Those who actually understand the Duckworth-Lewis method might be able to explain to the duffers among us how a team batting second can win a game by 84 runs. But that's a minor quibble. The bigger picture is this. India's romp to victory today amid the rains in Hamilton sealed a first one-day series triumph in New Zealand, and continued a stunning run of form dating back to last August.
Apart from comfortably outclassing Australia in a four-Test series and pulling off a scarcely believable final-day run-chase against England in Chennai, they have annihilated Sri Lanka, England and now New Zealand in the 50-over format. Only South Africa now stand between them and the tag of the best one-day side in the world.
The Hamilton game was reduced to utter farce by one man. In that Chennai Test last December, England were reminded of what Virender Sehwag can do when he goes out with a licence to flay. At Seddon Park, with the boundaries within pitching-wedge range, it was as hideous a mismatch as Muhammad Ali against Brian London. New Zealand had actually put a decent score on the board, 270 from 47 overs, but no D-L method or complicated charts were required to emphasise India's dominance as Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir careered to 201 from just 23.3 overs. Daniel Vettori called it a "good, old-fashioned hiding". It was.
Sehwag's century spanned just 60 balls, the fastest ever by an Indian. By the time the raindrops kept falling on his head, he had pounded 14 fours and six sixes. It was reminiscent of the Kensington Oval in April 2007, when Sri Lanka didn't know where to look as Adam Gilchrist teed off with part of a golf ball in his gloves. Only this time, there was no World Cup at stake.
To add insult to considerable Kiwi injury, Sehwag and Gambhir weren't even supposed to open together. The Delhi Daredevils duo have been separated thanks to the return of Sachin Tendulkar, but on this occasion, the man with a mere 84 international centuries was watching from the sidelines, resting a stomach-muscle strain he picked up while playing an epic innings at Christchurch.
Tendulkar, whose appetite for runs is as insatiable as Wilt the Stilt Chamberlain's desire for female company, scored 163 that day and might have become the first man to breach the 200-run barrier but for the injury that forced him off. Not that it mattered much. India still piled up 392, with Suresh Raina coming in and swatting sixes with a nonchalance that was chilling to watch.
Since he's never been one for hyperbole, Tendulkar's words tend to resonate more than most. So, when he told the post-match press conference that it was that strongest batting line-up that he had been part of, it created quite a tizzy. "We've got five or six guys who can clear the rope at will," he said. "If you have a good four or five overs in a row, we could end up scoring 50-plus runs. At the back of the mind, we know that with such an explosive line-up no target is impossible."
In Christchurch, he and Yuvraj Singh had amassed 69 runs in the five overs of batting Powerplay, pinging the ball to all corners of the ground with disdain. And yet, it was hard to escape the impression that Tendulkar was so unfettered only because Sehwag had experienced a rare failure. "When Sehwag is batting, obviously one guy is taking more chances than the other," he said in his understated manner. "So it's sensible to hang back a bit and let him play the big shots and rotate the strike.
"Attacking the ball being his strength, we have worked out a strategy which has worked so far. When I am striking the ball well, I will be playing my shots. It's not that I am looking to block. If I get a loose ball in the initial part of the innings, I will put it away."
Once upon a time, Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were one of the most feted opening partnerships in the game. And when India reached the World Cup final in 2003, they also had that most reliable of anchormen, Rahul Dravid. But for all their skills, neither Ganguly or Dravid – with more than 10,000 ODI runs each – would be certain of a place in this XI. Taking their cue perhaps from Australia at the last World Cup, these boys play one-day cricket on speed. The Powerplays are devastating, but even a spread-out field doesn't slow things down. The likes of Yuvraj, Raina and Yusuf Pathan hit sixes with such ridiculous ease that Mahendra Singh Dhoni can now afford to play himself before unleashing his own whippy brand of destruction.
Greater challenges lie ahead, on more testing pitches than these, but for the moment this is a team whose progress is irresistible. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Subramaniam Badrinath, who could grace most international sides, can't even get a look in, with those in harness keenly aware that failure isn't an option. He may sometimes miss his old mates, but Tendulkar knows his cricket. The game has moved on, and right now no one's playing it better than his new protégés.
