It took nearly 40 years for a batsman to score the first double-century
in one-day international cricket. The second didn't even take two more.
Virender Sehwag, the batsman most touted to break Sachin Tendulkar's
record for the highest individual ODI score, didn't merely break it. He
shattered it, and raised the bar so high that it's hard to imagine
anyone, apart from Sehwag himself, raising it higher. Unlike Tendulkar
in Gwalior, Sehwag wasn't running out of time as he raced towards 200 in
Indore. He got there in the 44th over, and had made 219 off 149 balls
by the time he was dismissed in the 47th. And in one of cricket's
stranger coincidences, both ODI double-centuries were scored in the same
Indian state - Madhya Pradesh - at venues less than 500 kilometres
apart.
Sehwag's record-breaking performance led India to 418 for 5, their
highest ODI total, and all but ensured India would extend their 2-1 lead
and win the series against West Indies. It was an innings
characteristic of Sehwag's approach to batting. He hit his second ball
for four and simply did not stop. He took plenty of risks too, surviving
two run-out chances and two dropped catches, but thundered on, ensuring
India's run-rate stayed above seven after the 15th over. Sehwag's only
out-of-character moment came in the 20th over, when he dived to avoid
being run out. Sehwag never dives. It was a sign that he was determined
to stay the course. He went to 50 off 41 balls, to 100 off 69 balls, to
150 off 112 and past 200 off 140. He broke Tendulkar's record with a
withering cut that sped to the backward-point boundary, and celebrated
fittingly with an aggressive fist-pump before breaking into a smile.
It took nearly 40 years for a batsman to score the first double-century
in one-day international cricket. The second didn't even take two more.
Virender Sehwag, the batsman most touted to break Sachin Tendulkar's
record for the highest individual ODI score, didn't merely break it. He
shattered it, and raised the bar so high that it's hard to imagine
anyone, apart from Sehwag himself, raising it higher. Unlike Tendulkar
in Gwalior, Sehwag wasn't running out of time as he raced towards 200 in
Indore. He got there in the 44th over, and had made 219 off 149 balls
by the time he was dismissed in the 47th. And in one of cricket's
stranger coincidences, both ODI double-centuries were scored in the same
Indian state - Madhya Pradesh - at venues less than 500 kilometres
apart.
Sehwag's record-breaking performance led India to 418 for 5, their
highest ODI total, and all but ensured India would extend their 2-1 lead
and win the series against West Indies. It was an innings
characteristic of Sehwag's approach to batting. He hit his second ball
for four and simply did not stop. He took plenty of risks too, surviving
two run-out chances and two dropped catches, but thundered on, ensuring
India's run-rate stayed above seven after the 15th over. Sehwag's only
out-of-character moment came in the 20th over, when he dived to avoid
being run out. Sehwag never dives. It was a sign that he was determined
to stay the course. He went to 50 off 41 balls, to 100 off 69 balls, to
150 off 112 and past 200 off 140. He broke Tendulkar's record with a
withering cut that sped to the backward-point boundary, and celebrated
fittingly with an aggressive fist-pump before breaking into a smile.
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