New Delhi: India registered their second consecutive win in the ODI World Cup 2023, defeating Afghanistan by 8 wickets with 15 overs to spare in the ninth match of the tournament in Lucknow on Wednesday. The star of the show was captain Rohit Sharma, who smashed a historic century and broke several records in the process.
India, who were chasing a target of 273 runs, got off to a flying start as Rohit and Ishan Kishan added 156 runs for the first wicket in 18.4 overs. Rohit reached his hundred in just 63 balls, the fastest by an Indian in the World Cup history. He also became the player with the most centuries in the World Cup, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of six.
Rohit was eventually dismissed for 131 off 84 balls, hitting 16 fours and five sixes. Ishan Kishan also fell soon after for 47 off 47 balls, with five fours and two sixes. Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer then completed the chase with an unbeaten partnership of 109 runs for the third wicket. Kohli scored his eighth World Cup fifty, while Iyer chipped in with 25 runs.
Kohli remained not out on 55 off 56 balls, with six fours, while Iyer scored 25 off 31 balls, with two fours. India reached their target in 35 overs, scoring 276 for 2. India’s win was also their biggest in terms of balls remaining in a World Cup chase.
Earlier, Afghanistan, who opted to bat first, posted a respectable total of 272 for 8 in their 50 overs, thanks to a fine knock by captain Hashmatullah Shahidi. Shahidi scored 80 off 85 balls, with eight fours and a six, and shared a crucial stand of 121 runs for the fourth wicket with Azmatullah Omarzai.
Omarzai played an aggressive innings of 69 off 69 balls, with two fours and four sixes. He took on the Indian spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, who went wicketless and conceded 80 and 64 runs respectively in their 10 overs each. Mohammad Siraj also had a forgettable outing, leaking 76 runs in nine overs without any success.
Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the Indian bowlers, taking four wickets for 39 runs in his 10 overs. He dismissed Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and also bowled two maiden overs. This was Bumrah’s best performance against Afghanistan in the ODI format, and his second four-wicket haul in the World Cup.
Hardik Pandya also bowled well, taking two wickets for 43 runs in seven overs. He removed Shahidi and Omarzai in quick succession to break their partnership. Kuldeep Yadav and Shardul Thakur took one wicket each, getting rid of Ibrahim Zadran and Gulbadin Naib respectively.
India will face arch-rivals Pakistan in their next match on October 14 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. This will be a high-voltage clash as both teams have won all their matches so far in the tournament. Afghanistan will take on Sri Lanka on October 15 at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur.
