Legendary Sri Lanka off-spinner Muthiah Muralitharan has recalled an interesting incident of his playing days involving former India opener Virender Sehwag. Muralitharan has revealed what Sehwag had told him after missing out on a triple century during an India vs Sri Lanka Test match at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai in 2009.
It was the third Test of the series, and Sehwag was unbeaten on 284 at stumps on Day 2. But he got out the next day with seven short of his triple hundred. The right-handed batter was dismissed by Muralitharan when he was trying to take a single.
Murali said that while returning to the pavilion, Sehwag told him that he shouldn’t have listened to Rahul Dravid, who was at the non-strikers’ end. Apparently, Dravid had advised Sehwag not to play fancy shots to reach the triple-figure mark.
“I remember he was batting on 290 against us in Mumbai, and I think it was Dravid who told him to hang on as he can get to his 300 the next day. The next morning, he tried to tap it but got out caught and bowled and told me, ‘I should have never listened to Rahul and instead gone after you’,” Muralitharan told ESPNCricinfo.
Murali heaped praises on Sehwag, stating that he could understand his bowling pretty well and was a dangerous player.
“Sehwag could understand and read what I was bowling. He says he didn’t read me but what I can say is that he played me in a different manner (than the rest). He was very dangerous. I’ve said this many times,” added the 49-year-old.
When it comes to the epic match, Team India posted a humungous total of 726 runs on the scoreboard in reply to Sri Lanka’s first-innings score of 393 runs. The visitors were bundled out for 309 runs, and India won the contest by an innings and 24 runs.
