It took almost four decades for a batsman to score a double-century in one-day international cricket.
That landmark was reached by Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar, who hit an unbeaten 147-ball 200 against South Africa in February 2010. Such was the size of the achievement, it seemed unimaginable that anyone would surpass 'The Little Master' in the near future.
However, just a mere 22 months after Tendulkar's heroics at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium and four years ago today, teammate Virender Sehwag not only matched those exploits, he bettered them.
Facing the West Indies for the fourth time in what was a five-match series, hosting India took a 2-1 lead into the clash at the Holkar Cricket Stadium.
Sehwag, who in the absence of the rested MS Dhoni captained the side, won the toss and elected to bat first against the men from the Caribbean.
He opened alongside Gautam Gambhir and after his second ball was hit for four, he simply did not stop. The 33-year-old reached 50 off 41 balls, 100 off 69 and 150 off 112 thanks to a variety of trademark Sehwag shots.
There was also the odd bit of luck along the way, having survived two run-out chances and a couple of dropped catches, but he eventually went beyond Tendulkar's 200 off just 140 deliveries.
A further 19 runs were added to the Delhi-born batsman's score before he was finally dismissed in the 47th over when he lofted Kieron Pollard's bouncing ball to substitute fielder Anthony Martin at long-off. As he departed the field, most of the West Indies fielders passed on their congratulations to the record-breaker.
His knock of 219 runs helped India to post a total of 418-5 from their 50 overs, which was a national record. Aside from Sehwag, Gambhir (67) and Suresh Raina (55) both made useful quickfire contributions.
Dealt with such a mammoth victory target, the tourists had to throw caution to the wind and consequently wickets fell at a regular rate.
In the end they were bowled out four balls short of 50 overs for 265 runs, which was 153 adrift of what was required. Denesh Ramdin was their top scorer thanks to his run-a-ball 96.
Speaking after his side's victory, Sehwag said: "I was cheering for Sachin when he got his double hundred and it's great to break his record. I think everyone was expecting me to get 200 but I was not expecting it.
Meanwhile, West Indies skipper Darren Sammy added: "Sehwag has destroyed bowlers all over the world. We bowled some good balls but he played better shots."
Sehwag held on to top spot for almost three years, only to be replaced at the summit by another Indian - Rohit Sharma, who smashed 264 runs against Sri Lanka. New Zealand's Martin Guptill also went beyond Sehwag earlier this year when he posted an unbeaten 237 against the West Indies.
Virender Sehwag 219 Runs Vs West Indies Video... by whataaavideo
Liam Apicella
