By IANS
Adelaide : Swashbuckling batsman Virender Sehwag Monday consolidated his world record by hitting his ninth successive century with a 150-plus score in the fourth match against Australia and completed a fine comeback to the Test cricket.
Sehwag hammered his 13th century, a fine 151 (354 minutes, 236 balls, 11x4s, 2x6s), on the fifth and day of the match to finish the series 286 runs in two matches.
It was the Delhi batsman’s third century against Australia, and his first in the second innings of a match. Interestingly, Sehwag has recorded seven centuries in 32 Tests overseas and six in 22 Tests at home.
Sehwag, 29, took his career first-innings tally to 3,466 at 64.18 in 54 innings, including 12 centuries and nine half-centuries. In the second innings, he has scored 975 runs at 28.67 in 37 innings, including one century and four half-centuries.
During the course of his century, Sehwag also completed 1,000 runs against Australia in 11 Tests — 10 for India and one for the International Cricket Council’s World XI, for which he scored 83 in two innings against Australia in 2006.
Sehwag, for the first time in his career, has registered a century and a half-century (63 and 151) in the same Test to become the third Indian to do so at the Adelaide Oval. Vijay Hazare was the first to accomplish the feat when he scored 116 and 145 against Australia in 1947-48 and Rahul Dravid smashed 233 and 72 not out against Australia in 2003-04.
At the end of the series, Sehwag’s aggregate reads 4,441 at 50.46 in 54 Tests. He has hit 13 centuries and as many half-centuries.