Virender Sehwag 42.0 42 instances when Viru knocked them out of the park, with a mike in his hand.

Think uncluttered

1.0My natural game is to watch the ball with a blank mind and if it is there to be hit, I go for it.– Virender Sehwag's Philosophy towards batting

2.0I'm not disappointed because the ball was loose and you go for (get out to) a loose ball. It doesn't matter if I'm out or not.– Virender Sehwag's Philosophy towards batting

3.0I try to hum songs, bhajans, Sai Baba bhajans, Kishore Kumar songs, especially those pictured on Amitabh Bachchan, till the bowler is about to deliver. I try to sing songs as perfectly as possible in order to keep my mind completely uncluttered.– Virender Sehwag’s unique method of keeping

focused

4.0Basically there are a lot of frustrations inside and you are telling the person who is listening to you all the rubbish. I'm just trying to clear my mind and heart. Once I've taken all that out of me I'm relaxed and happy. Nowadays I do that with my wife and she is a good listener.– Virender Sehwag explaining why he is influenced

by mind specialists such as Rudi Webster and Paddy Upton despite an uncomplicated game.

5.0I have made it very simple for myself. There are 90 overs to be played in a day. If I am able to hit a boundary in 80 of these I can get to a triple hundred by the end of the day’s play and set a match up for my team.– Virender Sehwag on how he approaches a Test

innings

Think big

6.0I have always said to Gautam that getting a 100 is not enough. Get double or even triple hundreds. That’s how you can create fear in the minds of the opposition bowlers. Unless they are in awe, they will not show you the respect you deserve.– Virender Sehwag exudes confidence while

speaking about his resolutions for 2010

7.0Kheench ke balla zor se ball ko maar bhagao, Ball ka ghar hai boundary vahaan use pahuchao.– Virender Sehwag getting poetic about batting in

an ad

8.0Chauka gaya. Chhakka gaya.– Virender Sehwag murmuring to himself in the

players' balcony when India is batting. That's his way of expressing disappointment at somebody's failure to take advantage of a ball that he thought deserved to be hit for four or six. That's how he thinks, in fours and sixes.

Think straight

9.0I have never changed my thinking, I have never changed my batting style. I have batted the way I batted in local tournaments and then first-class cricket, and I have applied the same approach in international cricket.– Virender Sehwag on the influence of experience

on his batting

10.0It would surprise most to know that I never look at the wicket. Never. I don't worry about whether the pitch has grass or moisture or is flat.– Virender Sehwag sleeps at peace before every

Test match

11.0I am exceptionally aware about the nuances of the game. I know what's happening, who is where and how to take advantage of him in the field.– Virender Sehwag on quick singles which are an

integral part of his game

12.0I kept telling Gautam (Gambhir) that I wouldn't hit fours. But they kept bowling short and I kept square-cutting. And they all were fours.– Virender Sehwag on his innings against England

in the Chennai Test, 2009

13.0(Sachin Tendulkar) always likes to chat and can get serious and caution you not to hit unnecessary shots. During that (Multan) innings he told me, “If you try to hit a six I will hit you on the bum.” He gave me a simple example - about my Melbourne innings in 2003, when I tried to hit a six on 195 and got out. Till then India were in a good position, but after that we couldn’t make a big score and we lost the Test. So he made me realise my mistake. That is why I didn’t hit sixes in Multan, but when I was near 300 I told him that I was going to hit Saqlain (Mushtaq) and he could hit me on my bum!– Virender Sehwag on his appetite for sixes

Think ahead

14.0I never look back. I have never looked back on that innings. What is gone is gone, it's over.– Virender Sehwag never frets about going for a six

even when he is batting on 294 (referring to his Multan innings)

15.0Not many people have got two triple centuries and followed that with 293. So there is nothing to be disappointed about.– Virender Sehwag at the end of the third day's

play of the third test against Sri Lanka at Brabourne Stadium. Dec 4, 2009

Think different

16.0Unlike the accepted norm, I find hitting against the spin more profitable. It allows one to free one's arms.– Never one to comply to norms, Virender Sehwag

explains his unorthodox approach to facing Muttiah Muralitharan

17.0In the dressing room they told me I was hitting the good balls too, but if you look at it my way I hit only the bad ones.– Virender Sehwag blurs the difference between

good and bad

18.0I was actually supporting Sri Lanka. My superstition is that whenever I support India, we lose. So I was supporting Sri Lanka.– Virender Sehwag's shrewd ploy that made Sri

Lanka lose the plot and fall three short of India's 414 in Rajkot Dec 15, 2009

19.0I have asked Tendulkar many times what the zone is. He tells me that’s when ‘I see nothing except the ball’. I have asked Rahul Dravid the same thing. He says sometimes when he is in really good form, he sees the ball and not even the sightscreen, the non-striker, the umpire or who is bowling. I ask how that is possible. I have never entered that zone.– Virender Sehwag makes a confession

20.0What is the difference between batting at the end of the day or at the start? If you make a mistake you'll get out. Whenever a captain or coach asked me for a nightwatchman I would say, "No, why? If I can't survive 10 or 20 balls now, then I don't think I'll survive tomorrow morning." I believe that's the best time when you have the opportunity to score runs, when everybody on the field is tired and you can score 20 runs off those 20 balls.– Virender Sehwag has strong views on the concept of a

nightwatchman

21.0I'm very happy if the bowler makes me play because then I get opportunities to hit boundaries. If somebody is constantly bowling outswingers or outside off, even if he is bowling on length, for me it is boring cricket. But if somebody is bowling to me, it is a very, very good opportunity for me to play a lot of options.– Virender Sehwag clearly likes being bowled at

Think indifferent

22.0Boycott can say what he wants. He once batted the whole day and hit just one four.– Virender Sehwag hits back after Geoff Boycott

referred to him as "talented but brainless"

23.0I don't listen to people, don't watch TV and don't read newspapers. It's better to use the time to work on your game.– Virender Sehwag reveals that he gives media

coverage of his career about as much respect as he does to bowlers

24.0I don't believe in astrology but my family members do. Too many people used to call up and pester me and my family to use different numbers. I was so fed up that I decided not to take any of their advices.– Virender Sehwag explains why he came out to

bat without a number on his shirt, Nov 23, 2008

Say it like you think it

25.0Because they can't take 20 Indian wickets. Even Sri Lanka found it difficult. Bangladesh can't. They are an ordinary side.– Virender Sehwag Keeps it real before first test

against the lower rated Bangladesh, Jan 2010

26.0Tomorrow will be another practice day for the batsman because it will be a drawn match.– Virender Sehwag before the start of the 2nd day

of play after he and Rahul Dravid were involved in an unbeaten 403 run partnership on day 1, Lahore, January 16, 2006

27.0Who's Vinoo Mankad?– Virender Sehwag on learning that Rahul Dravid

and he missed a golden chance of breaking the 50-year world record of 414 runs (held by Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy) for the opening wicket partnership by four runs, Lahore, Jan 2006

28.0Bas, kuchh tees run ka farak tha.– Virender Sehwag puts on a straight face on being

asked, “Sehwagji, aapke is hundred aur pehle Test ke hundred mein kya farak tha.” From the 2004-05 series when Pakistan toured India, and Sehwag made 173 in the first Test and 201 in the third.

29.0No.– Virender Sehwag on being asked whether coach

Greg Chappell gave him any sort of valuable tips.

Don't think you are, know you are

30.0If you know your game you can handle pressure, you can handle any kind of situation, back yourself and play your own game and get success.– Virender Sehwag dishes out advice to youngsters

31.0Depending on the wicket I change the guard: if the wicket is flat then I can manage to stand on the off stump, because nobody wants to bowl into my body as I will easily hit them for fours. So they will pitch it outside off. And if the wicket is doing a little bit, I stand on the middle stump. And I have tried these things straight in a game and never in the nets.– Virender Sehwag doesn't need net practice to try

something new

32.0Only 10 to 20 percent of times bowlers have got me out with their skills. About 80 percent of times, I have got out because of my mindset.– Virender Sehwag talks about the importance of

mental toughness

33.0I don’t want to sound pompous. But I can surely tell you that once I get to 60 or 70 there’s no bowler in the world who can get Virender Sehwag out. Only Virender Sehwag can get Sehwag out at moments when I am batting the way I am currently. My philosophy has always been to make the most of the situation when you are in form. So when I go out there, I identify a bowler and get after him. If he is the best bowler in the opposition, your job becomes much easier.– Virender Sehwag talks about his great form in the year 2009

34.0Once Gary Kirsten asked me, "What would you do if there is a long-off, long-on and deep midwicket?" I asked, "Gary sir, do fielders matter to me?" He burst out laughing... Let me give an example: I was batting on 291 at Chepauk, against South Africa. I told Paul Harris, "Come round the wicket and first ball I'll hit you for a six." He accepted my challenge and the very first ball I hit him for a straight six, and there was a long-off, long-on, deep midwicket and a deep point. I was so tired and he was bowling on the pads and I was getting bored. So rather than spending 10-15 minutes to get to the triple-century I gave him good advice.– Virender Sehwag loves playing spin

Think through thy enemy

35.0If you leave him alone, and let him attack your stumps in order to make you play, then it's easier to play him. If you chase him, go after him, he'll have you in trouble.– Virender Sehwag on how to deal with Glenn

McGrath

36.0Murali is a big challenge to face. If you have to play against a spinner like him, you have to attack him. Otherwise he will come and dominate you. So instead of allowing him to dominate, I dominated right from the first ball and pushed him into the back foot.– Virender Sehwag after an unbeaten 284* on Day 2

of the second test match against Sri Lanka. Dec 2009

37.0I studied him (Mendis) during the Asia Cup in Pakistan. Even at non-striker's end, I kept following his methods. His style when he is bowling off-spin, googly, or pushing it through middle finger. So I have no problem in attacking him. A bowler is demoralised if he knows that a batsman has read him completely.– Virender Sehwag on his plans for Ajantha Mendis

who'd troubled Indian batsmen in their previous series, Jan 2009

38.0I never hook. Only recently I tried it against James Anderson and Andrew Flintoff but it was because I saw it pretty early and knew how to keep it down. The thing is, it's impossible for a bowler to bowl six deliveries in an over which rise to chest-high. The moment a bowler errs, I pounce on him.– Virender Sehwag knows that everyone has

limitations, Jan 2009

Think for thy team

39.0If I play down the order, then there is nobody who can open.

40.0I am not bothered about individual performances. I am team man and I just want to see India win the Test matches. I am happy to contribute 10, 50 or 100 runs but I love to see Team India win games. That's my ultimate goal.

Think victory

41.0…Because we are not here to play drawn matches.– Virender Sehwag before the start of the second

Test match after the first test was drawn, Faisalabad, January 20, 2006

And lastly, what does Sehwag cherish

most?

42.0Today is a memorable day and I am happier today than I was when I scored the triple century, because my university has organised a special function to award a degree to a single student.– Virender Sehwag is in an ecstatic mood after

being awarded his Bachelor of Arts degree, Jun 2, 2004

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