Any century outside the sub-continent was great at those times.
If it had happened in Australia, it was much more precious. And the century
made by Virender Sehwag during the 2003 Boxing Day test in Melbourne, was no
less than a masterpiece.
He started his onslaught right from the beginning. The
opening wicket partnership lasted till 141 and his partner’s contribution was
just 48. Even though wickets fumbled at one end, Sehwag continued his
strokeplay which annoyed the Australian bowlers to the core. Even on 195, he
didn’t think of defending or taking 5 singles. He wanted to reach there in his
own style and unfortunately got perished going for a big hit.
The scorecard read 311/4 at the time of his departure.
Within the next 25 overs, the Australian bowlers bundled India for just 366.
When the rest of the batsmen found it difficult to score occasional boundaries,
Sehwag was dealing mainly in fours and sixes. His 195 was crafted with 25
elegant fours and 5 huge sixes. Rahul Dravid’s 49 being the second-highest
score after his 195, proves how crucial his innings was in the context of the
game.
But, Ricky Ponting (257) and Mathew Hayden (136)
seemed uncontrollable for the Indian bowlers and eventually, Australia won the
game by 9 wickets thereby levelling the series.
