playername	Virat Kohli
country	India
fullname	Virat Kohli
living	true
dayofbirth	5
monthofbirth	11
yearofbirth	1988
placeofbirth	Delhi
countryofbirth	India
heightft	5
heightinch	9
batting	Right-handed
bowling	Right arm medium pace
role	Batsman
club1	Delhi
year1	2006–present
club2	Royal Challengers Bangalore
year2	2008–present
international	true
testdebutdate	20 June
testdebutyear	2011
testdebutagainst	West Indies
testcap	268
lasttestdate	28 January
lasttestyear	2012
lasttestagainst	Australia
odidebutdate	18 August
odidebutyear	2008
odidebutagainst	Sri Lanka
odicap	175
lastodidate	18 March
lastodiyear	2012
lastodiagainst	Pakistan
deliveries	balls
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	8
runs1	491
bat avg1	32.73
100s/50s1	1/3
top score1	116
deliveries1	66
wickets1	0
bowl avg1	–
fivefor1	0
tenfor1	0
best bowling1	n/a
catches/stumpings1	10/–
column2	ODI
matches2	85
innings	82
runs2	3590
bat avg2	50.56
100s/50s2	11/21
top score2	183
deliveries2	274
wickets2	2
bowl avg2	133.00
fivefor2	0
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	1/20
catches/stumpings2	41/–
column3	FC
matches3	38
runs3	2,622
bat avg3	50.42
100s/50s3	8/11
top score3	197
deliveries3	534
wickets3	3
bowl avg3	96.33
fivefor3	0
tenfor3	0
best bowling3	1/19
catches/stumpings3	37/–
column4	LA
matches4	113
runs4	4,584
bat avg4	48.25
100s/50s4	13/27
top score4	124
deliveries4	332
wickets4	2
bowl avg4	159.00
fivefor4	0
tenfor4	n/a
best bowling4	1/20
catches/stumpings4	57/–
date	28 February
year	2012
source	http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies-v-india-2011/content/player/253802.html ESPNCricinfo }}

Virat Kohli (born 5 November 1988 in Delhi) is an Indian international cricketer. He is a middle order batsman, who can also open the batting. He can also bowl right arm medium pace. Kohli was the captain of the victorious Indian team at the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia. He represents Delhi in first-class cricket and plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League. He also played for the West Delhi Cricket Academy. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut in 2008 and was part of the Indian team which won the 2011 World Cup. Despite being a regular in the ODI side, he only played his first Test in 2011.

Personal life

Virat Kohli was born on 5 November 1988 in Delhi to Prem and Saroj Kohli. He has an elder brother, Vikash, and an elder sister, Bhavna. Virat attended school at Vishal Bharti and Savier Convent. Virat's father, Prem, worked as a lawyer and passed away in December 2006. Little is known of Virat Kohli's personal life.

Youth cricket and early career

The West Delhi Cricket Academy was created in 1998 and Kohli was part of its first intake. Kohli first came into the spotlight when he played for Delhi in a Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka on the day of his father's death. Choosing to stay and bat, he went on to score 90 runs. Mithun Manhas, the team's captain, remarked that "That is an act of great commitment to the team and his innings turned out to be crucial".

Kohli captained the victorious Indian team at the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia. Batting at number 4, he scored 235 runs in 6 matches at an average of 47, including a century against the West Indies U-19s. He was also commended for making several tactical bowling changes during the tournament. His mother noted that "Virat changed a bit after that day. Overnight he became a much more matured person. He took every match seriously. He hated being on the bench. It's as if his life hinged totally on cricket after that day."

Kohli was instrumental in India's win of the 2009 Emerging Players Tournament in Australia. In the final against South Africa, Kohli scored a century and India went on to win the game by 17 runs. Kohli emerged as the leading run scorer of the tournament, aggregating 398 runs from seven matches including two centuries and two fifties.

Kohli played for Royal Challengers Bangalore at the 2008 Indian Premier League. He was bought for $30,000 before the first season in 2008. He did not perform well, scoring only 165 runs in 13 innings at an average of 15 and taking only 2 wickets with his bowling. But he improved marginally in the second season, scoring 246 runs in 16 innings with an average of 22.36 and taking 9 catches and effecting 2 run outs. In the third season, he scored 307 runs, including two half centuries, in 13 innings at an average of 27.90. In the fourth season of the IPL, he was the only player that Royal Challengers Bangalore retained, preferred over the likes of Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ross Taylor.

ODI specialist (2008–2011)

Following a hundred in the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia in 2008, Kohli was selected in the ODI squad for India's tour of Sri Lanka. Kohli made his debut in One Day International against Sri Lanka in the Idea Cup in 2008 when both Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag were injured. He opened the batting in the first match, but was out for 12. But he made a crucial 37 in a low scoring second match in the series, which helped India win and level the series. He made his first half century, a score of 54, in the fourth match which helped India win the series. This was India's first one day series win against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. He was included in the squad for the home ODI series against England later that same year but was not given a chance to play,due to inclusion of Sachin and Sehwag in team. Kohli was then dropped from the squad for the five-match ODI series in Sri Lanka against Sri Lanka in January 2009.

Kohli played in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy after Yuvraj Singh was injured, and since mid-2009 has been the reserve ODI batsman. Yuvraj regained fitness for the home series against Australia, so Kohli only played in occasional matches in the series.

In the absence of the injured Yuvraj, Kohli got a chance to play in the 4th ODI when Sri Lanka toured India in December 2009. He scored his first ODI century, milking singles with Gautam Gambhir they shared a 224-run partnership for the third wicket as India won by seven wickets to seal the series 3–1.

Senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar was rested for the tri-nations tournament in Bangladesh in January 2010, so Kohli played in each of India's five matches. After making nine in the opening loss to Sri Lanka, he top-scored with 91 to help secure a win after India collapsed early in their run chase against Bangladesh on 7 January 2010. He then ended unbeaten on 71 to help win the match for India with a bonus point after they chased down their target quickly. The next day, he scored his second ODI century, against Bangladesh, bringing up the mark with the winning runs. He was much praised for his performances during the tournament, and became only the third Indian to score two ODI centuries before their 22nd birthday, following in the footsteps of Tendulkar and Suresh Raina. However, in the final against Sri Lanka he made only two as India collapsed to 5/60 and an eventual four-wicket defeat.

Kohli was named vice-captain of the ODI side for the Tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe in June 2010 as all the other first-choice players skipped the tournament. In the same series, he became the fastest Indian to score 1,000 runs in ODI cricket. He was India's leading run-scorer in 2010, with 995 runs including three centuries from 25 matches at an average of 47.38. Kohli was preferred over Raina for the 2011 World Cup and became the first Indian to score a century on World Cup debut. He also scored 59 against West Indies while sharing a 122-run patnership with Yuvraj Singh. His 83-run partnership for the third wicket with Gautam Gambhir was instrumental in India taking the upper hand during their run chase against Sri Lanka in the final. He made 282 runs in 9 innings at an average of 35.25. Between 1 January 2009 and 1 September 2011, Kohli was India's second highest run-scorer in ODIs with 1,994 runs at an average of 47.47.

Introduction to Tests (2011–2012)

When India toured the West Indies in June and July 2011, they chose a largely inexperienced squad, resting Tendulkar and others such as Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag missing out due to injuries. Kohli was one of three uncapped players in the Test squad. India won the Test series 1–0 but Kohli struggled on his debut in the format; he struggled with the short ball amassing just 76 runs from five innings. Particularly troublesome for Kohli was the fast bowling of Fidel Edwards, who dismissed him three times in the series. Initially dropped from the Test squad for India's four-match series against England in July and August, Kohli was recalled as cover for the injured Yuvraj Singh, though did not play in the series. He participated in the subsequent ODI series, scoring 194 runs from five innings including a century, although India lost the series 3–0. In October England faced India in a return ODI series in India. India won 5–0 and Kohli was the highest run-scorer on either side with 270 across five matches and a highest score of 112 not out.

In November and December 2011, the West Indies toured India for three Tests and five ODIs. Following his ODI success against England the previous month Kohli was included in the Test squad ahead of Raina. In competition with Yuvraj Singh for the number six position, it was not until the final match of the series that Kohli was selected in the team. The match ended in a draw, and having won the first two Tests took the series 2–0; Kohli scored a pair of fifties in the match, passing his previous highest score of 30. India won the subsequent ODI series 4–1 and Kohli managed 243 runs at an average of 60.75 with a highest score of 117.

