What are some of the best innings of Virender Sehwag?

 If a cricket historian twenty years from now were to glance at the score-card for the Chennai Test, 2008, it would take a bit for him to understand that why was Virender Sehwag chosen as Man of the Match for an inning of 83 despite Andrew Strauss two centuries in the match and Sachin's unbeaten match winning century in the fourth inning.

India v England, First test, Chennai, 2008.

It was a test which made England Captain Kevin Pietersen swallow the most bitter pill of his life.

It was a test held a month after Mumbai attack. Indian cricket fans needed a reason, no matter how little it was, to smile about.

On 11 December, 2008, Peterson won the toss and decided to bat.

Andrew Strauss showed how good he was against spin. He scored 123 as England made 316.

In a reply, Indian top order showed no resistance at all and they were reeling on 137 for 6 before a partnership between the captain Dhoni and Bhajji helped their team to reach to a respectable score of 241.

England was on top with a handy lead of 75. Andrew Strauss was unstoppable again in the 2nd inning. Paul Collingwood came on the top of his game too and they both defied everything Indian spinners threw at them. Both made 108.

They both batted together for 73 overs and chips looked down for Team India. When Strauss got out, the score was 257–4.

With one and half days to go in the match, a declaration from Peterson was the going to be the most vital decision of the match.

He waited more and more.

At 311–9, two hours left in the fourth day of play, Kevin Peterson called it off.

India got a target of 387 to chase in a fourth inning. A huge ask for any side in the world.

Let me remind you all that the highest score chased in the fourth innings to win a match in India was 276, by the West Indies in Delhi in 1987.

In Chennai, India's 155 for 8 in the third Test against Australia in 2001 remained the highest.

As the history suggested, it looked like a win for England already. A few Cricket experts, specially Englishmen, were a bit disappointed about the late declaration. They thought that Indian batsmen might pull off a draw from here if batted cautiously.

History was indeed a witness that even a draw from there would be a great escape for Team India.

But there was a man, to whom history didn't matter. Situation of the game didn't matter. Condition of the pitch didn't matter. Quality of the opposition didn't matter. What mattered the most for him was the faith in himself — The name is Virender Sehwag.

On the eve of 14th December 2008, Sehwag and Gambhir walked out there in the middle with a humongous task on their heads. They had 29 overs to see through the fourth day.

In the very first over of Anderson, Sehwag cracked two boundaries. The message from him was very clear, no blocking marathon for earning a draw.

He had decided to go for it.

Under the fading light on fourth day of the play, in a fourth inning of a test match, amidst the pressure of saving the match, against bowlers like Anderson, Harmison , Panesar and Swann, India's score reached 80 in just 10 overs with Sehwag on 61 off 39 balls.

That’s what Sehwag was capable of.

Look at this image. Just a Virender Sehwag kind of scenario.

(What a player he was!)

When he got out, India was 117 in 23 overs.

83 runs, 68 balls, 11 fours, 4 sixes.

It was kind of an inning which left the opposition clueless. They were horrified. They couldn't understand what was going on.

Pietersen couldn't have imagined that he would end up in a situation like this. He had happily declared the inning to wrap up the match, but just an hour later every bit of his happiness looked fading away.

He was like, ‘how could someone play like this when situation and condition of the game demnaded otherwise?’

They couldn't even smile when Sehwag got out. They were too horrified to celebrate.

By the time he got out, he had set a motion to an extraordinary run chase.

The next day, with a required run rate around 2.7, Sachin's century and Yuvi half century, India pulled off the highest chase ever on their own turf which would have been inconceivable without Sehwag's inning.

Despite Strauss's two epic centuries and Sachin's absolute masterclass in the fourth inning, Sehwag's 83 was voted for the Man of the match award.

The fact that he had scored big hundreds in quick time all over the world wasn’t enough to persuade the pundits. They thought that Sehwag’s big scores didn’t often lead to Indian victories. That day every doubt was put to bed. That day every sceptic was silenced. All it took was an inning of just 68 balls.

