Rohit Sharma’s magnificent 131 inspired India to an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Afghanistan at the packed Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Sharma, who looked imperious in touch, struck a 30-ball half-century before reaching his 100 in just 63 deliveries to conjure up his seventh World Cup hundred in just 19 innings, moving him away from Sachin’s record Tendulkar while surpassing that of Chris Gayle. record for hitting the most sixes in international cricket across all formats.
Afghanistan posted a solid 272-8 with skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (80) smashing a promising knock and Azmatullah Omarzai (62) following suit, but fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah (4-39) and birthday boy Hardik Pandya (2-43) restricted them. below 300, allowing comfortable pursuit.
In response, Afghanistan struggled to take wickets, with the first breakthrough only coming in the 19th over with Ishan Kishan (48) taking the lead over Rashid Khan (2-57), with Ibrahim Zadran taking a simple catch and the Indian opener starting three he misses a half-century.
The leg-spinner also bowled Sharma (131) – the only other wicket to fall in India’s innings – after inviting him to a false shot and hitting center stump after hitting 16 fours and five sixes for achieving India’s fastest World Cup century, beating a 72-ball effort from Kapil Dev in 1983.
The impressive victory saw India move up to second place in the rankings, behind New Zealand in terms of net progression rate, while Afghanistan dropped to 10th place.
Sharma’s batting lights up Delhi
Sharma and Kishan shared an opening partnership worth 156, but they set the tone of the match in the powerplay as they galloped to 94-0 in 10 overs.
The Afghan bowlers looked frustrated and turned to their trusty wicket-taker Rashid who removed Kishan to calm the Indian fans.
Rashid removed Sharma to leave the hosts 205-2, but with just 68 more runs needed and Virat Kohli’s arrival at the crease, victory was already in sight.
Kohli added 55 to reach back-to-back half-centuries in his World Cup campaign while Shreyas Iyer (25) helped anchor the innings.
In the 35th over, India needed four more runs to win and Kohli smashed a four straight off Azmatullah to complete the box office attraction.
Afghanistan continues to improve
Before this World Cup, India played 66 one-day international matches compared to Afghanistan’s 29, a stark difference which was evident in their performances.
Hashmatullah and Azmatullah made valiant attempts to help their team reach a decent total on a flat pitch after winning the toss and electing to bat.
Opening pair Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran shared a stand of 32 (40), but all-rounder Pandya struck in the seventh over to catch Zadran behind, while Shardul Thakur produced a terrific juggling catch to dismiss the former.
Afghanistan fell to 63-3 in the 13th place, but Hashmatullah and Azmatullah’s stand of 121 (128) – the second highest partnership for Afghanistan – showed signs of encouragement as they reached 229-6 .
But Bumrah mopped up the tail to remove Najibullah Zadran (two) and Mohammad Nabi (19) before dismissing Rashid (16).
Afghanistan have improved since their 156 all out against Bangladesh on Saturday, but facing Sharma, a master of his trade, was always going to prove difficult.
“It was a special feeling” – Sharma
Player of the match and Indian captain Rohit Sharma:
“I knew once I got my eye in the wicket it would become easier and easier to bat. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. I’m glad I was able to go a little big and it was a special feeling. and it’s always special to score a hundred in a World Cup.
“I don’t want to think too much about records. There’s a long way to go and I don’t want to lose my focus. I want to focus on what the team expects of me.
“It’s my job to be at the top of the order to make sure we get the start we want, especially in a chase, and to put the team in a comfortable position. I want to support myself for continue to do this. It’s important We must not lose this state of mind and continue to put pressure on the opposition.”
“We will try to learn from our mistakes” – Shahidi
Afghan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi:
“We had a target of over 300 in these conditions, especially since the Indian batting line-up is strong.
“The surface was good so we wanted to score runs and put pressure on the opposition, but back-to-back wickets cost us. We will try to learn from our mistakes and come back with a positive attitude.”
And after?
Hosts India travel to Ahmedabad for their next Cricket World Cup group match where they will face Pakistan on Saturday. (9am on Sky Sports Cricket, first ball at 9.30am).
Afghanistan face England on Sunday in Delhi (9am on Sky Sports Cricket, first ball at 9.30am).