Kohli was included in India's squad for the tour of Australia in December 2011. After the first Test he felt his position in the team was in jeopardy, and during the second Kohli was fined half of his match fee for swearing at fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground who were insulting him. In an interview after the incident, he remarked "Scoring eight hundreds in one-day internationals can't be a fluke. It's international cricket as well. I don't know why people have been questioning my technique or temperament so much. ... All of this is a learning curve for me. I am playing on difficult wickets, in Australia." Kohli top scored in each of India's innings in the third Test, with 44 and 75, and in the fourth and final match Kohli scored his maiden Test century of 116 runs in the second innings; it was the only century scored by an Indian in the series. India lost the series 4–0 and Kohli was the top scorer for India in the same series.

India remained in Australia for the triangular ODI series, that followed the Tests; it was contested by Australia, Sri Lanka, and India. Kohli was India's leading run-scorer in the series scoring 373 runs including two half centuries and a century – again, the only century scored by an Indian in the series. Though India did not progress to the final, victory against Sri Lanka in India's last match kept them in contention until the final fixture of the group stage. Chasing 321 to win, Kohli came to the crease with India's score at 86/2 and went on to score 133 not out from 86 balls to win with 13 overs to spare. He was named Man of the Match for his effort, which included scoring 24 runs from an over by Lasith Malinga. He was named vice-captain of the ODI team for the 2012 Asia Cup in March.

He scored 183 off 148 balls against Pakistan in the fifth match of Asia Cup 2012, recording the joint-fourth highest score by an Indian in ODIs. Coming in at 0/1, he struck 22 fours and a six to take India to a record chase of 330. This is his highest score in One Day internationals and the highest individual score in the Asia Cup. Kohli's innings was the highest individual innings for a batsman against Pakistan in a ODI surpassing previous record by Brian Lara (156).

International centuries

213 102* 118 105 100* 107 112* 117 133* 108 183

		;Test centuries	Virat Kohli's Test centuries
style="width:25px;"	# !! style="width:50px;"|Runs !! style="width:50px;"|Balls !! style="width:25px;"|4s !! style="width:25px;"|6s !! style="width:110px;"|Against !! style="width:200px;"|City/Country !! style="width:200px;"|Venue !! style="width:50px;"|Year !! style="width:200px;"|Result
1	116	|	11	1		Adelaide, Australia	Adelaide Oval	2012	Australia won by 298 runs
2	|	95	11	0		Mirpur Thana>Mirpur, Bangladesh	Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium	2010	India won by 6 wickets
3	|	121	11	1		Visakhapatnam, India	ACA-VDCA Stadium	2010	India won by 5 wickets
4	|	104	10	0		Guwahati, India	Nehru Stadium, Guwahati>Nehru Stadium	2010	India won by 40 runs
5	|	83	8	2		Mirpur Thana>Mirpur, Bangladesh	Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium	2011	India won by 87 runs
6	|	93	9	1		Cardiff, Wales	SWALEC Stadium	2011	England won by 6 wickets
7	|	98	16	0		Delhi, India	Feroz Shah Kotla	2011	India won by 8 wickets
8	|	123	14	0		Vishakapatnam, India	ACA-VDCA Stadium	2011	India won by 5 wickets
9	|	86	16	2		Hobart, Australia	Bellerive Oval	2012	India won by 7 wickets
10	|	120	7	0		Mirpur Thana>Mirpur, Bangladesh	Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium	2012	India won by 50 runs
11	|	148	22	1		Mirpur Thana>Mirpur, Bangladesh	Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium	2012	India won by 6 wickets

References

External links

Category:Indian cricketers Category:India One Day International cricketers Category:India Twenty20 International cricketers Category:Indian Premier League cricketers Category:Bangalore cricketers Category:Delhi cricketers Category:1988 births Category:Living people Category:People from Delhi Category:Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup Category:India Test cricketers Category:Article Feedback 5 Category:Punjabi people

hi:विराट कोहली kn:ವಿರಾಟ್ ಕೊಹ್ಲಿ mr:विराट कोहली ta:விராட் கோலி te:విరాట్ కోహ్లి

playername	Rahul Dravid
country	India
fullname	Rahul Sharad Dravid
active year	1996-2012
living	yes
nickname	The Wall, Jammy, Mr. Dependable
dayofbirth	11
monthofbirth	1
yearofbirth	1973
placeofbirth	Indore, Madhya Pradesh
countryofbirth	India
heightft	5
heightinch	11
heightm	1.7
batting	Right-handed
bowling	Right arm off spin
role	Batsman, Wicketkeeper
international	true
testdebutdate	20 June
testdebutyear	1996
testdebutagainst	England
testcap	207
lasttestdate	24 January
lasttestyear	2012
lasttestagainst	Australia
odidebutdate	3 April
odidebutyear	1996
odidebutagainst	Sri Lanka
odicap	339
lastodidate	16 September
lastodiyear	2011
lastodiagainst	England
odishirt	19
onet20i	true
t20idebutdate	31 August
t20idebutyear	2011
t20idebutagainst	England
international career	1996 - 2012
club1	Karnataka
year1	1990–present
club2	Kent
year2	2000
club3	Scotland
year3	2003
club4	Royal Challengers Bangalore
year4	2008–2010
club5	Rajasthan Royals
year5	2011–present
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	164
runs1	13,288
bat avg1	52.31
100s/50s1	36/63
top score1	270
deliveries1	120
wickets1	1
bowl avg1	39.00
fivefor1	0
tenfor1	0
best bowling1	1/18
catches/stumpings1	210/0
column2	ODI
matches2	344
runs2	10,889
bat avg2	39.16
100s/50s2	12/83
top score2	153
deliveries2	186
wickets2	4
bowl avg2	42.50
fivefor2	0
tenfor2	0
best bowling2	2/43
catches/stumpings2	196/14
column3	FC
matches3	298
runs3	23,794
bat avg3	55.33
100s/50s3	68/117
top score3	270
deliveries3	617
wickets3	5
bowl avg3	54.60
fivefor3	0
tenfor3	0
best bowling3	2/16
catches/stumpings3	353/1
column4	LA
matches4	449
runs4	15,271
bat avg4	42.30
100s/50s4	21/112
top score4	153
deliveries4	477
wickets4	4
bowl avg4	105.25
fivefor4	0
tenfor4	0
best bowling4	2/43
catches/stumpings4	233/17
date	30 January
year	2012
source	http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/28114.html Cricinfo }}

Rahul Sharad Dravid (born 11 January 1973) is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test and One Day International teams. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000. Dravid was also awarded the ICC Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year at the inaugural awards ceremony held in 2004. Dravid also holds the record of having taken the most number of catches in Test matches. On 9 March 2012, he announced his retirement from international cricket.

On 7 August 2011 after getting a surprise call to play in ODI series against England he declared his retirement from One Day Internationals and T20.

Popularly hailed as "The Wall of Indian cricket", Dravid is regarded by many to be one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the game. Dravid holds multiple cricketing records. He is only the second player, after Sachin Tendulkar, to reach 13,000 runs in Test cricket. On 14 February 2007, he became the sixth player overall and the third Indian (after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly), to score 10,000 runs in ODI cricket in cricketing history. He is the first and only batsman to score a century in all ten Test playing nations. With more than 200 catches, Dravid currently holds the world record for the most number of catches in Test cricket. Dravid has also been involved in more than 80 century partnerships with 18 different partners and has been involved in 19 century partnerships with Sachin Tendulkar – a world record.

On 24 November 2011, He became the second international player to reach 13,000 runs in Test Cricket only after Sachin Tendulkar.

On 14 December 2011, he became the first non-Australian cricketer to address at the Bradman Oration in Canberra.

Dravid has been bowled 55 times in Test cricket, going past Allan Border's previous record of 53.

On 9 March 2012, Rahul Dravid announced his retirement from international and first class cricket. Dravid made the announcement with the BCCI president, N Srinivasan and former captain Anil Kumble at a press conference in Bangalore. He is however slated to appear in the 2012 edition of the Indian Premier League as captain of the Rajasthan Royals

Early life and family

Dravid was born in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. He belongs to a Maharashtrian family settled in Bangalore, Karnataka. He has a younger brother, Vijay. Dravid's father worked for Kissan, a company known for producing jams and preserves and thus he earned the nickname ''Jammy'' from his teammates at St. Joseph's Boys' High School. His mother, Pushpa, was a professor of architecture at Bangalore University. Rahul Dravid has a degree in commerce from St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore.