What's the best innings played by Rohit Sharma in International cricket?

 As Uthappa, provided a regulation to Graeme Smith, while trying to loft Morkel down the ground, Millions hearts skipped a beat in synchronization and why not? The batsman who rescued the ship against arch rivals Pakistan was now made a goner. But the night was perhaps not meant to be his.

61–4 in 10.3 overs, against the Mighty South African’s on their own turf.

But the question is how did we reach there?

It all started in the 5th over of India’s innings, as Gambhir lost his patience against a disciplined Pollock & played a shot which would’ve continued to haunt him forever, if not for the eventual results.

A ball later, debutant Dinesh Karthik flicked one straight into the hands of Albie Morkel and walked away without troubling the scoreboard. Tell you what, in the very first ball of the next over the dangerous Virender Sehwag nicked one off Ntini, behind the wicket & Boucher grabbed onto an absolute screamer.

3 wickets, in a space of 4 balls. With two of the most dependable batsman back in the hut.

Uthappa played a few elegant strokes but in a matter of a few deliveries, he was gone too.

With the South African Pace battery wrecking havoc with their intimidating bowling, and almost the last recognized pair of India batting, well, more often than not, wars would have been surrendered against the odds with little resistance, but a certain 20 year old stood there, trying to tackle everything that came in his way.

That Guy was Rohit Sharma.

A certain youngster playing his first game, who had become the talk of the town, as pundits called him the next big thing in Indian cricket, seeing his prowess in U-19 and domestics.

But there’s a hard fact about Cricket, or any competitive sport for a matter of fact. Each day is a separate one, each game brings forth it’s own unique set of challenges. And when you come across such uphill tasks—Your Past records, your reputation, none of them matter even a bit, all that matters is how you manage to stand still against the storm, absorbing all the mighty blows that come in your way.

And if you fail, all those Pundits who applauded you, would the be the first ones to come after you, with all guns blazing, questioning your worth.

Rohit took his time, got beaten by a few good ones, but didn’t rush.

It was as if he was in deep meditative mode, allowing himself to soak in all the pressure. But it was all a matter of time, before he broke his silence smoking Van der Wath for two back to back boundaries in the 10th over.

The Youngster was underway and the Durban’s canvas was ready to painted by Rohit’s eye pleasing display of stroke making for the next hour or so.

His stroke making was impeccable, there was a sort of lazy elegance in it. Whenever the Proteas gave him even a bit of room and he would pounce onto it.

Once he got set, even the good deliveries weren’t spared. Not many youngsters, are talented enough to dispatch, two similar type of deliveries in different parts of the ground, Rohit did so, in the last two balls of the 14th over, that too against Ntini—one of the best in the business.

It didn’t seem, even for a moment that this young lad was playing his 1st international game, his cricketing sense & pressure soaking ability made it seem, as if he were an experienced campaigner. With Skipper Dhoni(45 off 33), he stitched a partnership of 85 runs & took India to a respectable total, A total which would give their bowlers, the confidence to fight on.

And Guess how he concluded the innings?

With a typical Hitman-sque pull, which the fans would witness more often than not for the rest of his career.

His 50 was up, and as he walked out after the conclusion of the Indian innings, he was applauded and cheered by thousands of Indians, at the Durban, who danced in ecstasy.

Ravi Shastri who was in the Commentary Panel went on to say’

'India might have found a new player in the making’

And years hence, it seems how spot-on was he, Perhaps Rohit’s innings under pressure gave Shastri the sign of What-was-to-be.

What is your favourite Yuvraj Singh inning?

 It was first year of 21st century and the day was 7th October. The day which witnessed the fire and courage within a 18 year old kid who went on to win the World Cup for his Country while fighting through Cancer.

