As Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli blasted India to a famous victory over Australia in Jaipur on Wednesday, it wasn't just the record books that were sent tumbling.
An exhibition of batting at its finest, which saw a sustained barrage from the home side in their chase of 359, brought a timely reminder of just how captivating the 50-over game can be when played at its best.
Of course, expressions of amazement will flood in for India's 362-1 effort in just 44.3 overs. Ditto for Kohli's brutal 52-ball century—the seventh-fastest ODI hundred of all time.
Yet amid the hoopla surrounding the astonishing chase, a critically important storyline emerged.
Every ball that soared high into the skies seemingly shattered glass-like panes of perception regarding the death of ODI cricket. Every delivery sent blazing to the boundary appeared to burn the obituaries that had been written for the maligned format.
Here, we witnessed the very pinnacle of limited-overs cricket. For the game's supporters who continue to resist Twenty20's allure, the match served as justification for their stance: Flashiness has never been anything without substance, fireworks have always been spectacularly irrelevant without a supporting story.
While cricket and its administrators continue to fix their gaze on the Twenty20 phenomenon, the original revolutionary of the sport clearly showed on Wednesday that it's not done with yet.
Despite the game's apparent trek down a dead-end path, ODI cricket's appeal has merely been temporarily forgotten rather than completely removed.
After all, the ICC 50-over World Cup remains the sport's marquee event.
Highest ODI Chases:
| Score | Team | Opposition | Date |
| 438-9 | South Africa | Australia | Mar 12, 2006 |
| 362-1 | India | Australia | Oct 16, 2013 |
| 350-9 | New Zealand | Australia | Feb 20, 2007 |
| 340-5 | New Zealand | Australia | Feb 18, 2007 |
| 334-8 | Australia | England | Feb 2, 2011 |
Perhaps what most separates the 50-over format from its little brother is the ever-present emphasis on building an innings, due to ODI cricket's extended duration.
Whereas the Twenty20 game is something akin to baseball's home-run contest, the traditional limited-overs format retains some of the nuances that make cricket unique from other sports.
It's true that a quick glance at the scorecard suggests India's innings was simply a wild slug-fest. Yet that would ignore the patience and application showed by the team's opening pair in the early stages of the spectacular chase.
Both Sharma and Dhawan carefully navigated their way through the opening confrontations with Australia's Mitchell Johnson and Clint McKay, clearly acknowledging that wickets in hand were key. The pair's initial dealings with their opposition's spinners were also marked with a degree of caution.
In contrast to the Twenty20 arena, an obvious degree of composure was shown by the openers, an understanding that the construction of a platform was the critical component.
It was this sumptuous blend of wildly attacking cricket, interspersed with tactical nous and patience, that made it clear why ODI cricket remains superior to the Twenty20 game as a measure of all-round ability.
Sharma's rotation of the strike and working over of Australia's fielders were almost as impressive as his colossus hitting. The way both he and Dhawan exchanged periods of dominance and brutality was a reflection of the true partnerships that can be built in ODI cricket.
The perfect launchpad that had been created allowed Kohli to play the sort of innings that cricket fans will want to re-live over and over again. His stunning ability to find effortless power in a vast array of strokes made his unforgettable century one of the most outstanding innings of the year.
That it came in the ODI arena was a rather timely occurrence for cricket.
The availability of 50 overs also ensured that the show wasn't short-lived, allowing us the extended pleasure of watching limited-overs batting at its finest. Had this match instead been a Twenty20 fixture, we would have been left watching only the opening scenes of a Martin Scorsese classic.
Furthermore, the length of India's assault on Australia provided a compelling narrative for the remainder of the series.
Had the hammering been only brief, the game would have been cast aside as an aberration. However, with the visitors being forced to endure a slow and painful death, the psychological scars of this encounter will continue to linger.
It must be remembered that part of what makes cricket so captivating is gradually watching a story evolve. The opportunity to watch Australia attempt a rapid recovery in time for the third match of the series on Saturday will be absolutely fascinating.
It's that storyline that Twenty20 cricket can't quite deliver. Behind the glamour and bright lights, the true identity and fabric of the game is somewhat missing.
That small difference is an edge that the 50-over game holds, which in light of such a breathtaking exhibition, is something that needs to be treasured.
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