Dravid started playing cricket at the age of 12, and represented the state at the under-15, under-17 and under-19 level. Rahul's talents were first spotted by former cricketer Keki Tarapore who was coaching at a summer coaching camp at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. He went on to score a century on debut for his school team. Along with the batting, he was keeping wickets. However, he later stopped keeping wickets on advice from former Test players Gundappa Vishwanath, Roger Binny, Brijesh Patel and Tarapore.

He was selected to make his Ranji Trophy debut in February 1991 against Maharashtra in Pune (while still attending college at St. Joseph's College of Commerce in Bangalore), alongside future Indian teammates Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath, scoring 82 in a drawn match after batting in the No. 7 position. His first full season was in 1991–92, when he scored two centuries to finish with 380 runs at an average of 63.3, and was selected for South Zone in the Duleep Trophy.

On 4 May 2003, he married Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur. They have two children, Samit (born 2005) and Anvay (born 2009).

Cricketing career

1995–98: Beginning

Dravid had a disappointing start to his career making his debut in one-dayers against Sri Lankan cricket team in the Singer Cup in Singapore immediately after World Cup in March 1996, replacing Vinod Kambli. Subsequently, he was dropped from the team, until he was picked again for the tour of England.

He then made his debut in the Second Test against England along with Sourav Ganguly,when Sanjay Manjrekar got injured after the first Test match on that tour.

Dravid scored 95 and held his position on Manjrekar's return for the Third Test, scoring 84. After moderate performance in home series against Australia and South Africa, Dravid broke through on the 1996–97 tour of South Africa. He batted at No. 3 in the third Test in Johannesburg, scoring his maiden century with 148 and 81, the top score in each innings to claim his first man of the match award. He made his first half-century against Pakistan in the Sahara Cup in 1996, scoring 90 in his 10th ODI.

In the 18 months ending in mid-1998, he played in an away series against the West Indies, home and away series against Sri Lanka and a home series against Australia, he scored consistently, with 964 runs at an average of 56.7. He scored eleven half-centuries but was unable to convert them to triple figures . He scored his second century in late 1998 against Zimbabwe in a one-off Test match, top-scoring in both innings with 148 and 44, but was unable to prevent an Indian defeat . He became the third Indian batsman after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar to score centuries in both innings of a match during the 1999 New Year's Test match against New Zealand with 190 and 103* to force a draw. He had a moderate season in the subcontinent in early 1999, scoring 269 runs at an average of 38.42 with one century before scoring 239 at an average of 39.8 including a century against New Zealand in late 1999. This was followed by a poor away series against Australia and another poor home series against South Africa, accumulating just 187 runs at an average of 18.7. He then scored 200*, his first double century, against Zimbabwe in Delhi, which along with 70* in the second innings helped India to victory. It was the first time he had passed 50 in 12 months and he followed this with a 162 in the following Test, giving him 432 runs in the two match series at an average of 432 .

1999: World Cup success

Dravid was top scorer in the 7th World Cup (1999), scoring 461 runs. He is the only Indian to score two back to back centuries at the World Cup. He scored 110 vs Kenya and followed it with a masterly 145 against Sri Lanka in Taunton, in a match where he kept wickets. He was vice captain during 2003 World cup where India reached the final, serving his team in the dual capacity of a batsman and wicket keeper to accommodate an additional batsman, a move that paid huge dividends for India. Dravid was the captain during the 2007 cricket world cup in West Indies, where Indian cricket team had a dismal campaign.

Post 2000

In the second test of a three match test series against Australia at Kolkata in 2001, Dravid joined hands with VVS Laxman to produce one of the greatest comeback victories in the history of the game. Following on, the pair put on 376 runs for the fifth wicket in the second innings of the match. Dravid scored 180 while Laxman made 281. Though Dravid ended up second-best, it remains one of his greatest performances till date. Later that year in Port Elizabeth against South Africa, he made a crucial match-saving 87 runs in the second innings to deny South Africa the win.

2002 was the year, when Dravid started to emerge out of Tendulkar's shadow and established himself as India's premier Test batsman. In the month of April, at Georgetown, West Indies in first test match of the series, he scored an unbeaten 144 in the first innings after being hit by a Mervyn Dillon delivery. Later that year, he raked up four consecutive centuries against England (3) and West Indies (1). In August 2002, against England at Headingley Stadium, Leeds in the third test match of the series, he scored a 148 in the first innings on a seamer-friendly pitch to set up a famous Indian win. He won the man of the match award for this performance. Dravid's astonishing aggregate of 602 runs in the four match test series against England also fetched him the man of the series award.

In 2003–2004 season, Dravid scored three double centuries, one each against New Zealand, Australia and Pakistan. Against Australia at Adelaide in second match of the four match series, the batting pair of Dravid and VVS Laxman proved to be Australia's nemesis again. In the first innings, India were looking down the barrel at 4 wickets down for 85 runs in reply to Australia's massive 556 when the duo joined hands. By the time their partnership was broken, the pair had put on 303 runs. Laxman was dismissed for 148 while Dravid went on make 233. At that time, this was the highest individual score by an Indian batsman overseas. By the time Dravid was done, India was only 33 short of Australia's first innings score. Dravid followed this with an unbeaten 72 under immense pressure in the second innings to set up a famous victory. Dravid scored 619 runs in that four-match series against Australia at an average of 103.16 and won the man of the series award. During the later part of the season, Dravid, in Ganguly's absence, led India to its first test victory over Pakistan in Pakistan in the first test match at Multan. In the third and the final match of the series At Rawalpindi, Dravid stroked a masterly 270 to take India to a historic test series win over Pakistan. Dravid was the India's lifesaver in the disastrous tour of England in 2011, which costed India the top rankings in test cricket which they lost 4-0. However, only Dravid stood up and hit up 3 watchful centuries as India tumbled.

Retirement

Rahul Dravid had been dropped from the ODI team in 2009 until he was included in the team in 2011 for a ODI series in England. The decision surprised many, including Dravid himself. Though Dravid had not officially retired from ODI cricket, he accepted that he dint expect to be recalled. After being selected, Dravid announced that the series would be his last ODI appearance. Rahul Dravid played his last ODI innings against England at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Friday, 16 September 2011. He scored a crucial 69 runs from 79 balls before eventually being bowled by Graeme Swann. He had the distinction of playing his last limited overs international match on his debut match in a T20I. He announced his retirement before playing his first T20I match.

After the tour of Australia in 2011-12, Rahul Dravid announced his retirement from test and domestic cricket on 9 March 2012, although he will be leading Rajasthan Royals in the 2012 Indian Premier League. Dravid was the second highest run scorer and player with the highest number of catches in test cricket at the time of his retirement.

Playing style

With a strong technique, he has been the backbone for the Indian cricket team. Beginning with the reputation of being a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket, he was dropped from ODIs as he was slow in making runs. However, in a period of his career he began consistently scoring runs in ODIs as well, earning him the award of ICC player of the year. His nickname of 'The Wall' in Reebok advertisements has now become a tribute to his consistency. Dravid has scored 36 centuries in Test cricket at an average of 53.19, including 5 double centuries. In one-dayers too he has an impressive average of 39.49, although at a strike rate of 71.22. He is one of the few Indians who average more at away Test matches than at home, averaging about 5 more runs a match abroad than on Indian pitches. As of 23 September 2010, Dravid's average in overseas Tests stood at 55.53 as against his home Test average of 50.76, and his average for away ODI stands at 37.93 as against home ODI average of 43.11. In matches that India has won, Dravid averages 66.34 in Tests and 50.69 in ODIs.

Dravid's sole Test wicket was that of Ridley Jacobs in the fourth Test against the West Indies during the 2001–2002 series. While he has no pretensions to being a bowler, Dravid often kept wicket for India in ODIs. He has since delegated the wicket-keeping gloves, first to Parthiv Patel and more recently to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dravid is now purely a batsman, one who has averaged 63.51 in matches played since 1 January 2000.

Dravid was involved in two of the largest partnerships in ODIs: a 318-run partnership with Sourav Ganguly, the first pair to combine for a 300-run partnership, and then a 331-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, which is the present world record. He also holds the record for the greatest number of innings since debut before being dismissed for a duck. His highest scores in ODIs and Tests are 153 and 270 respectively. Uniquely, each of his five double centuries in Tests was a higher score than his previous double century (200*, 217, 222, 233, 270).