India was up against The World Cup Holder Australia, the team who looked almost invincible back then, in Quarter Final of ICC Knock Out trophy, 2000. A tournament which is now known as Champions Trophy.

Back then this tournament’s structure was very interesting. One bad game and one was out. You caught the next flight back from Nairobi. Like a Tennis tournament. How cool!

It was a special tournament for Team India. Not because they made into the final but because of the fact that team looked completely new, young and fresh on the paper with inclusion of players like Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh after the dark and horrible match fixing scandal. And most importantly, it was the first multinational tournament for the newly appointed captain “Sourav Ganguly”.

It was a special tournament for me too. I was 10 then and this was the first tournament my memories are still very clear about. I did watch a few matches in 1999 world cup but memories of those moments became too fade to recall clearly.

We, my friends from my village and I, used to sit in front of a black and white TV and dance together if a boundary or wicket happened. The moment power was cut, we used to switch on the Radio to listen to the live commentary. Ah! Those were the days!

At the age of mere 18, Yuvraj Singh was selected for the national duty after exhilarating performance in under 19 world cup.

In his debut match, against Kenya, Yuvraj wasn't required to bat as India chased down the total with the help of top order batsmen. Though he did bowl in the match for 4 overs. He looked like this.

India v Australia, 7 October, 2000.

In the Quarter Final, Australia were the plain favorite, coming into the match as the World Cup champion. Indian team looked a team with not so much experience, while Australia team was filled with some extraordinary players.

Dada lost the toss and was asked to bat first by the Elite captain, Steve Waugh.

Tendulkar walked out in the middle with his regular partner Sourav Ganguly. Things weren't looking right for India as McGrath and Brett Lee kept them quiet for four overs.

And then, the onslaught of Master Blaster began.

Sachin came dancing down the wicket and smashed McGrath for a huge six back over his head. He executed a few same shots in the next couple of overs.

The best shot of the innings came in the 2nd delivery of the 7th over as Tendulkar shuffled across his stumps and hooked McCgrath straight over the long leg boundary.

Harsha Bhogle said on the air, 'ball would have gone outside Nairobi'.

The next boundary was his trademark straight drive against the fiery speedster Brett Lee.

Everything was going like a fairy tale as the Indian openers came out all guns blazing. Especially in the context of those days. Score was 66 for no loss in 11th over.

Then happened the worst nightmare for Indian fans during 90’s. Tendulkar's wicket.

A few elder relatives of mine, watching the match with me, got up and left the room. It was a pretty usual scenario in late 90’s.

As expected, things began falling apart after Sachin's wicket and India looked in a big trouble when Dravid fell in 19th over after having struggled to maintain the run rate. Score was 90 for 3 with run rate down to less than 5.

In walked a tall, lean 18 year old Yuvraj Singh. It was his second match but first foray to the crease.

Since the moment he took the guard, he hardly looked like a rookie. He was out there for the first time in his life, yet there was hardly a sign of nerve.

From the word go he stood tall in the middle.

McGrath ran like a monster but Yuvi dispatched him every single time he delievered it overpitched.

Yuvi pulled Brett Lee mercilessly who tried to aim his body with a few near-100-miles deliveries.

Gillespie was wristed away to the square leg fence, the stroke stamped with style and gifted with timing.

His elegant cover drives against seamers were a pleasure to eyes.

One such signature stroke, straight and sparkling, brought up his half-century as he galloped to his 50 off 46. His stroke-play was like an unexpected shock for Aussies. They seemed totally unprepared for him. Steve Waugh looked clueless while changing his bowlers to stop him.

The kid was the driver of the most of the part of Indian inning as the senior players like Kambli, Robin Singh, Vijay Dahiya and Agarkar couldn't make it big after a good start. Yuvi was unruffled by it all. His majestic drives continued even during the fall of wickets at the other end.

Australia finally managed to get rid off him in the 47th over when he top-edged an attempted pull off Shane Lee.

