Rattled by the shock defeat against Bangladesh, India unleashed their frustration on a hapless Bermuda to script a record 257-run victory and keep themselves afloat for a berth in the Super Eight.The beleaguered Indians gave a stunning exhibition of strokeplay to pile up 413 for five, the highest ever score in the history of the World Cup and then skittled out the minnows for a paltry 156 in 43.1 overs to record the highest-ever winning margin in the showpiece event.The contest at the Queen’s Park Oval also saw the struggling Virender Sehwag mark his return to vintage form with a scintillating 114. With the Indian batsmen going berserk, it rained fours and sixes and in all, the Indian innings witnessed 30 boundaries and a record-equalling 18 sixes in the Group B fixture.Apart from Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly (89), Yuvraj Singh (83) and Sachin Tendulkar (57 not out) were the notable scorers in India’s run riot. After the run deluge, Bermuda were out for 156 in 43.1 overs. David Hemp, who plays county cricket for Glamorgan, stood tall amid ruins with an unbeaten knock of 76, the first half-century in World Cup by a Bermudian. Hemp hit one six and nine boundaries before running out of partners. There might have been a weakness the bowling attack, but Bermuda at least doubled their run production from 78 against Sri Lanka — when they were bowled out in 24.4 overs, to 156 on Monday. Veteran leggie Anil Kumble, who replaced Harbhajan Singh in the match, and pacer Ajit Agarkar grabbed three wickets apiece, while pace spearhead Zaheer Khan started the rot claiming two early wickets.Put into bat, Sehwag and Ganguly first led the fireworks with a 202-run second wicket stand and later Yuvraj and Tendulkar (57 not out) finished off the run-riot with 122 runs for the fifth wicket.
