Skipper Sharma smashes 84-ball 131 as India thrash Afghanistan by eight wickets with 15 overs to spare at Kotla; star pacer Jasprit Bumrah shines with 4-39
Rohit Sharma celebrates his century against Afghanistan at New Delhi yesterday. Pics/Getty Images, AFP
At the halfway stage, Afghanistan might have felt they hadn’t done too badly. To have posted 272 for eight, their second-highest tally in World Cups, was a decent effort even if on the surface laid out at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, it was significantly below par.
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Afghanistan, however, were singularly unprepared for the Wednesday carnage Rohit Sharma unleashed at the Kotla. India’s affable skipper showed the opposition no mercy, alternating between breathtaking timing and muscular ball-striking to have the huge crowd eating out of his hands.
Records galore
Boundaries cascaded off the broad willow Rohit wielded like a scimitar as nobody was spared, not even the excellent Rashid Khan. The Mumbaikar raced to the fastest ODI hundred in World Cups by an Indian, off 63 deliveries. His 31st ODI hundred was also his seventh in all World Cups, the most by any batsman in the history of the tournament, India’s eight-wicket victory with 15 overs to spare a mere formality.
Jasprit Bumrah is ecstatic after claiming the wicket of Mohammad Nabi yesterday
Rohit and Ishan Kishan, again standing in for the indisposed Shubman Gill, destroyed Afghanistan with an opening salvo of 156, off just 112 deliveries. That sucked whatever fight was left in the opposition, Afghanistan served out a rude reminder of life in the big league.
The mellifluous music that flowed from Rohit’s bat shaded everything else, including a terrific spell of fast bowling from Jasprit Bumrah (4-39), another fabulous display of left-arm wrist spin from Kuldeep Yadav and an entertaining fourth-wicket stand of 121 between Afghan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and the young Azmatullah Omarzai, who justified his elevation to No. 5 with his highest limited-overs score.
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On an absolute shirtfront, Bumrah was brilliant up front, characteristically striking in his first spell and keeping things tight even as new-ball partner Mohammed Siraj had a rare off-day, leaking boundaries by the bushel. After a promising start on opting to bat, Afghanistan lost three wickets with just 63 on the board, Shardul Thakur (replacing R Ashwin) taking a smart catch to put birthday boy Hardik Pandya in business and then himself winning a leg before shout against Rahmat Shah.
Pandya breaks crucial stand
First carefully and then through a sudden shift of gears, Shahidi and Omarzai moved into the ascendancy with sparkling strokeplay. India were a little rattled until Pandya produced a peach of a slower delivery to evict Omarzai and when Shahidi perished to reverse sweep against Kuldeep, they lost their way and perhaps fell 20 shy of where they might have wished to.
That may not have counted for much on the evidence of what unfolded after the interval. Kishan watched, transfixed, from the best seat in the ground as Rohit launched an assault of staggering proportions. Long before the captain was dismissed by Rashid on the sweep, it was game, set and match India, by a mile.
Seven
Total number of centuries by Rohit Sharma in World Cups, the most by any batsman, to surpass batting icon Sachin Tendulkar
556
No. of sixes smashed by Rohit in international matches, the most by any batsman, to go past WI legend Chris Gayle (553)
Brief scores
Afghanistan 272-8 in 50 overs (H Shahidi 80, A Omarzai 62; J Bumrah 4-39, H Pandya 2-43) lost to India 273-2 in 35 overs (R Sharma 131, V Kohli 55*, I Kishan 47;
R Khan 2-57) by 8 wickets
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