New Zealand vs West Indies, 4th Quarter-Final

Guptill 237*; Earlier, McCullum came out all guns blazing, but Holder took an excellent catch off Jerome Taylor to send him back to the pavilion. Runs flowed smoothly from Kane Williamson's bat before Russell snared his wicket. West Indies also would rue the fact that Marlon Samuels dropped a catch at square leg to give Guptill a reprieve in the very first over of the innings.

Once he completed his century, Guptill touched noteworthy crests by playing power-packed shots. In the 38th over, he twinned brilliant wrist-work and power to clout Taylor for 16 runs. By then he had already muscled Darren Sammy for a 101-metre six. He also clobbered Jason Holder for two sixes in the 43rd over and reached his double century in style with a boundary. To put the icing on the cake, the six he smashed off Andre Russell in the final over was a 110-metre six! Ross Taylor too played his part by playing a useful hand to score 42. Unlike Guptill, Taylor didn't exactly bisect the gaps to send the fielders on a leather hunt. However, it was his partnership with Guptill that helped New Zealand to set the platform for a monstrous total. Once Taylor was dismissed, Grant Elliott played imperious strokes as well.

Guptill played with placid calmness at the start of his innings as he looked to present the full face of the bat to collect boundaries straight down the ground. Jerome Taylor bowling half-volleys didn't help West Indies' cause. Despite losing Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson, Guptill continued to unfurl a series of boundaries to put more pressure on the opposition.

Martin Guptill, with his sparkling spread of run-scoring made the opposition camp feel the full weight of his meaty willow to crack a believe-it-or-not innings of 237 not out and take them to a massive total. Guptill with his double hundred broke a slew of records. Guptill turned out to be only the second batsman to crack a double ton in World Cups and broke the record for the highest individual score in World Cups. Interestingly, Chris Gayle's double hundred also came in this mega event. His knock is the second highest individual score in the history of ODIs. He became the first batsman from New Zealand to compile back-to-back centuries in the history of the World Cup. Guptill scored consecutive hundreds for the second time in his ODI career. He is only the second batsman from his country to amass a score of 100 plus in a knockout game. He now holds the record for the highest individual score by a cricketer from New Zealand as well.

Some of the crowd wearing the orange t-shirt bow down to Martin Guptill for his brilliance, while Mrs. Guptill gets very emotional in the stands. He gets a standing ovation now. Phew! What a knock. So if you are dropped on 4, you go on to make a double-hundred I guess. Remember, Rohit Sharma was dropped on 4, when he made 264 at the Eden Gardens a few months ago.