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ESPNcricinfo staff
December 8, 2011
Virender Sehwag, who slammed a record-setting 219 against the West Indies in Indore, has said that he thought a big score was there for the taking at the Holkar Stadium, but he did not expect to make a double-hundred.
"I was telling myself and Gautam Gambhir that if we batted with a little patience, we could score a big one here," Sehwag told NEO Cricket in between innings. "The wicket is good to bat on, the outfield is fantastic and the boundaries are 50 yards. If we just show some patience and look to bat 30 overs, we can score some runs. But I was not expecting 200."
The first time the double-century crossed his mind, he said, was during the batting Powerplay between the 35th and 40th overs, but he said that he did not change his game as he got closer to the landmark.
"I was playing my shots throughout the innings. I thought [about] it [the double-century] when I was batting in the batting Powerplay and thought, 'If I just bat this Powerplay, maybe I'll cross that 200-mark'. When Sammy dropped the catch [Sehwag was on 170 at the time], I thought God was with me and was telling me, 'You just bat till the 45th or 46th over and get your 200'."
Sehwag needed just 140 balls to get his double-century and his 219 broke Sachin Tendulkar's record for the highest individual score in an ODI. It included 142 runs in boundaries - Sehwag smashed seven sixes and 25 fours. "It was a true batting wicket and if you spend a little time and carry on with you shots [you can score]," Sehwag said. "Whenever I hit the ball into the gaps, it would go for four. Whenever I decided to hit a six, I would hit with a straight bat and it would go for six."
His record-breaking innings ended a string of underwhelming performances in spectacular fashion, as Sehwag and Gambhir gave India the kind of start they had failed to produce up to this point in the series. "In the last match I said our top order was not contributing and it was my job and the other guys' [in the top order] job to give a good start to the team," Sehwag said. "The moment you give this kind of start, you end up with 400. "
Having batted for 46.3 overs, Sehwag was forthright in admitting the innings had taken a toll on his body. "I'm very tired because I'm 33-years-old. I'm an old man and my back and glutes are tight. I'll go and take an ice bath and get back on the field."
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