Also, Dravid is the current world record holder for the highest percentage(%) contribution of runs scored in matches won under a single captain, where the captain has won more than 20 Tests. In the 21 Test matches India won under Sourav Ganguly's leadership, Dravid played his part in every single one of those wins, scoring at a record average of 102.84 and piling up an astonishing 2571 runs, with nine hundreds – three of them double-centuries – and ten fifties in 32 innings. He contributed nearly 23% of the total runs scored by India those 21 matches, which is almost one run out of every four runs the team scored.

He was named one of the Wisden cricketers of the year 2000. Though primarily a defensive batsman,Dravid has scored 50 not out in 22 balls(Strike Rate-227.27)vs NewZealand in Hydrabad on 15 Nov 2003,second fastest 50 among Indians.Only Ajit Agarkar 67 of 21 balls is faster than Dravid.

In 2004, Dravid was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. On 7 September 2004, he was awarded the inaugural Player of the year award and the Test player of the year by the International Cricket Council, ICC (associated image below). On 18 March 2006, Dravid played his 100th Test against England in Mumbai.

In 2006, it was announced that he would remain captain of the Indian team up to the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

After the England Series however, he stepped down as captain of India due to personal reasons. Mahendra Singh Dhoni took over as ODI captain. Anil Kumble replaced him in test matches.

In 2007, he was dropped from the Indian ODI Squad following poor series against Australia. Dravid went back to play for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 218 against Mumbai.

In 2008, he made 93 in the first innings of the Perth test, the highest score of the match, to help India win and make the series 1–2. However, he was ignored by selectors for the subsequent one-day tri-series.

After a barren run in Test matches in 2008, Dravid came under increasing media pressure to retire or be dropped. In the Second Test against England in Mohali, he scored 136, putting on a triple-century stand with Gautam Gambhir.

After reaching 10,000 test runs milestone, he was quoted saying, "It's a proud moment for sure. For me, growing up, I dreamt of playing for India. When I look back, I probably exceeded my expectations with what I have done over the last 10 to 12 years. I never had an ambition to do it because I never believed – it is just a reflection of my longevity in the game."

Dravid is also one of the two batsmen to score 10,000 runs at a single batting position and is now the second highest run getter in Test Cricket next to Sachin Tendulkar.

Praises and Accolades

In 1999,Glenn McGrath is believed to have been said if there was one Indian player who would get an automatic entry into an Australian team filled with stars, it would be Rahul Dravid.

Facts

Rahul Dravid is the first batsmen who has registered a score of century in all test playing nations.

He has played 93 consecutive five day test matches for India

The first player to score 10000-run at No.3 position

Rahul Dravid has a record of most number of catches in Test Cricket. His highest knock of 270 runs is the longest innings played by an Indian batsmen in terms of minutes.

He holds a record for not being dismissed on a duck for 120 innings consecutive one-day matches.

He is only the second non-English cricketer to have hit 3 or more centuries in a two different test series in England, the other being Donald Bradman.

Teams

International

India

ACC Asian XI

ICC World XI

MCC

Indian first-class

Karnataka

South Zone

Indian Premier League

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Rajasthan Royals

English county

Kent

Scotland

Controversies

Ball-tampering incident

In January 2004 Dravid was found guilty of ball tampering during an ODI with Zimbabwe. Match referee Clive Lloyd adjudged the application of an energy sweet to the ball as a deliberate offence although Dravid himself denied this was his intent. Lloyd emphasised that television footage caught Dravid putting a lozenge on the ball during the Zimbabwean innings on Tuesday night at the Gabba. According to the ICC's Code of Conduct, players are not allowed to apply substances to the ball other than sweat and saliva. Dravid was fined half of his earnings from the match.

Indian coach John Wright came out in defence of Dravid, stating that "It was an innocent mistake". Wright argued that Dravid had been trying to apply saliva to the ball when parts of a losenge he had been chewing stuck to the ball; Dravid then tried to wipe it off. ICC regulations prevented Dravid from commenting about the issue, but former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly also stated that Dravid's act was "just an accident".

Multan declaration

One of Dravid's most debated decisions was taken in March 2004, when he was standing in as captain for an injured Sourav Ganguly. The Indian first innings was declared at a point when Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 with 16 overs remaining on Day 2. Rahul Dravid has had a mixed record when leading India in Tests. India lost the Karachi Test in 2006, giving Pakistan the series 1–0. In March 2006, India lost the Mumbai Test, giving England its first Test victory in India since 1985, enabling Flintoff's men to draw the series 1–1. While the loss in Karachi could be put down to several Indian batsmen playing badly, the defeat in Mumbai was arguably the result of Dravid's decision to bowl first on a flat dry pitch which later deteriorated and ended with an Indian collapse in the run chase. Coincidentally, it was Dravid's 100th test match in which the Indians were all out for 100 runs in the second innings. He was criticised by Vijay Mallya for not picking the team with right balance after the Bangalore Royal Challengers finished seventh out of the eight teams that played in the 2008 Indian Premier League. After India failed to qualify for the Finals of the DLF Cup, Indian skipper Rahul Dravid was criticised by former all-rounder Ravi Shastri who said that he was not assertive enough and let Greg Chappell make too many decisions. When asked for a response, Dravid said that Shastri, while a 'fair critic', was 'not privy' to the internal decision-making process of the team.

Captaincy Record

Test Matches (Against Other Nations)

2 2007-2007 2006–2007 2003-2003 2004–2006 2006–2007 2005-2005 2006-2006 2003-2007

Opposition !! Span !! Matches !! Won !! Lost !! Tied !! Draw
	2004-2004	|	1	1	0	0
	|	2	1	0	0	1
	|	6	2	1	0	3
	|	1	0	0	0	1
	|	5	1	2	0	2
	|	3	1	2	0	0
	|	2	1	0	0	1
	|	4	1	0	0	3
Total	|	25	8	6	0	11

One Day Internationals (Against Other Nations)

1 3 1 13 2 9 1 9 16 16 3 79

Opposition !! Matches !! Won !! Lost !! Tied !! NR
	6	|	4	0	1
	|	2	1	0	0
	|	1	0	0	0
	|	9	4	0	0
	|	0	1	0	1
	|	5	4	0	0
	|	1	0	0	0
	|	4	5	0	0
	|	8	6	0	2
	|	8	8	0	0
	|	3	0	0	0
Total	|	42	33	0	4

Biographies

Rahul Dravid has 2 biographies written on his career: Rahul Dravid – A Biography written by Vedam Jaishankar (ISBN 978-81-7476-481-2). Publisher: UBSPD Publications. Date: January 2004 The Nice Guy Who Finished First written by Devendra Prabhudesai. Publisher: Rupa Publications. Date: November 2005

Other work

Commercial endorsements

Reebok: 1996 – ''present'' Pepsi: 1997 ''present'' Kissan: ''Unknown'' Castrol: 2001 – ''present'' Hutch: 2003 Karnataka Tourism: 2004 Max Life: 2005 – ''present'' Bank of Baroda: 2005 – ''present'' Citizen: 2006 – ''present'' Skyline Construction: 2006 – ''present'' Sansui: 2007 Gillette: 2007 – ''present'' Samsung: 2002 – 2004

Social commitments

Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) UNICEF Supporter and AIDS Awareness Campaign

See also

List of international cricket centuries by Rahul Dravid

List of awards and achievements of Rahul Dravid

Indian national cricket captains

References

External links

CricketFundas Interview with Rahul Dravid

HindustanTimes.com Player Profile

HowSTAT! statistical profile on Rahul Dravid

PwC Batsman Rankings

Rahul Dravid-ToI

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahul_Dravid

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/28114.html

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/556769.html

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/556793.html

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/556782.html

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/556771.html

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/556792.html

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/556766.html

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/556786.html

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Category:Indian cricketers Category:India Test cricketers Category:India One Day International cricketers Category:India Twenty20 International cricketers Category:Indian Test captains Category:Indian cricket captains Category:Indian wicket-keepers Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year Category:Karnataka cricketers Category:South Zone cricketers Category:Kent cricketers Category:Scotland cricketers Category:ACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers Category:ICC World XI One Day International cricketers Category:World XI Test cricketers Category:World Cup cricketers of India Category:Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Category:Indian Premier League cricketers Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:People from Indore Category:People from Bangalore Category:Bangalore cricketers Category:Canterbury cricketers Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award Category:Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Category:International Cricket Council Cricketer of the Year Category:Marathi people Category:Rajasthan (Indian Premier League) cricketers

