India v West Indies in India, 2011-12

At Indore, December 8, 2011 (day/night). India won by 153 runs. Toss: India. One-day international debut: R. Sharma.

Sehwag blasted his way to the highest score in one-day international cricket, and India to an unassailable 3-1 series lead. Opting to bat first on a placid track, he started quickly and never let up. It mattered little if the bowler or the field changed, or whether a powerplay was in operation: his first hundred took 69 balls, the second 71. Sehwag had always been among the foremost candidates to break Tendulkar's record of 200 not out (against South Africa less than two years earlier at Gwalior, in the same state of Madhya Pradesh) and he did it in the 44th over, with a fierce cut to the rope at third man. Tendulkar missed the mayhem - he was flying to Australia to prepare for India's upcoming Test series. Sehwag eventually fell for 219, including 25 fours and seven sixes in 149 balls. India ended with a massive 418 for five - their highest in a one-day international; there had been only three higher totals. The margin of West Indies' defeat would have been even bigger had it not been for a plucky 96 from Ramdin, after they slumped to 168 for eight. Rahul Sharma, a lanky leg-spinner from Punjab who had prospered during the previous IPL, took three for 43 on debut, but this was a game destined to be remembered for one extraordinary performance.

Man of the Match: V. Sehwag.