Two players belonging to two opposite schools of batting, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag will have fond memories of the Chennai Test against South Africa,which commenced from 26th March 2008.
While Sehwag broke his own record to post the highest score by an Indian in Tests, Dravid became the sixth batsman in the game to score 10,000 Test runs.
On Saturday the 29th March 2008, Virender Sehwag’s 319 became the highest score by an Indian in history of Test cricket, surpassing his own 309 in Multan against Pakistan in 2004.
It was the first time that a batsman had gone past 300 runs in India ; VVS Laxman’s epic 281 in Kolkata in 2001 was the previous highest score in the country. Also, Sehwag’s 300 was the fastest one in the elite club.
Rahul Dravid, after a sedate Australian tour, went about his business in his typical no-fuss manner.
hrough Sehwag’s explosive innings, Dravid played along like a quietly flowing river. Needing 80 to get to 10,000 runs, the Karnataka batsman, who was not out on 65 overnight, took some time to get to the mark, but that was to be understood.
But as he had pushed Morne Morkel to deep mid-wicket and jogged across for a single, Dravid threw up his hands in the air.
Ten thousand runs is not a small thing, and ‘the wall’ enjoyed that. Dravid is the third Indian to reach this elusive feat after Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar.