Memorable Test innings by each of the 'Fab Five' of Indian Cricket
Following the match-fixing saga, Indian cricket was at crossroads at the turn of the twentieth century. Various names including star batsman, Mohammed Azharuddin, was dragged into the controversy, putting the credibility of their favourite stars and most importantly of the game of cricket in jeopardy.
The onus was on four men, relatively young in age but with a plethora of experience between them, to resurrect the image of Indian cricket and bring fans back to them. Those four men were Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and the very very special VVS Laxman. Ganguly's aggression, Tendulkar's finesse, Laxman's wrists, and Dravid's perseverance met with the ruthlessness of Virender Sehwag to script India's resurgence with a plethora of series and match-defining innings.
As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Sachin Tendulkar's breathtaking assault on Shane Warne and the Aussies, let us go down memory lane to list down some of the best Test innings played by the Fab Five over the course of their magnanimous careers.
#5 Virender Sehwag, vs England, Chennai 2008 (83 off 65 balls)
Now, a lot of people will have their reprehensions against the choice of the innings, especially since the batsman in question has scored breathtaking triple hundreds and a plethora of double hundreds.It is purely on the basis of the context of the game that Sehwag's brutal 83 against England in the evening session of the Chepauk Test on Day 4 in 2008 ranks as one of his best.
Such was the psychological effect of Sehwag's assault on the English bowlers that, England, after having dominated the Test for a better part of four days went on to lose the Test match.After requiring 387 runs to win, the English bowlers were taken aback by the breathtaking assault unleashed by Sehwag.
He cut and pulled with ferocious ease and knocked off a significant amount of runs from the target to pave the way for the shenanigans of Tendulkar (100 not out) and Yuvraj Singh to take over as India pulled off a thrilling run-chase with six wickets to spare.