Men in Blue completely outclassed Afghanistan to secure a comfortable 8-wicket win at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday. Chasing a target of 273 on a good batting pitch, Rohit Sharma played a scintillating inning to lead his team from the front. The Indian captain attacked the Afghan bowlers right from the start and scored runs at a speedy rate. Rohit reached his century in just 63 balls, breaking Kapil Dev’s record to be the quickest Indian to hit a ton in the ODI World Cup history.

Batting first, Afghanistan failed to have a solid start as Jasprit Bumrah bagged an early wicket, dismissing Ibrahim Zadran (22). Moments later, Shardul Thakur took a brilliant catch on the boundary ropes to send off Afghanistan’s most trusted batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz (21). In the next over, Thakur gave the opponents the next blow by removing Rahmat Shah (16).

But Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai stitched a fine partnership of 121-run to take their side to a good position. Hardik Pandya gave the crucial breakthrough by cleaning up Omarzai (62). Shahidi departed for 80 while the lower-order batters contributed much-needed runs, helping their team to reach a fine total of 272/8 in 50 overs. For India, Bumrah starred with a four-wicket haul.

In reply, Rohit and Ishan Kishan gave India an excellent start, adding 156 runs in 18.4 overs. It was a treat for the Indian fans as both batters cleared the boundary ropes frequently. Ishan missed out on his half-century and walked back for 47. Rohit played superb shots to reach his ton, breaking legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s (6) record for the highest number of centuries by an Indian in the ODI World Cup tournament history. Rohit departed after playing a blistering knock of 131. Virat Kohli (55) and Shreyas Iyer (25) then scored runs freely and took India home.