ISLAMABAD: Indian Skipper Rohit Sharma’s blistering century, assisted by Virat Kohli and Ishan Kishan innings, guided India to an easy 8-wicket victory against Afghanistan in the ICC World Cup contest being played at Delhi, India on Wednesday. Rohit Sharma, flying innings of 131 runs on 84 balls, outclassed the Afghan bowling line and snatched the game away from them.
Chasing 273 to win, both Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan took a flying start and took their side to the 100 mark with almost 10 runs per over. Both the batters just took the game away from Afghanistan in the first 10 overs. Later, Rohit Sharma also completed his blistering hundred in just 63 balls. In over number 19th, Afghanistan took the first wicket when Rashid Khan removed Ishaan on 47, however both the batters had made the game just a cup of tea. Rohit was joined by the inform Virat Kohli. In the 26th over, Rashid took his second wicket when Rohit Sharma sparkling innings of 131 on 84 balls came to an end. His innings included 5 sixes and 15 boundaries. After Rohit and Ishan, the charge was taken by Virat and Shreyas Iyer, who took their side till the end. Meanwhile, Virat completed his half-century on 55 balls. Iyer also remained unbeaten on 25 runs. India won the match by 8 wickets with 15 overs to spare. Overall, it was not a good day for Aghan bowlers.
From Afghanistan, Rashid was the leading wicket-taker who grabbed two wickets for 57 runs in his 8 over spill. Other bowlers remained wicketless.
Afghanistan Batting
Earlier winning the toss, Afghanistan decided to bat first on a sunny day over a flat pitch. Both the openers Rehmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran took a cautious start and took the innings t0 runs in 6 overs. However, the inform Bumrah removed Ibrahim Zadran, who scored 22 runs of 28 balls. Gurbaz was joined by Rahmat Shah.
In the 13th and 14th overs, the Indian bowlers managed to remove both Gurbaz (21) and Rehmat Shah (16), taking the Afghan side under pressure. However, the skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi and number 5 batter Azmatullah Omerzai recovered the loss and drove the side towards a decent target. Both batters completed their fine half-centuries while adding a terrific 121-run partnership for Afghanistan. When the score reached 184, Pandiya bowled out Omerzai on 62. His innings included 4 sixes and two boundaries. Nabi replaced Omerzai, who took his side along with the skipper Shahidi to cross 220 runs. In over number 43rd, the skipper Shahidi was dismissed on the bowling of Kuldeep Yadav on 80 while facing 88 balls. After the dismissal of Shahdi, Afghanistan innings’ quick face was restricted. The Indian bowler Bumrah managed to take another wicket of Najibullah Zadran in the 45th over when the score reached 229. In the same over, Bumrah dismissed Muhammad Nabi on 19. In the last 5 overs, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb added some quick runs to take their side. However, in over number 49th Rashid Khan was caught out near the third man boundary on 16. Afghanistan scored 272 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 50 overs
From India, Jasprit Bumrah was the most successful bowler with 4 wickets while conceding 39 runs in his 10-over spill. Pandiya took two wickets, while Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav grabbed one wicket each.
India Squad
Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul †, Hardik Pandya,
Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj
Afghanistan Squad
Rahmanullah Gurbaz †, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Muhammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq
