As the stage is set for another explosive chapter in the long-running cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan, former Indian opener Virender Sehwag has opened up about how playing against the arch-rivals affects his emotions. Sehwag, who was known for his reckless and destructive hitting style, said that losing to Pakistan “made him lose his cool.”
“Whenever you lost to Pakistan, I would lose my focus. “I would lose my temper and everything,” Sehwag remarked in a video that Sony Sports Network released on X.
He had a lot of personal success, with an average of 50.65 against Pakistan in 42 matches, but the team’s results didn’t always go his way. He has won 17 times and lost 21 times, which is a win-loss ratio that plainly troubled the former cricketer, who built his reputation on never giving up.
The 46-year-old batsman was known for being aggressive, and some of his best games were against Pakistan’s strong speed attacks. He remembered his amazing 119-run knock in Karachi in 2008. Sehwag faced up against the Pakistani bowlers and knocked down their bowling attack all by himself, hitting 12 boundaries and 5 sixes off of just 95 balls at an incredible strike rate of 125.26. His innings set up India’s easy six-wicket win with 47 balls to spare.
Sehwag offered an unexpected information about the day of that spectacular knock. “I was fasting that day. With an empty stomach. “I had to score runs to satisfy that hunger,” he remarked, showing how determined he was to do his best, even when things were different.
India will play in Group A with the UAE, Pakistan, and Oman for this year’s Asia Cup, which starts on September 9. On September 10, India, led by batter Suryakumar Yadav, will start their campaign against the UAE in Dubai. The match against Pakistan, which everyone is looking forward to, will be on September 14. After that, they will play their last group stage game against Oman on September 19 in Abu Dhabi.
The whole Indian team for the Asia Cup is made up of Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, and Rinku Singh.