India's five best openers till date

#3 Virender Sehwag

Sehwag exploded on the scene and hit some memorable knocks

Often called the ‘next Tendulkar’ because of his aggressive batting style when he first emerged on the scene, Virender Sehwag gradually grew out of the maestro’s shadow to become a legend in his own right.

At his best, Sehwag was belligerent and unstoppable, finishing off opposition attacks with a smile on his lips. He scored 8273 ODI runs, with 15 centuries, at an average of 35.05 and strike-rate of 104.33. He was also the second batsman to score an ODI double hundred.

Not many however had predicted that he would be successful at the Test level. But he proved the naysayers wrong and changed the way Test cricket was played.

Sehwag challenged the norm that on fast, bouncy pitches, the openers in Test cricket should just survive and try to see off the new ball. The flamboyant right-hander played attacking knocks on such pitches, most famously in Australia, taking the shine off the ball and getting fast runs to provide his team with a clear advantage on the opening day.

His 195 against Australia in the MCG and his triple hundred against Pakistan at Multan are still remembered today.

He scored 8586 runs in Tests at an average of 49.34 and a strike-rate of 82.23. He was one of those rare Indian openers who was successful across all formats of the game.