18 June,2019 07:30 PM IST | | mid-day online correspondent
Eoin Morgan in action against Afghanistan. Pic/Twitter ICC
In the ongoing Cricket World Cup, England captain Eoin Morgan smashed his way into the record books by blasting the fourth fastest World Cup century off just 57 balls and led his team to a mammoth total of 397/6 against a helpless Afghanistan side in Manchester today.
It was anticipated that Morgan may not be fully fit for the game against Afghanistan but the way the English captain smashed the Afghan bowlers outside the park it seemed as if the fielders were the spectators and the spectators were the fielders.
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In his 148 run innings, Morgan blasted 17 sixes, the most in one-day international cricket innings by any player in the history of the 50-over game format. Before Morgan, India's Rohit Sharma, West Indies' Chris Gayle, and South Africa's AB de Villiers shared the previous record of 16 sixes in a one-day international inning.
The flamboyant England captain scored more than hundred runs off sixes alone and hit only four fours in his innings of 148 off 71 balls. Once Morgan hit the maximum for the 17th time, he was caught out the very next ball in the deep.
The Irish-born cricketers century off 57 balls is the fourth-fastest in World Cup history. Morgan reached the 100 run mark with a six as well. Besides Eoin Morgan, England's mainstay Joe Root who displayed near-perfect batsmanship, missed out on a third consecutive hundred this World Cup as he fell for 88 off 82 balls.
Root and Morgan shared England's highest ever World Cup partnership (189), beating the 44-year-old record of 176 by Dennis Amiss and Keith Fletcher. Thanks to Morgan's six-hitting powerful batting and six-hitting spree, the English team amassed the highest score this World Cup, racing from 199/2 at the end of 35 overs to 397 at the end of the innings.
Here's how netizens are reacting to Eoin Morgan's blitzkrieg against Afganistan at the 2019 Cricket World Cup:
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