World Cup: Martin Guptill's 237 was classical batting at its ODI best

It’s always the quiet ones you have to watch out for. If any team was going to challenge New Zealand in this World Cup, despite the bang-and-bash of Baz McCullum, they were going to account for Kane Williamson. He has been the quiet one; quietly shepherding the Blackcaps through with classical batting technique and calm-amidst-the-storm disposition. Australia found that out few weeks ago as he ended the game with straight six in Auckland. West Indies would have paid a lot of attention to these two, made a lot of plans. They even executed them on the field removing McCullum and Williamson for a combined 45 runs in the 4th Quarterfinal at Wellington. But then, it was Martin Guptill that was the actual ‘quiet one’. He had sailed under the radar so far in the World Cup due to New Zealand’s spectacular seam bowlers and their gambling captain hogging all the headlines. And so the West Indies paid dearly. When Marlon Samuels dropped a straightforward chance at square leg off Guptill (on 4 then) on the 4th ball of the innings, no one would have had any idea how expensive it was going to be. As it turned out, 233 runs. Whether with the bat or with the ball, McCullum has resorted to attacking as his primary mode of operation. Four slips, 8-1 field setting, or his own strike rate of 185 all point to that. But Vettori with the ball and Williamson with the bat have provided the counterweight to the all out aggression in this tournament. [caption id=“attachment_2166379” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] New Zealand’’s Martin Guptill celebrates after scoring a double century. AP[/caption] However, in the last group game against Bangladesh and in the quarterfinal against West Indies, it has been Guptill who has ensured, with his cautious and fundamentally sound approach to run-making, that New Zealand do not get consumed by their own uber-aggressive approach. In the first couple of over from Jerome Taylor, Guptill caressed three straight drives, to a purist’s delight, missing the stumps at the other end only by inches. When Suleiman Benn was brought on early, Guptill displayed his footwork and flexi-wrists by cutting him square, repeatedly and cutting him late, often. John Arlott’s words “He played a cut so late as to be positively posthumous” came to mind as Guptill seemed to be almost taking the ball out of Denesh Ramdin’s gloves before guiding them to the boundary rope. When he reached his third consecutive 50+ score of the World Cup, the adoring crowds at the “Cake Tin” gave Guptill a standing ovation. Little would they know then that they would repeat it few more times, only louder and for longer, as Guptill sped past his 7th ODI hundred, 2nd 150, the highest score by a Kiwi in a World Cup, and first ODI double century by a Kiwi, and Chris Gayle’s 215 to the highest individual score in a World cup. By the time he was done, only Rohit Sharma’s 264 was still ahead of him, and Kumar Sangakkara’s tally of 541 well within his sights as the tournament’s top run scorer. He played the shot of the innings when he deftly maneuvered an on-drive just past the right of the mid-on fielder, while keeping the midwicket interested in the chase as it rolled across the turf all the way to the boundary. The fact that the two earlier deliveries from the bowler Darren Sammy, Guptill tried the shot only to find the mid on fielder, made the boundary drive that much more enjoyable. Amidst all the aesthetic pleasure he was delivering for the viewers, there were shots of immense power – not hit in anger though – including a 101m monster six. He deposited another one, his 10th, on the roof of the Cake Tin, only the second batsman to do so. He flashed a V-sign to the dressing room, to indicate that he was the second after his batting coach Craig McMillan, who was enjoying this record-setting batting display from the pavilion. A particular shot of Guptill’s encapsulated his entire innings. It was the 5th delivery of the 45th over. Jason Holder delivered a full delivery from around the wicket. Guptill, already on 176, drove the ball over long-on for a six. The beauty was in the follow through. Even as his hands swung through, his head was over the ball and stayed there without looking up curiously to watch where the ball is headed. A top level professional golfer would be proud with the shape he maintained through that shot. Devastating batting founded on solid batting basics. As he walked off with 237* against his name, Guptill still didn’t say much to the commentator, but he can no longer be the quiet one. The crowd of 30,000 that serenaded by chanting his name have made sure every team has heard, loud and clear, the record of Martin Guptill.