Virender Sehwag (74 not out, 57b, 11x4) and Sachin Tendulkar entertained a buzzing Wankhede stadium crowd with trademark batting as India breezed past a modest 150 target set by West Indies in the UnAcademy Road Safety World Series match here on Saturday.
The pair, skilled at creating space for full-blooded strokes, raced to an 83-run stand as India won by seven wickets, reaching the target in the 19th over.
Two boundaries off Pedro Collins by Tendulkar — a slash to point and a glide off his hips to fine leg — set the stands alight. He smashed seven fours in a 29-ball 36 before nicking to the wicketkeeper. For the Sehwag fans in a packed stadium, the master had gone but a maestro was at work.
Earlier, Zaheer Khan proved that control over length, ability to bowl swinging yorkers and respect from batsmen had not been diluted. The India pace spearhead delivered for his captain, taking two for 30 in four overs. Munaf Patel and Pragyan Ojha, too, bagged two wickets each to restrict WI to 150 for eight.
Lara’s name on the giant screen resulted in a roar going around the stadium. Wearing jersey No. 400, the left-hander hit the stride running against Zaheer. A slash to the point fence, followed by a drive through the line were fleeting glimpses which left the fans eager for more.
The scores: West Indies 150/8 in 20 overs (Shivnarine Chanderpaul 61, Darren Ganga 32, Zaheer Khan 2-30, Munaf Patel 2-24, Pragyan Ojha 2-27) lost to India 151/3 in 18.2 overs (Virender Sehwag 74 n.o., Sachin Tendulkar 36, Carl Hooper 2-19).
