It is also the only time someone has scored 300 runs in less than 300 balls. This was his second Test triple ton and he joined the likes of Don Bradman and Brian Lara in achieving this feat. Chris Gayle would be added to the elite list in 2010. Bradman narrowly missed a 3rd 300 when he remained 299 not out and the last man got run out as he went for his 300th run. Sehwag almost achieved it in 2009, but fell 7 runs short vs Sri Lanka.
Be as it may, the brutal lesson that South Africa learned that day was that Sehwag in full form cannot be contained. It was a grim reminder of the damage he can cause with the bat as no bowler got the measure of him. The man loved big scores and it was India who reaped the benefits for over a decade as a result just like that day in Chennai.