India Seal ODI Series After Sehwag Scores 219

India Seal ODI Series After Sehwag Scores 219

Virender Sehwag set up India's comprehensive win over the West Indies with an innings of 219 in 145 balls

©REUTERS / Action Images

India 418-5 (Sehwag 219, Gambhir 67) beat
West Indies 265 (Ramdin 96) by 153 runs
Fourth One-Day International, Indore
Scorecard

Virender Sehwag thumped 25 fours and seven sixes as he set a new world-record score of 219 off just 149 balls in the fourth One-Day International against the West Indies in Indore.

India racked up a national record total of 418 for five - the fourth time they have passed 400 - to set up a 153-run win that handed them an unassailable 3-1 series lead after the West Indies were bowled out for 265 in reply.

Gautam Gambhir (67) and Suresh Raina (55) also scored half-centuries during India's innings before the West Indies were quickly out of the match, slipping to 100 for five in 15 overs.

Denesh Ramdin fell four runs short of a maiden ODI century as the tourists just failed to bat for 50 overs, Andre Russell making 29 and Sunil Narine an unbeaten 23.

Sehwag was badly dropped by Darren Sammy on 171 and made the West Indies pay for some loose bowling and sub-standard fielding on a pitch made for batting.

He welcomed both Sammy and Sunil Narine to the bowling attack with booming sixes down the ground as he raced to 50 in 40 balls, putting on a fifth century partnership with Gambhir, who was run out for 67 shortly after Sehwag reached his century in just 69 balls.

Gambhir was dropped by Andre Russell off his own bowling early and looked in fine form himself, cutting imperiously and charging the bowlers with impunity before he was sold up the river by Sehwag, whose 15th ODI century came up when he cut Pollard through backward point.

Having been reprieved by Sammy after he sliced Rampaul into the deep, he carved his way past his previous career-best of 175 and scored more runs in one innings that anybody had against the West Indies.

He was quickly on the threshold of reaching territory only previously chartered by compatriot Sachin Tendulkar against South Africa in Gwalior in 2009 and reached 201 with another cut through backward point.

Obviously tiring, he continued to blast boundaries, passing Shane Watson's record of 30 in one innings before he finally fell, caught by substitute Anthony Martin at long-on off Pollard.

Suresh Raina had come and gone in the meantime, run out by Russell as he attempted a short second but he had played his role perfectly in making 55 in 44 balls with a mixture of deft touches and precise hitting while Ravi Jadeja made ten in ten balls before he was caught by Rampaul off Russell.

Rohit Sharma hammered 27 in 16 balls before he was bowled by Roach, leaving Virat Kohli (23 not out in 11 balls) and Parthiv Patel (3 not out) to push India past their previous record score of 414.

The West Indies began brightly, Lendl Simmons (36) and Kieran Powell (7) hitting early boundaries but things began to go awry when a mix-up ended with Powell's run out.

Simmons cracked six fours and a six and added 50 in quick time with Marlon Samuels, who made 33 in 26 balls before Simmons was caught behind off Jadeja - an excellent piece of work by Patel and Samuels became Rahul Sharma's first ODI wicket when the ball rolled onto the stumps.

The leg-spinner struck with the final ball of his first over as everything went India's way. Danza Hyatt (11) and Pollard (3) were then bowled by Sharma, who finished with three for 43 after Hyatt got in a terrible mess and was bowled through his legs and Pollard misjudged the length and missed a shorter delivery.

Ramdin - whose 96 was the highest score in an ODI by a West Indian wicket-keeper - then combined with Russell to save some face, Russell blasting three sixes to make 29 in 24 balls before he was stumped when he overbalanced trying to work Raina away into the on side.

An earlier finish looked likely after Sammy (2), Rampaul (10) and Roach (7) were dismissed cheaply but Ramdin and Narine put together an enterprising 64-run stand for the final wicket which was broken when Ramdin was caught off the bowling of Raina.

It was the West Indies' second tenth-wicket half-century partnership of the series after Rampaul and Roach had starred in Visakhapatnam.

Just as on that occasion, however, India went on to win the game in some comfort.

© Cricket World 2011