Virender Sehwag turns 45: A look at former India opener’s records

New Delhi [India]: As the former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag celebrates his 45th birthday on Friday, let’s take a look at his career and records.

The former India opener amassed a total of 8,586 runs from 104 Tests he played at an average of 49.34 besides also scoring 8,273 runs from 251 ODIs. The former opener also appeared in 19 T20Is for India, accumulating 394 runs.

Sehwag built an incredible career out of persistent pursuit of boundaries and a flair for smashing them. With minimum footwork but tremendous determination, he has piled Test runs at a faster pace than anyone in the history of cricket.

Bowlers were confident in their chances against a batter who played so many strokes; it’s simply that Sehwag was far more confident in his chances against them.

At his peak, the ‘Nawab of Najfgarh’ was a threatening presence with his strong cuts and cracking drives. With his zeal and ferocious approach to scoring runs quickly, he developed an unbelievable career.

The cricketer went on to amass over 16,000 runs for India across all formats, cementing his place in Indian cricket’s pantheon.

Sehwag made his ODI debut against Pakistan in Mohali in 1999, and he also announced his retirement from the format 14 years later at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata.

In 2001, he made his Test debut against South Africa in Bloemfontein. In the game, the opener scored 105 runs in a losing effort for India. In 2013, he called his quits after a 12-year Test career. Sehwag had an unblemished record for India, scoring over 8000 runs in both formats.

Along with his stellar career for India, Virender Sehwag amassed a number of records and exploits over the years. When it comes to the most runs scored in a single day, his total of 284 ranks third.

He is the only player in Test cricket history to achieve two triple-hundreds, as well as the third fastest player to reach 7000 runs in the same format.

He also holds a rare record of taking four catches as a substitute in a Test match. As a captain, Sehwag has the greatest number of runs (219) in an innings.