'Tu world record bana sakta hai': When Virender Sehwag regretted following Rahul Dravid's advice, missing out on another record

NEW DELHI: Virender Sehwag, the explosive Indian opener who has amassed over 8,000 runs in both Test and ODI cricket, is renowned for his aggressive batting style. R Ashwin, India’s ace spinner, once mentioned that Sehwag does not consider off-spinners as true bowlers.
Such was Sehwag’s aura that he could be singing Hindi songs while smashing bowlers for boundaries. Bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee, and Dale Steyn, all ace pacers, were not spared, as even the slightest loose ball from the greatest of bowlers was sent to the boundary.
Sehwag, who scored a century on his Test debut, did not initially start as an opener, but his explosive batting earned him that role. He went on to open India’s batting in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 alongside the great Sachin Tendulkar, setting the tone of the tournament with a brilliant 175 in his first innings.
Sehwag shares the record for the most triple centuries in Test cricket and was close to making history. During a Test match against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, he had the chance to become the first batsman to score three triple centuries.
On the first day of this match, Sehwag scored 284 runs, making it the third-highest score by a batsman in a single day of a Test match. He faced tough bowlers like Muttiah Muralitharan but remained in control.
Towards the end of the day, with only 3-4 overs left, his batting partner Rahul Dravid advised him to play out the day.
Sehwag recalled in an interview that Dravid told him to imagine batting through the remaining overs without losing his wicket and then coming back the next day to possibly make 300, 400, or even 500 runs.
According to Sehwag, after this conversation, Dravid carefully played out the overs, taking a single only when the over was about to end so that Sehwag would face fewer balls.
When the day ended, and both batters remained not out as they returned to the dressing room, Dravid told him, 'Well done, bohot badhiya. Ab kal dekh tu wapas aaega toh pura din batting karega toh tu world record bana sakta hai.'

Sehwag admitted that Dravid's words filled him with optimism, and he went to his room, had dinner, and slept soundly. However, the next day, he managed to add only 9 more runs before being dismissed for 293.
Sehwag later admitted that as he walked back to the dressing room, he regretted listening to Rahul Dravid.
Sehwag had scored 293 runs off 254 balls, with 40 fours and 7 sixes. In the end, the world’s leading wicket-taker, Muralitharan, dismissed Sehwag with a caught-and-bowled effort. MS Dhoni went on to score a century in that match, and India posted a massive total of 726 for 9 before declaring.
India went on to win the match by an innings and 24 runs.