Exactly 11 years ago, during the 12th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup between Bermuda and India in 2007 at Port of Spain, India scored 413-5 in their allotted quota of 50 overs. It was their then highest ODI total against any opposition.
After being beaten by Bangladesh by 5 wickets at the same venue in their first match, India was undoubtedly under a bit of pressure. The Indian batsmen, who had failed to put on a substantial total in the first match, came back strongly to score a mammoth total.
Irving Romaine, the then captain of Bermuda’s team, had put India in to bat after winning the toss. Tinkering with the batting order, India had sent in Robin Uthappa to open the innings alongside Sourav Ganguly. The move backfired as Uthappa (3) was dismissed in the second over. He was caught at first slip by Dwayne Leverock, a video which is till date liked by the fans.
Uthappa’s dismissal was followed by a 202-run partnership between Ganguly (89) and Virender Sehwag. In the process, Sehwag had hit his eighth ODI century, 114 (87), with the help of 17 fours and three sixes. By the end of 30 overs, India’s score had reached 210-2 as they were looking set for a record-breaking total.
The record wouldn’t have broken without the contribution of Yuvraj Singh (83) and Sachin Tendulkar (57), who shared a 122-run stand for the fifth wicket. These runs had been scored off mere 62 balls which helped India to touch the 400-run mark. India eventually ended their innings on 413-5.
They broke their eight-year-old record of scoring 376-2 in 50 overs against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999.
The opposition batsmen stood no chance against the Indian bowling line-up. There was no moment in the match when they came close to chasing the Indian total. They were bundled out for 156 in 43.1 overs. David Hemp, who came in to bat at No. 4, top-scored with 76* (105). His innings comprised of nine fours and a six.
With bowling figures of 10-0-38-3, Ajit Agarkar was the pick of the Indian bowlers. Winning the match by 257 runs, it is till date India’s biggest margin of victory in ODIs. Their previous best was by 200 runs against Bangladesh at Dhaka in 2003.
Watch the full video of the Indian innings:
