Video of Sehwag taking 21 runs off two deliveries against Pakistan

We all are well aware that Virender Sehwag was one of the most explosive batsmen in world cricket when in his pomp, capable of scoring at a blistering pace and taking a match away from the opposition in a matter of a few overs. However, scoring 21 runs off two legal deliveries is a bit too much, even by his standards.

That is what happened, though, in a One-Day International (ODI) between arch-rivals India and Pakistan at Karachi on March 13, 2004. While Sehwag didn’t precisely score all 21 runs off his own bat, his presence at the crease itself would have certainly played a part as Rana Naved-ul-Hasan completely lost the plot.

In the 11th over of the innings, only one of Naved-ul-Hasan’s first six deliveries were legal, with the then 26-year-old overstepping the line on all the other five occasions. While Naved-ul-Hasan might have gotten away with his indiscretion while bowling to most other batsmen, that wasn’t going to be the case with Sehwag, who smashed him for four fours off his first two legal deliveries in the over.

Sehwag’s blitzkrieg fetched the Indians a total of 21 runs from the first two legal deliveries in the over. Still, Naved-ul-Hasan got his act together after that as he conceded only three runs from his next four deliveries. Eventually, India went on to win the match by just five runs, highlighting the importance of Naved-ul-Hasan’s profligacy with the ball earlier.