NEW DELHI: Indian skipper Rohit Sharma’s explosive 131 guided the Men in Blue to a comfortable 8-wicket victory against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the ongoing World Cup on Wednesday.
Afghanistan’s star-studded spin squadron failed to test the Indian batters as Rohit smashed them for boundaries all over the field. While chasing a target of 273, India got off to a flying start with the opening duo of Rohit and Ishan Kishan taking the fight to the Afghanistan bowlers.
India seemed to have adopted a T20I approach after adopting a careful approach for the initial overs. After the Indian captain struck a boundary in Fazalhaq Farooqi’s over, there was no looking back. Rohit lifted his bat in the eighth over completing his half-century in just 30 balls, and, as the end of the powerplay approached, India were enjoying a run rate of well above nine.
Rohit’s onslaught allowed him to finish the powerplay with a score of 76* with Kishan standing on the other end merely as a spectator with a score of 11*. In the 11th over, Kishan decided to pick up the pace of his innings while Rohit continued to score runs at his pace and scored a ton in the 18th over. His 63-ball hundred was the fastest-ever century scored by an India batter in a World Cup match.
India stumbled in the next over after Rashid Khan dismissed Kishan for 47. Kohli joined the the skipper at the crease driving India towards a comfortable victory. Rohit’s glorious night came to an end with Rashid picking up his second wicket of the night.
Shreyas Iyer came to join hands with Kohli who won the game with a beautiful boundary. Kohli and Iyer remained unbeaten with scores of 55* and 25*, respectively finishing the game with 15 overs to spare.
Earlier in the innings, Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and opted to bat. Afghanistan struggled early in their innings as they lost three wickets in the first 15 overs. Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai joined hands and stitched up a crucial 121-run partnership to bring Afghanistan back in the game.
After Omarzai’s wicket, Shahidi stayed on the pitch as Afghanistan passed the 200-run mark inside 40 overs, Bumrah came into the attack and a flurry of wickets followed as Afghanistan finished the game on 272/8.
Brief score: Afghanistan 272/8 (Shahidi 80, Azmatullah 62; Bumrah 4-39) vs India 273-2 (Rohit Sharma 131, Virat Kohli 55*; Rashid Khan 2-57). (ANI)