Dale Steyn admits Virender Sehwag's 309 in Chennai gives him nightmares to this day

Wishes have been pouring in for former Indian batsman Virendra Sehwag on the occasion of his 42nd birthday. The witty opener and current commentator received warm wishes from not just his army of fans but also a number of his esteemed colleagues and juniors. Among the many cricketing stars that wished the southpaw, South African speedster Dale Steyn took to Twitter with a nostalgic memory of one of Sehwag's greatest achievements in the sport. 

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The one Sehwag knock that still gives Dale Steyn nightmares

Currently in the UAE for the Dream11 IPL 2020 with Bangalore, South Africa's Dale Steyn wished Virender Sehwag with a witty post on his birthday on October 20. In his message, Steyn mentioned that Sehwag's iconic 310-run knock during the first Test of the 2008 South Africa vs India Test series in Chennai forms a part of his nightmares to this day. While the match ended in a draw, Sehwag broke multiple records with his knock of 319 off 304 balls. 

Sehwag's 319 became his highest score ever in a Test match. It was also his second triple-century in Test cricket, making him the first Indian batsman to score two triple-centuries in that format. Sehwag also broke the record for the fastest triple-century in cricket till then, achieving the feat off of 278 deliveries.

He became the third batsman after Brian Lara and Don Bradman to score two triple-centuries. The entire match was a high-scoring affair and Sehwag's inspired performance came just when the team needed it. In the first innings of the day, South Africa had set a massive total of 540 runs with Hashim Amla scoring 159, along with a 94 by Neil McKenzie. 

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Sehwag took all the South African bowlers on that day, hitting an otherwise efficient Dale Steyn for 46 runs off 48 deliveries. Even greats like Jacques Kallis, Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel couldn't put the brakes on Sehwag's innings. By the end of the Indian innings, India were leading by 87 runs. Sehwag finally fell to Ntini. 

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Sehwag career statistics

Sehwag retired from all the forms of the game in 2015. He played 104 Tests, 251 ODIs and 19 T20Is. He scored 8,586 Test runs at an average of 49.34 by the end of his career, along with 8,273 ODI runs. He also took 40 and 96 wickets in Tests and ODIs respectively. 

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Image Credits: Associated Press