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playername	Virender Sehwag
country	India
fullname	Virender Sehwag
nickname	Viru, Nawab of Najafgarh
living	true
dayofbirth	20
monthofbirth	10
yearofbirth	1978
placeofbirth	Delhi
countryofbirth	India
heightft	5
heightinch	7
heightcm	162
batting	Right-handed
bowling	Right arm off break
role	Opening batsman, occasional offspinner
international	true
testdebutdate	3 November
testdebutyear	2001
testdebutagainst	South Africa
testcap	87
lasttestdate	24 January
lasttestyear	2012
lasttestagainst	Australia
odidebutdate	1 April
odidebutyear	1999
odidebutagainst	Pakistan
odicap	228
lastodidate	28 February
lastodiyear	2012
lastodiagainst	Sri Lanka
odishirt	44
club1	Delhi
year1	1997 – present
club2	Leicestershire
year2	2003
club3	Delhi Daredevils
year3	2008 – present
columns	5
column1	Test
matches1	96
runs1	8,178
bat avg1	50.79
100s/50s1	22/32
top score1	319
deliveries1	3,713
wickets1	40
bowl avg1	47.22
fivefor1	1
tenfor1	0
best bowling1	5/104
catches/stumpings1	74/–
column2	ODI
matches2	245
runs2	8,090
bat avg2	35.17
100s/50s2	15/37
top score2	219
deliveries2	4,230
wickets2	92
bowl avg2	40.39
fivefor2	0
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	4/6
catches/stumpings2	87/–
column3	FC
matches3	160
runs3	12,683
bat avg3	49.15
100s/50s3	36/50
top score3	319
deliveries3	8.452
wickets3	105
bowl avg3	41.80
fivefor3	1
tenfor3	0
best bowling3	5/104
catches/stumpings3	133/–
column4	LA
matches4	310
runs4	9,978
bat avg4	34.18
100s/50s4	14/53
top score4	219
deliveries4	5,835
wickets4	138
bowl avg4	35.01
fivefor4	0
tenfor4	n/a
best bowling4	4/6
catches/stumpings4	111/–
column5	Twenty 20
matches5	80
runs5	2,099
bat avg5	27.98
100s/50s5	1/13
top score5	119
deliveries5	316
wickets5	22
bowl avg5	19.27
fivefor5	0
tenfor5	n/a
best bowling5	3/14
catches/stumpings5	10/–
date	30 January
year	2012
source	http://www.espncricinfo.com/sl-tri2010/content/player/35263.html Cricinfo }}

Virender Sehwag (born 20 October 1978), affectionately known as ''Viru'' and the ''Nawab of Najafgarh'', also called the ''Zen master of modern cricket'', or the ''Viv Richards of this era'' by columnists, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler. He played his first One Day International in 1999 and joined the Indian Test cricket team in 2001. In April 2009, Sehwag became the only Indian to be honoured as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for his performance in 2008, subsequently becoming the first player of any nationality to retain the award for 2009.

Sehwag holds multiple records including the highest score made by an Indian in Test cricket (319), which was also the fastest triple century in the history of international cricket (reached 300 off only 278 balls) as well as the fastest 250 by any batsman (in 207 balls against Sri Lanka on 3 December 2009 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai). His other innings of 309 and 293 are also the second and third best by any Indian player. Sehwag also holds the distinction of being one of four batsmen in the world to have ever surpassed 300 twice in Test cricket, and the only one to score two triple centuries and take a five-wicket innings haul. In March 2009, Sehwag smashed the fastest century ever scored by an Indian in ODI cricket, from 60 balls. On 8 December 2011, he hit his maiden double century in ODI cricket, against West Indies, becoming the second batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to reach the landmark. His score remains the highest individual score in ODI cricket – 219 off 149 balls. He is the only player in world to score a double hundred in ODI and a triple hundred in Test Cricket.

Sehwag was appointed as vice-captain of the Indian team under Rahul Dravid in October 2005 but due to poor form, he was later replaced by V. V. S. Laxman in December 2006 as Test vice-captain. In January 2007, Sehwag was dropped from the ODI team and later from the Test team as well. During his term as vice-captain, Sehwag skippered the team in place of injured Dravid in 2 ODIs and 1 Test. Following his return to form in 2008 and the retirement of Anil Kumble, Sehwag has been reappointed as the vice-captain for both Tests and ODIs. By early 2009, Sehwag had reestablished himself as one of the best performing batsmen in ODI cricket. In early February a rift had been drawn between the Indian Skipper (MS Dhoni) and Virender Sehwag, but it had been solved. There are news that he will be dropped from the Asia Cup squad.

Early years

Sehwag was born in a Jat family from Haryana. The son of a grain merchant, Sehwag spent his childhood in a bungalow in a joint family, with siblings, uncles, aunts and sixteen cousins. Though now settled in New Delhi, the Sehwag family hails from Haryana. Sehwag was the third of four children born to father Krishan and mother Krishna Sehwag, with two older sisters Manju and Anju, and younger brother Vinod. His father attributes his interest in cricket to a toy bat which he was given when he was seven months old. He attended Arora Vidya School in Delhi, and pestered his parents to let him play cricket, on the basis that he was not academically gifted. His father tried to end his career when he broke a tooth as a child in 1990, but Sehwag evaded the ban with the help of his mother. Later he attended Jamia Milia Islamia for graduation.

Cricketing career

Early domestic cricket

Sehwag made his debut for Delhi cricket team in first class cricket in the 1997–98 season. He was selected to the North Zone cricket team for the Duleep Trophy the following 1998–99 season, ending fifth in the total runscoring list. The following year he was fourth on the Duleep Trophy run scoring list, including a 274, the highest score of the competition. This was attained against South Zone at Agartala in just 327 balls, and followed a rapid 187 from just 175 in a Ranji Trophy match against Punjab. He was then selected for the U-19 team which toured South Africa. He was seventh in the 2000–01 season with two centuries, but his consistency earned the attention of selectors and he became a regular member of the national team in mid 2001.

Since his international career started, he has continued to play for Delhi in the domestic competition whilst he is not occupied with international duty and has captained North Zone to victory in the Deodhar Trophy in 2004–05 and 2005–06. He also had a short stint with Leicestershire in county cricket in 2003, but a back injury lead to a mutual termination of the contract.

ODI career

Sehwag's ODI career started poorly when he scored 1 against Pakistan in Mohali in April 1999 when he fell lbw to Shoaib Akhtar. His bowling performance was also ineffective and expensive, conceding 35 runs off 3 overs. He did not get another chance in the national team for 20 months. Sehwag was not given another match until the home series against Zimbabwe in December 2000. Sehwag rose to prominence in his fourth ODI match in March 2001 when he scored 58 off 54 balls, against Australia in Bangalore. Combined with his three wickets, he help earn India a victory and was awarded his first man of the match award. He followed this with an unproductive tour of Zimbabwe in mid 2001.

Sehwag had his international breakthrough in Sri Lanka in August 2001 when he was promoted to the opening slot for the tri-series also involving New Zealand. The promotion to open the innings came because regular opener Sachin Tendulkar was absent due to a foot injury. In the match against New Zealand that was to decide the finalist, he scored his maiden century from 69 balls. At the time, the century was the third fastest ODI century for an Indian behind Mohammad Azharuddin's 62 ball effort and Yuvraj singh's 64 ball effort. This was his first score beyond 50 in ten matches and saw him named man of the match. This performance earned him a regular spot in the ODI squad in the middle-order. He bettered his own record by hitting a 60-ball century against New Zealand during the 2009 tour. An innings of note in 2002 was the 22 ball half-century against Kenya in Bloemfontein, tying the second fastest 50 by an Indian. Because of his attacking cricket stroke plays, Sehwag has got many fans, including the WestIndies legend Desmond Haynes, who admitted that he is a great fan of him.

With Ganguly's injury in the India-England ODI Series in January 2002, Sehwag received another opportunity to open the innings which he seized by scoring 82 from 64 balls in Kanpur in an eight-wicket Indian victory. With good performances as opener, Sehwag was made a permanent fixture at the top of the innings. Sachin Tendulkar, who opened in the England ODI series, was moved to middle order – a strategy that reaped dividends for India in 2002 in ODI matches. In the England series and the preceding tour to South Africa, he compiled 426 runs at 42.6 with four half-centuries .

