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On This Day In 2001: Virender Sehwag Made A Dream Test Debut With Century vs Hostile SA

Aashay Chopade

Virender Sehwag after scoring his debut century (Source:@virendersehwag/X.com)Virender Sehwag after scoring his debut century (Source:@virendersehwag/X.com)

Virender Sehwag started his career as a middle order batter and though he got majority of his success as an opener, his debut at number 6 in Test cricket was quite memorable too. He made his Test debut against South Africa on November 3, 2001 in Bloemfontein and smashed a century in his very first innings under pressure in conditions that were completely alien to him.

India batted first in that Test and were reduced to 68-4 with big names like Rahul Dravid, Laxman and Sourav Ganguly back in the hut. Sachin Tendulkar was batting well and the young Sehwag joined hands with his idol to take India out of trouble. The duo stitched a partnership of 220 runs and both Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag scored centuries.

Young Virender Sehwag Shows His Class Against Quality Pace Attack

It was the first look of Virender Sehwag for the cricketing world and on a bouncy and seaming track, the right-handed batter showed great intent and skills. The likes of Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini were at the peak of their powers at that time but Sehwag did not back away from playing his shots. His backfoot punches, upper cuts which all became very famous later on were all present in his debut knock and he ended up scoring 105 off 173 balls which included 19 fours.

The knock announced Virender Sehwag's arrival on the international stage and though India lost that match, the debutant went onto become one of the greatest openers in the history of the game. He ended his Test career with an average of almost 50 in 104 Tests and smashed 23 centuries and 32 fifties. He also later became the first Indian to hit a triple century in Test cricket and ended up hitting two triple centuries in his career. He is truly a great of the game, and it all started with a beautiful century under pressure in Bloemfontein.