World Cup: India thrash Afghanistan; Rohit Sharma breaks several records
India claimed their second successive win of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup after beating Afghanistan in Delhi. The Men in Blue successfully chased 273, with Rohit Sharma leading from the front. He slammed a record-breaking seventh World Cup century. Star batter Virat Kohli also scored 55* as India won in 35 overs. Earlier, India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah took a four-wicket haul.
A look at the match summary
Afghanistan lost three wickets under 100 after electing to bat. Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai added 121 runs to regain momentum. Hardik Pandya broke the stand, while Bumrah's exploits restricted the Afghans. Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman took Afghanistan to 272/8. The run-chase remained one-sided as Rohit alone smacked 131. Ishan Kishan, Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer also starred in India's eight-wicket victory.
A blazing knock from Rohit
India were off to a blazing start, scoring 94/0 in just 10 overs. Rohit scored 76 of these runs, while Ishan managed just 11. As per statistician Bharath Seervi, Rohit now has the most runs by an Indian in the first 10 overs of an ODI innings. Rohit wreaked havoc with an 84-ball 131 (16 fours and 5 sixes), his seventh World Cup ton.
Most World Cup centuries
As mentioned, Rohit has slammed his seventh hundred in the ODI World Cup. He broke a tie with Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar (6) and now has the most World Cup tons. Rohit smoked as many as five tons in 2019, the most by a batter in a World Cup edition. The Indian opener smashed a hundred in the 2015 event as well.
Fastest World Cup ton for India
Rohit raced to his century off 63 balls, now the fastest century for India in World Cup history. He broke the record of Indian legend Kapil Dev, who smashed a 72-ball century against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup.
Rohit becomes fastest Indian to 1,000 World Cup runs
During the innings, Rohit also became the fastest Indian batter to complete 1,000 runs in the World Cup. He took just 19 innings for it, having equaled Australia's David Warner. The duo now tops this list. Warner accomplished the milestone in Australia's opening WC match against India. Tendulkar was the previous fastest Indian to 1,000 WC runs (20 innings).
Most sixes in international cricket
Rohit broke another record in his whirlwind knock against Afghanistan. He now has the most sixes in international cricket. Rohit went past West Indies legend Chris Gayle, who has 553 maximums. With his third six, Rohit touched the 554-maximum mark. Notably, Pakistan's Shahid Afridi (476) is the only other batter than Rohit and Gayle with 400 or more sixes across formats.
Other notable records
As many as 29 of Rohit's ODI centuries have come while opening. He now has the second-most tons as an opener in the format. Rohit surpassed Sri Lankan veteran batter Sanath Jayasuriya, who smashed 28 centuries while opening. The former is only behind Tendulkar (45). Rohit now has the highest score for India while chasing in the World Cup.
Afghanistan's second-highest World Cup partnership
Afghanistan were reduced to 63/3 despite having a decent start. This exposed Afghanistan skipper Shahidi and Omarzai in the middle. The duo added 121 runs, now the second-highest partnership for Afghanistan in the ODI World Cups. This is Afghanistan's only 100-run stand against India in ODI cricket. Notably, it was also their highest fourth-wicket stand in the format.
Shahidi leads Afghanistan from the front
In the first innings, Shahidi led Afghanistan from the front with an 88-ball 80 (8 fours and 1 six). As per ESPNcricinfo, Shahidi owns the most fifty-plus scores for Afghanistan in ICC World Cup history (3). He also slammed Afghanistan's third-best individual score in the World Cup. Samiullah Shinwari (96 vs Scotland, 2015) and Ikram Alikhil (86 vs WI, 2019) are ahead of Shahidi.
Omarzai slams his second ODI fifty
Omarzai came to the middle after Afghanistan lost Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Rahmat Shah. Omarzai joined forces with Shahidi and took the Afghans forward. However, Hardik knocked Omarzai over in the 35th over. The latter smashed a 69-ball 62 (2 fours and 4 sixes), his second ODI fifty. In 15 ODIs, he has smashed 221 runs at 27.62.
Bumrah records his best World Cup figures
Bumrah came out all guns blazing against Afghanistan. He took four wickets for just 39 runs in 10 overs. Bumrah has registered his best bowling figures in the ODI World Cup (4/39). This was his second four-wicket haul in the tournament. The right-arm seamer now has 24 wickets from 11 World Cup matches at an incredible average of 18.54. His economy rate reads 4.27.
Kohli slams a host of records
Kohli (55*) registered his 50th fifty-plus score in ODIs on home soil. He has 21 tons and 29 fifties. In 113 home ODIs, he has racked up 5,643 runs at 58.78. Overall, Kohli now owns 13,223 runs in ODIs at 57.74. He slammed his 68th ODI fifty. In 28 World Cup matches, the 34-year-old has amassed 1,170 runs at 50.86 (100s: 2, 50s: 8).
