Virender Sehwag vs. Sanath Jayasuriya: Who Was Better?

Virender Sehwag and Sanath Jayasuriya were a joy to behold when they were in form—unless you were bowling at them, of course.

The two batsmen were the personification of the modern era: brilliant strikers of the ball who were always looking to attack, even when playing in Test match cricket.

Each man had a different method for scoring runs, but both were extremely successful during their international careers.

The question is, who was the better opener?

Virender Sehwag

	Test career	ODI career
Appearances	104	251
Runs	8,586	8,273
Average	49.34	35.05
Hundreds	23	15
Highest score	319	219
Wickets	40	96

Born in Delhi, Sehwag began his international career batting down the order for India in one-day cricket.

However, it was as an opener that he built a reputation as one of the most dangerous players in the world game.

It did not matter to the right-hander what colour clothing he was wearing—whether it was a one-day game or a Test match, he was always going to be positive. He had a belief he could score runs against anyone, at any time and in any conditions.

That does not mean he was good for just a few. Sehwag holds the record for India's highest Test score, having made 319 against South Africa in 2008.

He had already hit 304 against Pakistan four years earlier, making him the only Indian to ever register more than one triple hundred. In fact, Sehwag has made the top three scores for his country.

He is also part of a select group of players who have hit double centuries for India in 50-over cricket. The others who have achieved the feat are Rohit Sharma (twice) and Sachin Tendulkar, who was Sehwag's opening partner for many years, including the successful 2011 Cricket World Cup campaign on home soil.

Sehwag's style was one of simplicity—there was no great amount of foot movement as he stayed leg-side, allowing him to free his arms. If there was away swing, he would simply treat it as an opportunity to hit squarer of the wicket.

Sehwag was also aggressive when called into action with his off-spin, showing a willingness to flight the ball in the hope of tempting a mistake from opposing batsmen.

He had a happy knack of claiming wickets, particularly in the ODI game. While his one-day bowling average is an unspectacular 40.13, his strike rate is a more-than-useful 45.7.

Career highlight

What makes Sehwag's knock of 319 against South Africa remarkable is that it took him just 309 deliveries to score his runs.

India had been stuck in the field for 152.5 overs as the Proteas piled on 540 in Chennai—only for India to surpass their score when it finally came to their turn to bat.

Sehwag hit five sixes and 42 fours before becoming the second wicket to fall with the score on 481. He had put on 268 with Rahul Dravid, who contributed just 68 to the stand.

Dileep Premachandran stated in his report for ESPN Cricinfo that not only had Sehwag set a record for making the fastest triple ton in Test history (he reached the milestone from the 278th ball he faced), but he had also scored an astonishing 257 runs on the third day's play alone.

Sanath Jayasuriya

	Test career	ODI career
Appearances	110	445
Runs	6,973	13,430
Average	40.07	32.36
Hundreds	14	28
Highest score	340	189
Wickets	98	323

Like Sehwag, Jayasuriya started out his international career batting in the middle order. He was seen as an all-rounder in his early days and didn't get to open the batting in ODI cricket until 1993.

The move to the top paid dividends, particularly in 1996. Along with Romesh Kaluwitharana, he formed a partnership that helped fire their country to Cricket World Cup glory.

Small but stocky, the left-hander proved a tricky puzzle for opposing bowlers to solve. If you were too far outside off, Jayasuriya would launch you over cover or point. Straighten your line up too much, and he'd whip anything on his pads over the top of mid-wicket or square leg.

He was a little more circumspect in Test action, though that is not to say he had a tortoise-like scoring rate.

In 2004, he had a particularly prolific year, making four three-figure scores after giving up the captaincy. That hot streak included a fine knock of 253 against Pakistan in Faisalabad.

But Jayasuriya will always be best remembered for his one-day feats. No other player has scored more than 12,000 runs and also taken 300 or more wickets, showing his value with both bat and ball.

He currently sits second on the all-time list for sixes and fours hit in 50-over cricket, having carried on playing until he was just shy of his 42nd birthday.

His 17-ball half-century against Pakistan stood as an ODI record until recently (AB de Villiers needed one less delivery to achieve the feat this year), and he also briefly held the record for the quickest century.

His bowling was more successful in the shorter formats. Jayasuriya wasn't known for exacting a lot of turn but would arrow the ball in at the stumps with his round-arm action. If a batsman missed or played across the line, he was in big trouble.

On four occasions, he claimed five-wicket hauls in one-dayers, with his best performance seeing him take six for 29 against England in 1997.

Career highlight

Jayasuriya became the first Sri Lankan to hit a triple century in Test cricket.

In 1997, against India in Colombo, the batsman made 340 in his side's mammoth first-innings total of 952 for six declared.

He hit 36 fours and two sixes in his 578 balls at the crease, though Rajesh Chauhan ended his bid to break the world record for the highest Test score, which was held by Brian Lara (375) at the time.

Still, Jayasuriya played his part in helping Sri Lanka score the most runs in a Test innings, a mark that stands to this day.

Final verdict

When trying to pick between Sehwag and Jayasuriya, it comes down to a matter of personal taste.

Sehwag scored his runs with a certain flair. While you always felt he could get out to the next ball, you also wondered if at times he was just toying with opposing bowlers, like a cat with a half-dead mouse.

Jayasuriya, in contrast, was a power player. With the bottom hand gripped tightly on the bat, he cracked the ball rather than caressing it.

Jayasuriya's bowling made him the more useful of the two in one-day cricket, but Sehwag gets the nod for his Test achievements. He had an elegance to his uncomplicated method, and his driving to anything slightly overpitched was both beautiful and brutal.

Winner: Virender Sehwag