An inning of 84 runs off 80 balls included 12 fours of absolute mixture of arrogance and elegance.

McGrath finished wicketless and conceded 61 in 9 overs.

India finished with 265 for 9, remarkable in that the steady fall of wickets had not been able to check the flow of runs.

During the other half of the match, young India displayed a remarkable performance in the field. Wickets kept tumbling as Yuvraj showcased another talent of him. Firstly he took a blinder to dismiss Ian Harvey and then he pulled off this.

Michael Bevan wouldn't have dared to go for a run if he had known Yuvi before. Yuvraj sprinted forward, swooped down on the ball and sent in a return on the bounce to knock off the stump. Bevan was stunned and on the way to pavilion.

I think that was the particular moment which made Yuvraj a favorite of Dada.

Yuvraj Singh was out there with the mission of owning the arena and he did it quite brilliantly.

During the final stage of the match, Steve Waugh was on the verge of snatching the game from Indians as equation was 36 required off 32. But this time it was the other young man from India who had the final say. After Yuvi, it was Zak's turn to leave Steve Waugh clueless. He unleashed his yorker and Steve was sent packing.

The exuberance of youth had taken India to the semi-finals. Yuvraj was declared for the Man of the Match award.

A memorable triumph in a classic match, engineered by a champion player who emerged as one of the worst nightmares for bowlers and biggest match winner for Team India in the decade ahead.

Since that day, people stopped switching off their TV after Tendulkar's wicket. It was dawn of a new era.

What's the best test inning ever played by Sachin?

 Steve Waugh said it to the Cricket Network recently recalling one of the mightiest comeback innings in test Cricket.

India tour of Australia, 2003–04.

Going into the final test of Border-Gavaskar series on his own turf, Steve Waugh had one last chance to avenge the remarkable triumph by Dada's army against Australia at Kolkata and Chennai, 2001.

This epic series, evenly poised with 1–1 after three tests, had seen it all.

1. 1st test at Brisbane was drawn after Sourav Ganguly's gem of 144.
2. In the next test at Adelaide, Dravid and Laxman created their second miracle and Agarkar produced a life time spell to provide India a historical lead of 1–0.
3. With return of Brett Lee, the hosts came back at their best in Melbourne and levelled the series despite Sehwag’s freakish knock of 195.

But it had not seen something which it was used to seeing: A Sachin Tendulkar’s Masterclass.

Famously poor travellers, Team India, went head to head against the world champion and were standing toe-to-toe with their hosts, but it was achieved without a single contribution from their best batsman. Sachin Tendulkar had scores of 0, 1, 37, 0 and 44 in his five Test innings on the tour.

Having been repeatedly out caught behind trying to play a cover drive, a shot which used to be a piece of cake for him, Sachin was seldom seen such woefully out of form. Even in the second innings at Melbourne, when he scored 44, he had shown snatches of his best form, but had perished to a snick again playing the same shot.

Even Shane Warne, who wasn’t playing the series, was surprised to see Sachin practicing for 10 long hours in the nets still failing to make his presence felt on the real pitch.

Australians thought that they had figured out the weakness of the world’s best batsman.

He was Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar though. In his entire career, he thrived on challenges. Doubts and criticism never cowed him down. Rather it made him flourish even more.

You know why? Because apart from all the batting skills and abilities, he had sheer grit to look into his own failures, accept it silently, wear it on his skin and rectify it in the most unthinkable way.

Coming into the fourth test of the series, Sachin Tendulkar took an outlandish decision as he decided not to play his trademark shot, a shot which made him what he was — COVER DRIVE.

Fourth Test, Sydney, 2–6 January, 2004.

He strode to the wicket 20 minutes after lunch in a full packed iconic Sydney ground on Day one with the score on 128–2 following the loss of two quick wickets, with Australia’s tail up and the home team sensing blood.

While he walked into the middle, he looked into a deep meditative thought. He was programming his conscience to a level where even a decent batsman never ever dreamt of reaching to.