After modest returns on the tours of the West Indies and England in early and mid 2002, he scored 271 runs at 90.33 in the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka, with two man of the match performances. After running out Ian Blackwell, he was involved in a 192 run partnership with Ganguly, scoring 126 from 104 balls to help set up an eight wicket victory against England in a group match. He then scored 58 from 54 balls and took 3/25 including two wickets in the final over to help defeat South Africa by 10 runs to help India progress to the final.

In late 2002 he scored an unbeaten 114 from 82 balls that included a 196 run partnership with Ganguly to lead India to a nine wicket win over the West Indies in Rajkot. He was the only batsman to score a century in the 7 match New Zealand ODI Series where he made two centuries – 108 in Napier in an Indian defeat and 112 in Auckland in a one-wicket victory.

Virender Sehwag had a mediocre 2003 Cricket World Cup, scoring 299 runs at an average of 27, he top scored with 82 in the loss against Australia in the final. Later in 2003, he scored his fourth century and earned Man of the Match award against New Zealand in Hyderabad, scoring 130 and putting on a 182 run partnership with Tendulkar, to lay the foundations for a 145 run victory. In spite of it, Sehwag struggled for consistency in 2003 and 2003/04 ODI series where he had only one century and 3 fifties, two against minnows – Bangladesh and Zimbabwe and one against Pakistan, in 22 matches.

Even with his inconsistent form, he earned 3 MoM awards in 2004/5 and 2004/05 ODI season with one award each against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. In the match against Pakistan in Kochi he scored 108 off 95 balls, his first century in eighteen months which set up a 95 run victory.

Sehwag then started a two year streak without a century in ODIs, as well as having his ODI tour of Pakistan in early 2006 curtailed due to a shoulder injury. His drought in limited overs cricket has puzzled cricket experts because of the consistent performances in Test matches with a high scoring rate has not translated into significant contributions in the ODI format of the game. Sehwag was dropped from the ODI Squad for the WI-IND 4 Match ODI series. With debate over whether he deserved to be included in the 2007 Cricket World Cup squad, captain Dravid's insistence on his retention paved the way to being named in the World Cup squad. However, despite this assurance, Sehwag's form continued to decline.

Sehwag started the 2007 World Cup in poor form, only being picked for the side because of Rahul Dravid's wishes. He scored poorly in the first group match but bounced back to hit a magnificent 114 from 87 deliveries against lowly ranked Bermuda. The Indian team scored 413–5, the highest team total in a World Cup match, and went on to win the match but this was their only win in the tournament.

On 11 March 2009, Sehwag blasted India's fastest ODI hundred against New Zealand by reaching 3 figures in just 60 balls. Eventually, he led India to win its first series win in New Zealand.

On 8 December 2011, Sehwag scored his highest ODI score against West Indies at Indore slamming 219 runs off only 149 Balls. In the same innings, he also crossed 8,000 runs in ODI Cricket.

ODI summary

Sehwag's scoring rate is extremely quick, at 103.44 runs per 100 balls (it is exceeded only by one current player: Shahid Afridi, who has a much lower average). He has had more success in run chases, scoring seven of his thirteen centuries while chasing. He has led India on seven occasions, due to the unavailability of the incumbent due to illness, injury or rotation policy. In December 2011 Sehwag scored 219 in 149 deliveries against West Indies at Indore. He has the record of highest individual score in ODI.

Test career

Sehwag's maiden century in mid-2001 in Sri Lanka was not enough to gain selection in the Test team for the corresponding series. Sehwag made his Test debut in late 2001 in the First Test against South Africa in Bloemfontein as a middle-order batsman. He scored 105 on debut despite the South African win. He was given a one match suspension by ICC match referee Mike Denness for overappealing in the Second Test in Port Elizabeth, which lead to political dispute amongst the ICC and the two countries. He returned for the home series in 2001–02 against England and Zimbabwe. After scoring two half-centuries in the preceding series, he was promoted to a makeshift-opener on the 2002 England tour after the failure of previous openers and an experiment with wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta. He scored 84 in the new role at Lord's and then a century in the Second Test at Trent Bridge, and has batted there in Test matches ever since. He scored his maiden home-century of 147 in the First Test against the West Indies in the 2002–03 home season in Mumbai, which was at the time his top score in Test matches, earning him his first man of the match award. After a poor tour to New Zealand, he scored passed 50 for the first time in 9 innings when he scored 130 in a Test at Mohali against New Zealand in late 2003 .

He then scored 195 against Australia on Boxing Day 2003 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. His dismissal on the first afternoon lead to an Indian collapse and eventual defeat.

In early 2004, he became the only Indian to score a triple century in Test cricket, with 309 against Pakistan in the First Test in Multan, beating V. V. S. Laxman's previous Indian record(281 against Australia) and helping India to a total of 5/675, the highest ever against Pakistan. It was Sehwag's sixth Test century in 21 Tests. India went on to win by an innings, with Sehwag named man of the match. He also scored 90 in the Second Test defeat in Lahore and was named man of the series for his efforts after being the highest run scorer and average for the series. He later auctioned the bat with which he made the triple century, for Rs. 70,000, to aid in relief efforts for the tsunami victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

In the First Test of the 2004 Border Gavaskar Trophy in Bangalore, Sehwag was fined for showing "serious dissent" towards umpire Billy Bowden following an LBW dismissal. Replays showed that he had hit the ball off the middle of his bat onto his leg, which later led to an apology from Bowden. Sehwag scored 155 in the Chennai test match to set up a triple figure lead for the Indians, but the match was rained out on the final day with the Indians requiring 229 for victory. In the home series against South Africa that year, he scored 164 in the drawn First Test in Kanpur, and 88 in the Second in Kolkata, which India won to claim the series. Sehwag was again named man of the series.

Sehwag failed on the tour of Bangladesh, but on the 2005 home series against Pakistan, he scored 173 in Mohali, 81 in Kolkata and then 201 in Bangalore, totalling 544 runs at an average of 90.66 to win the man of the series award. He passed the 3000 run mark in Tests during the Bangalore Test, becoming the fastest Indian to reach the mark in terms of innings played. His performances over the preceding 12 months earned him selection in the ICC Test Team of the Year as well as nomination for Test player of the year.

He earned selection for the ICC World XI which played Australia in the 2005 ICC Super Series, where he top scored in the first innings with 76. He attracted some criticism at the end of 2005, having failed to pass 50 in four Tests against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. He also missed the Second Test against Sri Lanka in Delhi due to illness, but returned to the team in the following match in Ahmedabad and captained the Indians to victory whilst Rahul Dravid was ill.

Sehwag scored his first century in a year when he compiled 254 against Pakistan in the First Test in Lahore in January 2006, the highest ever Test score at a strike rate of over 100 and the second fastest double century ever. In doing so he was involved in a 410 run partnership with captain Rahul Dravid, the highest ever against Pakistan and in Pakistan, and just four short of a new world record opening partnership in Test matches. Sehwag went on to lampoon the Pakistani attack led by Shoaib Akhtar. Sehwag however failed to pass 50 in the following two Tests against Pakistan, and aside from a 76* in the Second Test in Mohali against England, fell seven times for less than 20 runs to the new ball , leading criticism of his position in the team.

During the 2006 West Indies tour, Sehwag narrowly missed out on scoring a century in the opening session of the Second Test in St Lucia, ending with 99 at the interval. He went on to compile 180 in just 190 balls, and also collected four wickets for the match to be named man of the match. Although Sehwag had collected more than 50 wickets in ODIs, he was substantially used as a Test bowler for the first time on the West Indies tour, taking nine wickets in the first two Test matches when he was used in the absence of off-spinner Harbhajan Singh as India opted to only use one specialist spinner. He had previously only three wickets at Test level . He was also fined in the First Test for excessive appealing.

Poor form saw Sehwag being dropped from the Test team in 2007. In December 2007, he was recalled for India's tour of Australia after being omitted form the list of probables, amid calls for his return by several commentators, most notably Ian Chappell.

Though he was omitted from the team for the first two matches, both of which India lost, he was picked for the third Test at the WACA in Perth after scoring a century in a tour match against the ACT Invitational XI. He played a key part in India's victory, making 72 runs at a brisk pace and taking 2 crucial wickets He scored a match-saving 151 in the second innings of the fourth Test in Adelaide. This was his first century in the second innings of a test match, and was notable in that he rejected his usual, aggressive batting style in favour of a more defensive approach which was the need of the hour.

