On this day: Remembering when Virender Sehwag narrowly missed out on a historic triple century

On this day in 2009, cricket enthusiasts at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium were treated to an extraordinary display of aggressive batting by Virender Sehwag. As an opener, Sehwag was renowned for his fearless strokeplay, and on this day, he came tantalizingly close to etching his name in history as the first player to score three triple centuries in Test cricket. Sehwag's breathtaking knock of 293, achieved off a mere 254 deliveries against Sri Lanka, still stands as one of the most remarkable innings ever played by an Indian batsman.

Batting first, Sri Lanka posted a respectable 393, with contributions from Tillakaratne Dilshan (109) and Angelo Mathews (99). India, in reply, began explosively with Sehwag and Murali Vijay forging an opening partnership of 221 runs. Vijay played a composed knock of 87 runs, but it was Sehwag who stole the show with his fluent batting.

Sehwag’s innings was a masterclass in controlled aggression. Facing one of the finest spinners of all time, Muttiah Muralitharan, alongside Rangana Herath and Nuwan Kulasekara, Sehwag unleashed an array of strokes. His innings featured 40 boundaries and seven sixes at an incredible strike rate of 115.35.

This remarkable innings saw Sehwag crossing 6,000 Test runs, becoming the third-fastest Indian to achieve this feat. By the end of day two, he stood unbeaten at 284, with fans eagerly awaiting history to be made the following day.

The third day began with anticipation, as spectators hoped to witness Sehwag’s third triple century, a record no player had achieved. Unfortunately, their hopes were dashed in just the fourth over of the day. A slower delivery from Muralitharan deceived Sehwag, and the opener spooned a simple catch to the bowler, falling short by just seven runs. His departure was met with stunned silence. By the time he was dismissed, India had surged past Sri Lanka's total, setting the stage for a massive lead.

There were notable contributions from the likes of Rahul Dravid (74), Sachin Tendulkar (53) and captain MS Dhoni, who scored an unbeaten 100. Declaring their innings at 726 for 9, India had all but sealed the game. In the second innings, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 309, handing India a resounding victory by an innings and 24 runs, also a 2-0 series win. Harbhajan Singh was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets in the first innings, while Zaheer Khan claimed a five-for in the second essay.

India’s victory in this Test match also marked their ascension to the top of the ICC Test rankings, a significant milestone in Indian cricket. Sehwag was rightly named Player of the Match and Player of the Series.