Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, OCT 11: India beat Afghanistan by eight wickets in the ninth match of the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, on Wednesday.
Rohit Sharma’s unstoppable knock of 131 runs off just 84 deliveries, which included 16 fours and five sixes, was the difference between the two teams as the Blues massively improved their net run rate by chasing down the 273-run target in just 35 overs.
Sharma provided his side with a glittering start, completing his half-century in just 30 balls as the Blues were 94-0 in the first 10 overs.
The dominating start gave the Indian openers much room to play as Sharma’s partner, Ishan Kishan, scored 47 runs but couldn’t complete his half-century as fell prey to Rashid Khan’s googly.
However, Sharma continued with his charge against the Afghani bowlers courtesy of support from Virat Kohli on the other hand but he lost his wicket to Rashid after posting 131 runs.
Kohli was the second top-scorer for the Blues by contributing 55 runs in an important win.
It must be noted that Rohit Sharma broke several records during his remarkable innings against Afghanistan.
He became the player with the most sixes (555) in international cricket, overtaking West Indies’ Chris Gayle.
He also became the batter with the most (7) World Cup centuries, overtaking his countryman Sachin Tendulkar.
The 36-year-old scored his seventh ton in just his 19th World Cup innings, he is followed by Tendulkar who scored six centuries in 44 innings.
Batting first, batting first, Afghanistan set a 273-run target for India courtesy of a 121-run partnership between their skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai with the former contributing 80 runs, and the latter 62.
Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers for the home side with his fantastic 4-39 spell in 10 overs while all-rounder Hardik Pandya was the second highest wicket-taker with 2 scalps to his name.
The Blues will now take on Pakistan in the most anticipated match of the World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium on October 14.
Both teams are in great form, as Pakistan recorded the biggest chase in the World Cup history against Sri Lanka on Tuesday while India battered Afghanistan today.
