Martin Guptill celebrates his century against West Indies.
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Martin Guptill created history when he became the first New Zealand player to hit a double century in ODIs. He achieved the feat in the fourth quarter-final of World Cup 2015 against West Indies on Saturday. He became the second player to hit a World Cup double ton after Chris Gayle scored 215 vs Zimbabwe earlier in the tournament. The right-hander became the fifth player to score 200 in this format (It was the sixth occasion as Rohit Sharma had achieved the feat twice).(Live Scorecard|Live Updates)
Guptill went past Gayle to become the highest individual scorer in World Cups. Later on, he crossed Virender Sehwag (219) to have the second highest individual score in ODIs after Rohit Sharma (264). He is now the only cricketer to have scored more than 150 in a World Cup knockout match. He is also the only Kiwi to have two scores in� excess of 150 in ODIs. His previous best was 189 against England in 2013.
The innings however did not start with so much aggression. Guptill came out to open the innings after Brendon McCullum opted to bat. However, the skipper fell in the fifth over with West Indies getting the early breakthrough courtesy Jason Holder's running catch off Jerome Taylor. Although Guptill himself was dropped early on, it had little effect on Guptill as he partnered Kane Williamson next to keep the runs coming.
The cornerstone of Guptill's knock was his orthodox stroke-play - each shot coming almost straight out of cricket coaching manuals. He steadily accumulated runs and despite losing Williamson along the way, reached his fifty off 64 balls.
Reaching his fifty was only a sign of bigger and better things to come as Guptill switched to top gear with ease. Runs continued to flow as he reached his seventh ODI hundred off 111 balls.
This was Guptill's second consecutive ton in the World Cup. He made 105 against Bangladesh in the final league match which ensured New Zealand remained unbeaten in Pool A. The Kiwi opener has had a mixed World Cup with scores of 49, 17, 22, 11 and 57 in the first five games. Fans would now cheer louder as after some good starts, Guptill has begun converting them into big knocks.
Guptill raced to his 150 and it was just a matter of time before he reached the landmark of 200. His innings was graced with 21 fours and 8 sixes. He achieved the milestone in 152 balls.
The 28-year-old used the long handle to good effect in the middle and death overs as all his clean hits cleared the ropes by miles. His late charged ensured that West Indies would have a steep chase ahead of them.
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