Virender Sehwag was an aggressive player by nature, and one would wonder how well he would fare in Tests as his style of play was more compatible with the shorter formats of the game.
But on the contrary, Sehwag found success in Tests more than he ever did in ODIs or T20Is. Though he had a decent ODI career, it was in Tests that he proved to be a match-winner.
In fact, Sehwag was the 3rd fastest in Test history to amass 6000 runs and the 6th fastest to cross the 7000-run milestone in Tests.
In his playing career that spanned over 14 years, Sehwag amassed a staggering 17253 runs across formats in international cricket at an average of just over 40 in 443 innings.
The former batsman hammered 38 international centuries in all (23 in Tests and 15 in ODIs) during his stupendous career.
Sehwag had scored 23 Test centuries, and 15 ODI centuries – 38 in total.
This article will list Virender Sehwag’s centuries in Test cricket. Let us dwell deep into each of his 23 Test centuries.
List of Virender Sehwag Test Centuries
| No. | Score | Versus | Balls Faced | 4/6 | Innings | Venue | Year | Match Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 105 | South Africa | 173 | 19/0 | 1 | Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein | 2001 | Lost |
| 2 | 106 | England | 183 | 18/0 | 1 | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | 2002 | Drawn |
| 3 | 147 | West Indies | 206 | 24/3 | 1 | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | 2002 | Won |
| 4 | 130 | New Zealand | 225 | 16/2 | 2 | Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali | 2003 | Drawn |
| 5 | 195 | Australia | 233 | 25/5 | 1 | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne | 2003 | Lost |
| 6 | 309 | Pakistan | 375 | 39/6 | 1 | Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan | 2004 | Won |
| 7 | 155 | Australia | 221 | 21/0 | 2 | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | 2004 | Drawn |
| 8 | 164 | South Africa | 228 | 24/2 | 2 | Green Park, Kanpur | 2004 | Drawn |
| 9 | 173 | Pakistan | 244 | 19/2 | 2 | Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali | 2005 | Drawn |
| 10 | 201 | Pakistan | 262 | 28/2 | 2 | M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru | 2005 | Lost |
| 11 | 254 | Pakistan | 247 | 47/1 | 2 | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | 2006 | Drawn |
| 12 | 180 | West Indies | 190 | 20/2 | 1 | Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia | 2006 | Drawn |
| 13 | 151 | Australia | 236 | 11/2 | 3 | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | 2008 | Drawn |
| 14 | 319 | South Africa | 304 | 42/5 | 2 | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | 2008 | Drawn |
| 15 | 201* | Sri Lanka | 231 | 22/4 | 1 | Galle International Stadium, Galle | 2008 | Won |
| 16 | 131 | Sri Lanka | 122 | 18/2 | 1 | Green Park, Kanpur | 2009 | Won |
| 17 | 293 | Sri Lanka | 254 | 40/7 | 2 | Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai | 2009 | Won |
| 18 | 109 | South Africa | 139 | 15/0 | 2 | Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur | 2010 | Lost |
| 19 | 165 | South Africa | 174 | 23/2 | 2 | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | 2010 | Won |
| 20 | 109 | Sri Lanka | 118 | 19/1 | 2 | Galle International Stadium, Galle | 2010 | Lost |
| 21 | 109 | Sri Lanka | 105 | 19/0 | 2 | P Sara Oval, Colombo | 2010 | Won |
| 22 | 173 | New Zealand | 199 | 24/1 | 1 | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad | 2010 | |
| 23 | 117 | England | 117 | 15/1 | 1 | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad | 2012 | Won |
Key insights from the above stats
2: The number of triple centuries hit by Virender Sehwag in his Test career. Only three others have hit two triple centuries in their Test careers, and they are Chris Gayle, Don Bran, and Brian Lara. Lara converted one of the triple hundreds into a 400.
278: Virender Sehwag just took 278 balls to complete his second Test triple century. He did so against a strong South African attack in Chennai, where he smashed a sensational 319, which remains the highest-ever score by an Indian in Test cricket.
207: Virender Sehwag took just 207 balls to reach his 250 in a Test match against Sri Lanka in 2009 at Mumbai, and this remained the fastest ever in Test cricket to reach the milestone until Ben Stokes (197 balls) broke the same in 2016 against South Africa.
1: Innings that Virender Sehwag took to score his maiden Test century, and he became just the 11th Indian to score a Test match century on debut. He did so against South Africa at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein.
5: The number of centuries the right-hander has hit against Sri Lanka and South Africa, his most against any team in Test cricket.
4: The number of centuries Sehwag has scored against the arch-rivals Pakistan in Test cricket. He made India’s first-ever triple century in Tests against Pakistan at Multan, and one can safely say that Pakistan is arguably his favourite opponent.
6: The number of Test double centuries Sehwag smashed in his glorious career, which comprised 104 matches. He has the second t most number of 200s by an Indian in Test cricket, along with Sachin Tendulkar, and his tally is only sured by Virat Kohli.
Virender Sehwag has hit Test centuries in all countries he has played except New Zealand, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe.
