Team India got off to a perfect start in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 as they delivered a convincing performance against Afghanistan defeating them by 6 wickets in Delhi. A quickfire 100 from skipper Rohit Sharma made lightwork of Afghanistan’s total of 273 on a pitch that had considerable help for batters. Rohit Sharma also went past Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most hundreds for India in the ODI World Cup in only his third World Cup.
The last meeting between these two teams in the mega event saw India pull across in a closely fought encounter, thanks to Mohammed Shami’s hat trick. India’s batters led by Rohit Sharma made sure that a deja vu did not happen and made the chase of 273 seem like a cakewalk, with the skipper smashing the Afghanistan bowlers all around the park and Virat Kohli adding the finishing touches to the chase with a fifty in his home ground.
India made one change to the team that beat Australia with Ravichandran Ashwin making way for Shardul Thakur, an obvious move to bolster the batting in a pitch favoring batting. Afghanistan openers were choked for runs in the initial overs while facing razor-precision seam bowling from Jasprit Bumrah, albeit Mohammed Siraj conceded boundaries at the other end. Ibrahim Zadran smacked Siraj for four boundaries but was dismissed by Bumrah who for the ball to move on the seam.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz was a cut-copy-paste of his opening partner, who also fell cheaply after some clean striking. Shardul Thakur’s golden arm trapped Rahmat Shah before the wicket and Afghanistan at a score of 63-3. The following passage was the only time in the match where Afghanistan dominated proceedings as skipper Hashmattullah Shahidi and Asmattullah Omarzai dominated India’s spin twins and went on to stitch a 121-partnership, also forcing Rohit Sharma to force bowling changes.
With both batsmen in song and having completed their half-centuries Afghanistan seemed to be nearing the 300-run mark. Hardik Pandya’s slower ball cleaned up Omarzai thus opening the floodgates for the India bowlers. Skipper Shahidi’s impatience made him reverse-sweep a Kuldeep Yadav delivery which kept straight and caught him in front of the wicket. Jasprit Bumrah proved yet again why he’s considered the best death bowler in the world as he mixed up his pace and variations to pick 3 pickets in the last five overs.
India pulled things back in the slog overs, as Afgnaistan could only add 84 runs in their last 15 overs. Cameos from Rashid Khan and Mujib powered Afghanistan to 273 in their 50 overs, much less than they expected to register on a batting-friendly wicket.
As the Indian openers came into bat, Rohit Sharma seemed to be in his grove while Ishan Kishan struggled initially. However, Hitman gradually unleashed his fury on the Afghanistan bowlers, as records tumbled on the way. Rohit equaled David Warner’s record of the fastest player to get to 1000 runs in CWC in just 19 innings. Rohit also went past Chris Gayle’s record of the most number of sixes across all formats, going past the West Indian’s record of 545.
The Indian skipper was striking at 107 in the opening 10 overs and was already nearing his hundred. Ishan Kishan played the supporting anchor role as the Indian openers rollicked to 94 runs in the powerplay, the highest in this edition. Rohit Sharma got to his hundred in just 63 balls, the fastest by an Indian in the ODI cricket world cup, while scoring the 7th century in CWC.
The Afghanistan captain finally introduced their best bowler Rashid Khan in the 18th over, but enough damage had already been done by then. Rashid Khan picked the wicket of Ishan Kishan but was punished by Rohit in the following over. Virat Kohli came into bat among much fanfare in his home ground, which also saw him sort things out with Naveen Ul Haq.
Rohit Sharma was finally clean-bowled by Rashid Khan at 131, but Virat Kohli along with Shreyas Iyer finishing the game in just 35-overs, bolstering India’s runrate.
You have got players with different skill sets in our team. They bring different attributes of the game to the team and it puts you in good positions as a team when you have that – Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma was speaking in the post-match presentation after his Man of the Match-winning performance and lauded his team for the character they showed in the past two games. The skipper also praised their ability to adapt to different playing conditions and playing a fearless brand of cricket.
“You have got players with different skill sets in our team. They bring different attributes of the game to the team and it puts you in good positions as a team when you have that. We have got guys who can play fearless cricket with bat and guys who can absorb like the last game” said Rohit Sharma.
On being asked about their next game against Pakistan, Rohit expressed his team’s readiness and willingness to perform to the best of their abilities.
“For us it’s crucial that we don’t worry about external factors and just look at things we can control. We just need to show up and do well. Things like what the pitch is like, what combo we can play is what we can control. What happens outside we won’t be worried about it” he added.
India next take on Pakistan in a much sought-after clash in Ahmedabad on Saturday.