Watch: Virender Sehwag slams India’s first triple hundred on this day, christened as ‘Multan ka Sultan’

On this day 16 years ago Virendar Sehwag made his first triple hundred and it was India’s first ever triple hundred in their 70 years of test cricket history. The world witnessed one of the best ever knocks in the history of Indian cricket.

The backdrop to the match

It is a no brainer really that India’s fiercest and arch rivals were their neighbouring country Pakistan when it comes to a battle on a cricket field. There was so much hype and anticipation that revolved around a bilateral series of the two cricketing giants. Back in 2004, it was India’s time to set foot in Pakistan.

The first test was scheduled to be held in Multan between 28th March to 1st April. The Indian captain and gentleman of world cricket Rahul Dravid won the toss and chose to bat first on a batting friendly track.

The knock that is etched in the memory forever

The stage was set, The toss was won and the track was flat. Everything beautifully fell in place for a historic batting display. Virendar Sehwag came to the middle and just destroyed the reputed Pakistani attack. None of the bowlers were spared as everyone was ripped out to shreds. It was just the purest form of hitting a cricket ball to all parts of the field.

The commentators ran out of adjectives while describing the innings. Such was the audacity with which Virendar Sehwag batted on that day. By the end of Day1, India reached 356 for 2 with Virender Sehwag unbeaten on 228 along with Sachin Tendulkar batting on 60*.

On Day 2, the nawab of najafgarh became Multan ka sultan as he scored his maiden triple hundred in the second session by smashing a six off Saqlain Mushtaq when he was batting on 295. History was made right there.

The legendary opener removed his helmet and held his bat high to soak up the applause. Every Pakistani in the stadium stood up to appreciate truly a wonderful knock.

He was finally dismissed on 309 by Mohammad Sami but not before he scored 39 boundaries and six sixes while batting with an unbelievable strike rate of 82.40. Here’s a video clip of the historic innings :

List of records broken – On This Day

1. Highest test score by an Indian
2. First ever triple hundred by an Indian
3. First man to reach triple hundred with a six
4. Second fastest triple century at that time in terms of balls faced.