Why Does Sehwag's 2004 Sledge Continue to Haunt Shoaib Akhtar?

(Virender Sehwag and Shoaib Akhtar during an India-Pakistan test match)

A showdown between a Delhi boy and one from Rawalpindi always promises excitement. Yes, we are talking about Virender Sehwag who is known as “Nawab of Najafgarh” and Shoaib Akhtar, coming in as “Rawalpindi Express”. Both players have got an intense rivalry against each other during their playing days and have given us endless stories to cherish. Beyond their skills, their clashes symbolize the spirited rivalry between India and Pakistan, captivating cricket fans worldwide. From tense battles to unforgettable performances, Sehwag and Akhtar have created a legacy of cricketing brilliance. Here, we will be now talking about an incident where Virender Sehwag brutally trolled Shoaib Akhtar in his own country.

Sachin Tendulkar’s six against Shoaib Akhtar

The incident is from the 2004 India tour of Pakistan and it was the first test match between both sides that took place at Multan Cricket Stadium. The test series was always going to be an interesting one as both the teams were looking to assert their dominance over each other. It was the Indian team who got the chance to bat first on that flat pitch of Multan and hence they used it well in their favour. The Indian openers started the innings well and were looking solid to post a big score to make it tough for the Pakistan batters to come back in the match.

In that match, Virender Sehwag scored his first triple-century in the test format and made the Pakistan bowlers toil hard for the wickets. In the 336-run partnership between him and Sachin Tendulkar, the Pakistan bowlers were finding it tough to pick up the wickets, and hence the task was now given to Shoaib Akhtar to come and test the batters. With the pace and brilliant line, it was always hard for the batters to face him and hence both the batters started playing cautiously against him to make sure that they didn’t get wickets here.

(Sachin Tendulkar and Shoaib Akhtar during a test match between India and Pakistan)

Shoaib Akhtar went around the wicket and started troubling Virender Sehwag with his pace and it wasn’t easy for him to play shots there. Sehwag was getting uncomfortable with his pace and hence the whole crowd was behind the bowler to finally pick a wicket here. Moreover, Akhtar was continuously sledging Sehwag to come and play the hook shot which might end the innings of the batter if he mistimes it while batting. There were few overs when Sehwag was literally struggling and it was Sachin Tendulkar who calmed him through his words.

Furthermore, when Sehwag was at the other end, Shoaib Akhtar continued his spell with bouncers and hence made it tough for the batters. But, Sachin Tendulkar being the “Master Blaster” took on the challenge and faced the bowler without any fear. To a bouncer, Sachin smashed a hook shot and it went for six which surprised everyone and the crowd was shocked to see how someone can smack a 150 kmph+ ball easily for a six. To this, Virender Sehwag told Shoaib Akhtar “Baap baap hota hai, beta beta hota hai.” The whole story narrated by Virender Sehwag was like

“When we were playing in Multan and I had scored a triple hundred, Shoaib Akhtar was bowling bouncers at me from around the wicket and continuously telling me to play the hook shot. I just went to him and told him that there's someone at the non-striker's end (Tendulkar) and try to bowl short to him. Tendulkar smashed him for a six and in a funny way I told him 'Baap baap hota hai, beta beta hota hai.”

(Virender Sehwag celebrating after hitting a triple-century against the Pakistan team)

For the fans, this story has always been an interesting one as it allows them to recall those memories when India and Pakistan used to engage in the test matches and the rivalry was spot on. The fights between Shoaib Akhtar-Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir-Shahid Afridi, Ishant Sharma-Kamran Akmal, and many more have been brilliant for the fans and they have been entertained properly through it.

Shoaib Akhtar’s reply to Sehwag

Coming to the incident during the Mohali test, Virender Sehwag managed to score 309 runs while Sachin Tendulkar was at 194 runs when India declared their innings. The match ended with India winning the match by an innings and 52 runs and hence it was the domination from the Indian team that was seen that day. However, when Virender Sehwag introduced the public to the story of Sachin Tendulkar smashing the six on Shoaib Akhtar and then replying to him, it soon created a flurry of memes and it straight went to Akhat who looked furious and shocked to see how Sehwag has come up with a well-made story.

“Never, there was no such thing said to me. Would he survive after saying something like that to me? Would I leave him? I would beat him up at the ground and then at the hotel.”

Moreover, if we look at the score of Sachin Tendulkar during that innings, we can see that Sehwag scored a triple hundred and it was Sachin Tendulkar who was batting with him. But during that whole innings, Sachin Tendulkar got 21 boundaries but not even a single six. And Sehwag said that Sachin hit a six against Akhtar which finally earned him that reply. Apart from that, if we look at the other innings where Sehwag got a big score against Pakistan, then we can see that at the other end, Sachin wasn’t able to bat because the other batters were playing well.