(Cricket News) India continue their winning streak by beating Afghanistan by 8 wickets as they move on to the second place in the points table. Rohit Sharma was awarded the man of the match for his swashbuckling century, scoring it in 64 deliveries.
Afghanistan won the toss and they choose to field first. Afghanistan looked in good touch as the pitch was friendly and the outfield was lighting quick. The openers got off to quick starts but they were not able to convert them into big scores as Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah pick up their wickets.
Out came the Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai and the two of them stitched together a 100+ run partnership by finding frequent boundaries and rotating strike. Afghanistan looked in rhythym as they were set to put a target of 300+ but the Indian Vice Captain Hardik put a stop to that by taking the wicket of Azmatullah.
After Hasmatullah Shahidi was dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav, wickets kept falling for Afghanistan as they failed to build more partnerships. Handy contributions from Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman propelled the Afghanistan score to 272-8 in 50 overs, which was a below average score in a batting paradise.
End of first innings: Afghanistan 272-8; Hasmatullah Shahidi 80 (88); Azmatullah Omarzai 62 (69); Jasptir Bumrah 10-39-0-4; Hardik Pandya 7-42-0-2.
Out came the openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan and the two of them went right into business. Rohit Sharma showed a masterclass in powerhitting and timing as he found frequent gaps and cleared the boundary rope with ease. India were of a blistering start the powerplay, scoring 94-0 in first 10 overs. Rohit Sharma broke multiple records in this innings; the first one is the fastest century by an Indian batter in the Cricket World Cup: 64 balls and the second record is overtaking Chris Gayles tally of 553 sixes in international cricket.
Ishaan Kishan was dismissed on 47 and Rohit Sharma was dismissed by Rashid Khan, after scoring a swashbuckling 131 in just 84 deliveries. Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer carried the match from there, finishing the match with 15 overs to spare.
End of second innings: India 273-2; Rohit Sharma 131 (84); Virat Kohli 55* (56); Rashid Khan 8-57-0-2; Naveen ul Haq 5-31-0-0.
