On this day in 2010: Virender Sehwag turns hero with the ball in Asia Cup
Virender Sehwag was known for his explosive batting which was instrumental in providing brisk starts for India. The ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’ has several batting records to his name including two triple centuries. He is also the first Indian to score a triple ton in Test cricket. While Sehwag the batter is well-known in the cricketing world, Sehwag the bowler has not got the much-deserved recognition as he has bowled impactful spells with his right-arm off-break. Meanwhile, it was on this very day in 2010 that Sehwag bowled a match-winning spell against Bangladesh.
When Virender Sehwag outfoxed the Bangladesh batters
India and Bangladesh squared off in the Asia Cup 2010 group encounter at Dambulla. Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and elected to bat first. There were literally no partnerships as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
It was Sehwag who made things extremely difficult for the Bangladesh batters as he kept them guessing with his accurate bowling. The move worked as the opposition batters literally failed to read him and were bundled out cheaply.
The Delhi cricketer accounted for the likes of opener Imrul Kayes, wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim, tail-enders Shafiul Islam and Syed Rasel respectively as Bangladesh were dismissed for just 167 in the 35th over. Sehwag finished his outstanding spell with figures of 4/6 from his 2.5 overs at an impressive economy rate of 2.11.
Chasing an easy target, the Bangladesh bowlers did not wish to go down without a fight as they dismissed the Indian top-order. Nonetheless, opener Gautam Gambhir kept his nerves and successfully anchored the Indian innings. He fell short of a well-deserved century after being dismissed for 82. In the end, ‘Captain Cool’ MS Dhoni added finishing touches with an unbeaten 38 as the Men in Blue got over the line by six wickets in the 31st over.
While Sehwag was one of the game-changers for India in this contest, it was Gambhir who adjudged the Player of the Match for his match-winning innings. India had an outstanding tournament where they went on to register a thrilling win over arch-rivals Pakistan with Harbhajan Singh smashing Mohammad Amir for a huge six in the final ball of the contest. MS Dhoni & Co. eventually beat Sri Lanka by 81 runs to lift their fifth Asia Cup title.
