While Virender Sehwag was barnstorming his way to a world-record 219 in the fourth ODI against the West Indies at Indore on Thursday, his longtime partner sitting thousands of miles away in the Antipodes would have had a specially fond smile on his face. Sachin Tendulkar, who was first across the 200-run barrier in limited-overs cricket, was among the earliest to respond to the Nawab of Najafgarh’s stupendous feat — for who better than he would understand what it takes to score that many runs within the defined space of a 50-over innings. Talk is that Sehwag carries a recording of Tendulkar’s 200 against South Africa scored at Gwalior two years ago as inspiration, and on Thursday he showed that lessons had been learnt from such a close story of the master in action. That, however, is as far as comparisons between the two innings go. Where Tendulkar’s double century was the classical compilation, Sehwag’s was an exhilarating mix of savagery and entertainment. At the best of times, no one really knows what to expect when he walks out to bat — some suggest even Sehwag does not. But on the day, this much at least was clear — he had opted to hit straight as often as he could, as his count of straight-field sixes out would suggest. There was for once, it must be said, a method in his madness. Which is why Australia — who host India in an extended series starting later
this month — must be reconsidering their Sehwag-oriented plans — and in a hurry.