Sehwag continued his good form against South Africa, in the home series in April 2008, scoring 319 in the first Test in Chennai, having reached 300 off just 278 balls, the fastest triple century in test history. Sehwag became only the third batsman after Sir Donald Bradman and Brian Lara to score 2 triple centuries in Test Cricket. He scored 257 runs the third day of the match, which was the most runs scored by an individual batsman on a single day of a Test match since 1954, when Dennis Compton made 273 runs on the second day of the Nottingham Test against Pakistan.

He has a habit of making big centuries, with his last eleven centuries having all been over 150, including two triple centuries and further three double centuries which surpassed Sir Donald Bradman's record of having seven consecutive centuries beyond 150.

In the first test against England in Chennai in December 2008, Sehwag's rapid 83 off just 68 balls, in the last session of the fourth day, set India up for its record run-chase of 4/387, the highest successful target on Indian soil. He got the man-of-the-match award despite Sachin Tendulkar scoring an unbeaten century later in the same innings and Andrew Strauss scoring a century in each of England's innings.

He has been noted for his record against Pakistan, averaging over 90 against and in Pakistan, scoring four centuries against India's arch rivals. The disparity in his average in the first and second innings is often noted, being 68 and 25 and all but one of his fifteen Test centuries having come in the first innings.

During Sri Lanka's tour of India in 2009, in the 3-match test series he finished with the highest run getter of the series with 491 runs. In the last test match, he made 293 with the help of which India won the test match. In this innings he established many records: 1. Scoring the second fastest 200. 2. Scoring the fastest 250 off just 207 balls. 3. Third highest run scorer on a single day. [284 n.o] He missed accomplishing the feat of being the only player to score three triple centuries. He was caught and bowled by Murlitharan short by just seven runs. This innings, which consisted of 40 fours and 7 sixes, was described as his third best by him after his two triple centuries.

Indian Premier League

Sehwag was the captain of the Delhi Daredevils in the first two edition of Indian Premier League, before he quit the position to concentrate more on his batting transferring it to Gautam Gambhir. However, for the fourth edition of IPL, he was the only player to be retained by the franchise, again as captain of the Delhi Daredevils. Sehwag again lead the team in the fifth edition of the league, where be became only 3rd batsman to have scored three consecutive half centuries in the tournament.

Sehwag in Non-India Colours

He was selected in the ICC World XI for the 2005 ICC Super Series against Australia in late 2005, but only managed 64 runs at an average of 21.33. Earlier in 2005, he was selected for the Asian Cricket Council XI for the fundraising match against the ICC World XI in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Playing style

Sehwag was often compared to Sachin Tendulkar in his early days due to the similar batting style, build and appearance. He has acknowledged numerous times that he consciously attempted to model his playing style on Tendulkar's in his youth.

Sehwag's technique is often cited as being particularly unorthodox, often backing away (considered technically incorrect) to free his arms whilst playing his shots, in particular to cut or drive spinners inside out. He is frequently cited by commentators for his extremely strong (physically) square cutting and upper cutting and power through the off-side. He is also an excellent player of the late cut. In particular, his tendency to strike the ball in the air and risk dismissal is a trait which has seen him noted for his chancy and adventurous mindset. He is also noted for a relative lack of footwork, with his timing often attributed to his eyesight. Of late, Sehwag has shown a proclivity to be dismissed by inswing deliveries, something attributed to his leaden-footed batting style. He has also got dismissed playing the cut shot when the ball was too close to his body to cut, especially in limited over matches.

Virender Sehwag is often noted for his extremely attacking style of batting, and in 2005 he was described by ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'' as the "most exciting opener in the world" due to his aggressive style in Test matches, his strike rate being inferior only to that of Adam Gilchrist and Shahid Afridi. Sehwag has also been noted for his apparent disregard for the match situation, exhibited by aggressive batting even when his team is in a poor position or after being out-manoeuvred by the bowler in the recent past. This is a two-edged sword, as it allows him to not be psychologically hindered by previous failures, but can also lead to excessive aggression. He was quoted by Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer as a sophisticated slogger. But over the years, his style has changed from "reckless hitting" to that of "controlled aggression", according to an article in the ''Sydney Morning Herald''. Previously Sehwag was known predominantly as an offside player, with a weakness against straight short pitched bowling. However in the last two years he has improved his leg side and bouncer hitting considerably. This is shown in the recent ODIs against New Zealand where he utilised the pull, hook and flick shots to devastating effect.

As of 15 March 2010, Sehwag has an average of nearly 68 in the first innings of test matches where he has scored 5130 runs, 18 centuries and 12 fifties in 76 matches. In the second innings, his average drops to 31 and has scored 1561 runs, an only century and 9 fifties in 54 innings. The first and second innings difference of 37 runs is one of the highest and indicates a lack of ability in dealing with more difficult batting conditions as the pitch deteriorates. However, his match-saving second-innings 151 against Australia at Adelaide during the 2007–08 Border-Gavaskar series, and a match winning 92 in trying situations at Nagpur during the 2008–09 series, went a long way towards repairing that image. In the 2008 Test series against England, Sehwag played a key role in the fourth innings of the first Test in Chennai. He amassed 83 runs in 68 balls, which helped India chase down an improbable target of 387 with six wickets to spare. This was the highest successful run chase in India, and the fourth highest in Test history. For this effort, Sehwag was adjudged Man of the Match. On 12 August 2011, Sehwag became only the third Indian in history to achieve a king pair (2 golden ducks consecutively) and the 15th player to do that of all time, but weeks later he again scored crucial and aggressive pair of 55 against West Indies.

Controversy

In November 2001, Sehwag was involved in controversy in the Second Test match between India and South Africa at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth, when he was given a one Test ban for "excessive appealing" by ICC Match referee Mike Denness. He was one of six Indian players to receive bans, four of which were suspended bans. The unprecedented severity of the bans precipitated an international cricketing, political and administrative crisis, with the Indian cricket establishment threatening to call off the tour unless Mike Denness was removed as match referee from the third test match. ICC backed Mike Denness and the South African board backed the Indian cricket establishment and did not allow Mike Denness to enter the stadium on the first day of the third test match. ICC declared that the match was 'unofficial' and 'friendly five day match' and the series was officially declared as a 2 match series and South Africa as 1–0 winners. The subsequent England tour to India was placed in jeopardy when India picked Sehwag in the Test squad. Subsequent to this development, ICC issued a warning that any match with Sehwag in the cricket team will not be considered an "official" Test match until Sehwag had served his one match ban. After negotiations with ECB and ICC and in general interest of cricket, Sehwag was dropped from the team for the first Test against England.

Personal life

Sehwag married Aarti Ahlawat in April 2004 under heavy security cover in a widely publicised wedding hosted by Arun Jaitley, the then Union law minister of India, at his residence. The couple have two sons, Aryavir, born on 18 October 2007 and Vedant, born in 2010.

International centuries

Sehwag's aggressive batting has found success at the top of the batting order. He has scored centuries (100 or more runs) on 22 occasions in Test cricket and in 15 One Day International (ODI) matches but is yet to score a century in a Twenty20 international. In Tests, Sehwag has scored centuries against all the Test-cricket playing nations except Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, and is sixth on the list of leading Test century makers for India. In 2001, he became the eleventh Indian player to score a century on Test debut, with 105 runs against South Africa. His centuries have been scored at fourteen cricket grounds, eight of which were outside India. He has made six scores of 200 runs or more, the most by an Indian batsman, of which a record three have come against Pakistan. Sehwag is the only Indian to have scored a triple century (300 or more runs), and has done so twice—309 against Pakistan in Multan in 2004 and 319 against South Africa in Chennai in 2008, the later being the fastest triple century in Test cricket with 300 coming up off just 278 balls. In ODIs, Sehwag's maiden century was made against New Zealand at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo in 2001. His highest score of 219, the highest ODI score ever, was made against the West Indies at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. He has been dismissed five times in the nineties.

Achievements

Awards

Arjuna Award (2002)

Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World 2008, 2009 ICC Test Player of the Year 2010 Padma Shree 2010

Records

Highest individual score in history in an ODI match 219 against West Indies on 8 December 2011 at Indore, surpassing previous record by Sachin Tendulkar (200)*.

Fastest 250 in Test cricket in terms of balls faced (207).

Fastest 300 in Test cricket in terms of balls faced (278).

Most Test runs in a single day by an Indian. Sehwag made 257 in a day against SA in Chennai. He surpassed this in making 284 in a day against Sri Lanka. The latter was the second consecutive innings in which India scored more than 400 runs in a single day in Tests. Sehwag also made a century at faster than a run a ball on the previous occasion.

Only Indian batsman to have scored two triple centuries in Test cricket. He is one of the four batsman in the history of Test cricket to score two triple centuries, alongside Australia's Sir Donald Bradman, and the West Indies' Brian Lara and Chris Gayle.

Fastest century in ODI cricket by an Indian – 100 runs off 60 balls against New Zealand in 2009.

Second fastest ODI 50 by an Indian. – a record, he shares with Rahul Dravid, Kapil Dev and Yuvraj Singh – when he took 22 balls against Kenya in 2001 Six double centuries – the first three of which came against Pakistan. Greg Chappell and Thilan Samaraweera are the other players to have scored multiple double centuries against Pakistan (2). Sehwag and Tendulkar are the only Indians to have made six Test double centuries.

Highest score by an Indian batsman in Test cricket. He first achieved this when he scored 309 against Pakistan in Multan in 2004, and bettered his previous record in March 2008 at Chennai against South Africa by scoring 319.

Fastest triple century: His second triple century scored at Chennai on 27–28 March 2008 against South Africa was the fastest in terms of balls faced by any batsman (off 278 balls).

Consecutive 150+ scores in Test cricket: He holds the record for consecutive test hundreds converted to scores of 150+, at 11.

He is one of the only five players to have scored more test hundreds than test fifties (15c/14f), along with Don Bradman (29c/13f), Mohammad Azharuddin (22c/21f), Matthew Hayden (30c/27f) and Kevin Pietersen(13c/11f) as on 7 August 2008

Two consecutive double century partnerships in a Test innings. He achieved this record, for the first two wickets in Chennai on 27–28 March 2008 (with Wasim Jaffer and Rahul Dravid respectively). This was the first time in Test history that the first two wickets in an innings have resulted in double-century stands. He equalled this in the innings against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, combining with Murali Vijay and Dravid for the first and second wickets.

He is the first person in the history of test cricket to hit two triple centuries and take five wickets in a Test innings.

He had launched the first five of India's innings in 2011 World Cup by hitting the first ball for four. The suffering bowlers were Shafiul Islam, Jimmy Anderson, Boyd Rankin, Mudassar Bukhari and Dale Steyn.

Test Matches Awards

Man of the Series Awards

:{| class="wikitable" border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=1 width=80% |- style="background:#00f; color:#fff;" ! # ! Series ! Season ! Series Performance |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 1 | India in Pakistan Test Series | 2003/0 | 440 Runs (3 Matches, 4 Innings, 1x100, 1x50); 6–0–27–0; 2 Catches |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 2 | South Africa in India Test Series | 2004/05 | 262 Runs (2 Matches, 3 Innings, 1x100, 2x50); 1 Catch |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 3 | Pakistan in India Test Series | 2004/05 | 544 Runs (3 Matches, 6 Innings, 2x100, 1x50); 5–2–14–0; 2 Catches |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 4 | Sri Lanka in India Test Series | 2009/10 | 491 Runs (3 Matches, 4 Innings, 2x100, 1x50); 16–3–47–1; 1 Catch |- style="background:#87cefa;" |5 | India in Sri Lanka Test Series | 2010 | 348 Runs (3 Matches, 5 Innings, 2x100, 1x50); 7 wickets |}

Man of the Match Awards

:{| class="wikitable" border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=1 width=75% |- style="background:#00f; color:#fff;" ! S No ! Opponent ! Venue ! Season ! Match Performance |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 1 | West Indies | Wankhede, Mumbai | 2002/03 | 1st Innings: 147 (24x4, 3x6); 2–0–7–0 2nd Innings: 1 Catch |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 2 | Pakistan | Multan | 2003/04 | 1st Innings: 309 (39x4, 6x6); 2–0–11–0 2nd Innings: 3–0–8–0; 1 Catch |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 3 | Pakistan | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | 2006 | 1st Innings: 254 (47x4, 1x6); 6–0–24–0 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 4 | West Indies | Gros Islet, St Lucia | 2006 | 1st Innings: 180 (20x4, 2x6); 16.1–5–33–3 2nd Innings: 30–9–48–1 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 5 | South Africa | Chennai | 2007/08 | 1st Innings: 319 (42x4, 5x6); 11–1–37–1 2nd Innings: 22–2–55–1 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 6 | Sri Lanka | Galle | 2008/09 | 1st Innings: 201 (22x4, 4x6) 2nd Innings: 50 (6x4, 1x6) |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 7 | England | Chennai | 2008/09 | 1st Innings: 9 (2x4); 1–0–8–0 2nd Innings: 83 (11x4, 4x6); 6–0–22–0 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 8 | Sri Lanka | Mumbai | 2009/10 | 1st Innings: 293 (254); 1 Catch2nd Innings:9–2–24–0 |}

ODI Cricket Awards

Man of the Series Awards

:{| class="wikitable" border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=1 width=80% |- style="background:#00f; color:#fff;" ! # ! Series ! Season ! Series Performance |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 1 | India in New Zealand ODI Series | 2008/09 | 299 (5 Matches, 5 Innings, 1x100, 2x50); 2 Catches |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 2 | India, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka Triangular Series | 2010/11 | 268 (5 Matches, 5 Innings, 1x100, 1x50); |}

Man of the Match Awards

:{| class="wikitable" border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=1 width=70% |- style="background:#00f; color:#fff;" ! S No ! Opponent ! Venue ! Season ! Match Performance |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 1 | Australia | Bangalore | 2000/01 | 58 (54b, 8x4); 9–0–59–3 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 2 | New Zealand | Colombo (SSC) | 2001 | 100 (70b, 19x4, 1x6); 3–0–26–0 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 3 | England | Kanpur | 2001/02 | 82 (62b, 14x4); 1–0–9–0; 1 Catch |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 4 | England | Colombo (RPS) | 2002/03 | 126 (104b, 21x4, 1x6); 5–0–25–0 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 5 | South Africa | Colombo (RPS) | 2002/03 | 59 (58b, 10x4); 5–0–25–3 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 6 | West Indies | Rajkot | 2002/03 | 114* (82b, 17x4, 2x6); 6–0–29–0 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 7 | New Zealand | Napier | 2002/03 | 108 (119b, 9x4, 2x6) |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 8 | New Zealand | Auckland | 2002/03 | 112 (139b, 11x4, 3x6) |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 9 | New Zealand | Hyderabad | 2003/04 | 130 (134b, 15x4, 2x6) |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 10 | Zimbabwe | Hobart | 2003/04 | 90 (102b, 5x4, 5x6); 10–0–40–2; 1 Catch |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 11 | Sri Lanka | Colombo (RPS) | 2004 | 81 (92b, 6x4, 2x6); 9–0–37–3 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 12 | Bangladesh | Dhaka | 2004/05 | 70 (52b, 9x4, 3x6); 6–1–31–0 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 13 | Pakistan | Kochi | 2004/05 | 108 (95b, 9x4, 3x6); 5–0–26–0 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 14 | Bermuda | Port of Spain, Trinidad | 2007 | 115 (87b, 17x4, 3x6); 5–0–15–0 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 15 | England | Bangalore, India | 2008 | 69 (57b, 9x4, 3x6) |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 16 | England | Cuttack, India | 2008 | 91 (73b, 15x4, 1x6) |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 17 | New Zealand | Hamilton, New Zealand | 2009 | 125* (75b,14x4, 6x6) |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 18 | Sri Lanka | Rajkot, India | 2009/10 | 146 (102b,17x4, 6x6) |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 19 | Sri Lanka | Dambulla, Sri Lanka | 2009/10 | 99* (100b,11x4, 2x6) |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 20 | New Zealand | Dambulla, Sri Lanka | 2009/10 | 110 (93b,16x4, 1x6) |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 21 | Bangladesh | Dhaka | 2010/11 | 175 (140b,14x4, 5x6, SR 125.0) |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 22 | West Indies | Indore | 2011 | 219 (149b,25x4, 7x6, SR 147.0) |}

Notes

References

External links

Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:ACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers Category:Delhi cricketers Category:ICC World XI One Day International cricketers Category:India One Day International cricketers Category:India Test cricketers Category:Cricketers who made a century on Test debut Category:India Twenty20 International cricketers Category:Indian cricketers Category:North Zone cricketers Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award Category:Leicestershire cricketers Category:World XI Test cricketers Category:Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup Category:World Cup cricketers of India Category:Indian Test captains Category:Indian cricket captains Category:Delhi (Indian Premier League) cricketers Category:Jat people Category:Wisden Leading Cricketers in the World Category:People from Delhi Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri

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