Australia had a simple plan on the basis of the last five innings — bowl outside off deliveries, keep things tight, pack offside with fielders and he would get himself out.

Tell you what! Gillespie, Brett Lee and Bracken ran hard to fire outside off deliveries one after another, but Tendulkar virtually let go of all the balls that swung out of the off-stump. They came near to him and joked about it to break his concentration, but he was immune to all.

He rather made Aussies bowl at his stumps instead of going to them. And whenever they did, he lowered down his shoulder elegantly and brought his wrists into the action to bend the direction of the ball into the leg side producing magical boundaries.

The day ended with Sachin being on 73* off 156 deliveries out of which 101 were delivered outside the off stump. Sachin scored 12 boundaries and none came as a cover drive. His control awed spectators and commentators.

Day two witnessed a batting phenomena displaying an extraordinary piece of two D’s: Determination and Discipline.

Ball by ball, minute by minute, over by over, hour by hour and session by session the day two progressed and Sachin kept finding the gaps on on-side with ultimate precision.

Many outside the off deliveries were sent searing past the non-striker with impeccable timing which was termed as Tendulkar’s Straight Drives.

(An absolute beauty, isn’t it?)

They bowled outside off and he left. They came at him and he put it away. They missed their line with tiniest of fraction and he sent it over the fence with gorgeous timings. He didn’t destroy the attack. Rather he allowed it to disintegrate.

A leg glance off Simon Katich brought up his century and the way he, one of the calmest batsmen ever, punched his fists into the air, it showed how much he waited for this one.

As usual Harsha Bhogle was spot-on on the air,

A special hundred for the great cricketer and a lovely man. Oh! I have no idea how much this means to him. A quiet man answered with his bat. Well played, Sachin Tendulkar. Crowd at Sydney Cricket ground, they are all up and applauding.

While on channel 9, Richie Benaud graced the occasion with his voice,

And there it is. That’s the comeback hundred if you can use that phrase for one of the greatest players World has ever seen. A hundred for Sachin Tendulkar.

This answer has to be about Sachin’s knock but Laxman’s 178 was also a piece of dazzling brilliance. The way both batted together, there was little the bowlers could do. Their astonishing symphony made Aussies run all around the park, grinding them into the dust. If ever there was poetry in a Test cricket partnership, this was it.

Once Sachin completed his century, his determination went even stronger. His discipline remained intact but he looked even more sublime. The second new ball caused Laxman’s wicket but Tendulkar flowed flowed and flowed, like a river with no ending.

Brett Lee’s brutal out swingers outside off stump were driven with finesse down the ground. Stuart MacGill was pulled, swept and cut to lethal effect. The Aussies threw everything at him from their arsenal, but Tendulkar did not budge at all and went on to complete a monumental double.

(Look at the man celebrating a knock which was engineered so miraculously that even he looked impressed by himself. No wonder this guy made a whole generation of champion batsmen like Virat, Rohit and others pick their bats at the first place.)

He batted for the entire day two and day three before the declaration. India climbed to a mammoth 705/7, breaking dozens of overseas batting record.

Later a few umpiring errors, Parthiv’s wicketkeeping errors and Steve Waugh’s gritty knock on the final day helped Aussies to save the test, but Sachin’s incredible innings made sure that Steve Waugh would retire without getting his hand on the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

The Master removed his and the game’s greatest stroke - the Cover- drive - from his repertoire because it had been causing him too much grief, and went on to play a remarkable innings of 241* runs, 33 fours, 436 balls, 613 minutes. He didn't stop there and scored 60* in the second innings.

Last but not the least:

The wagon-wheel of boundaries of the innings showing 10 hours of utter control, focus and determination,

It was kind of an inning that doesn’t fade away from the mind. It fascinates you, inspires you, holds you captive and when you recall it years later, it teaches you how Discipline matters to succeed in life.