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ODI world cup 2023 Cricket

'Yeh shaam Rohit aur Kohli ke naam' - Fans react as India complete dominating 8-wicket win over Afghanistan in ODI World Cup 2023

Cricket News: The ODI World Cup 2023 jumped back to action with the hosts India beating neighbours Afghanistan by 8 wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

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Mathew K
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Team India (Source: Twitter)

The ODI World Cup 2023 jumped back to action with the hosts India taking on close neighbours Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The visitors won the toss and elected to bat first under clear Delhi skies.

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Batting first, the Afghans lost their first three wickets at regular intervals. However, a partnership between skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai recovered the innings to an extent. While the skipper smashed 80 off 88, featuring eight fours and a six, his partner in crime returned with 62 off 69. Omarzai’s knock featured two fours and four sixes. The duo powered the team total to 272/8 in 50 overs. They were helped by smaller contributions by other batters, but none noteworthy.

Talking of the bowling from the hosts, Jasprit Bumrah made a statement pronouncing why he is considered one of the best in the world. The star pacer returned with figures of 4/39 in 10 overs. Following him was flamboyant all-rounder Hardik Pandya with 2/43 in his seven overs. Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav picked up one wicket apiece. Surprisingly, the pacers enjoyed better feedback from the track as opposed to its typical nature of helping the spinners.

Rohit Sharma remained the star of the show

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In reply, the Indians enjoyed a far start on a familiar track. Skipper Rohit Sharma and opener Ishan Kishan combined for an opening stand of 156 runs. While the ‘Hitman’ scored 131 off 84, Kishan recorded a run-a-ball 47. The left-hander was extremely unlucky to miss out on his fifty. Rohit, on the other hand, surpassed galore of records with his ton. He became the Indian with the most ODI World Cup hundreds. He also became the batter with most sixes in international cricket, surpassing Chris Gayle. Another interesting record was for the fastest hundred scored by an Indian in the World Cup.

The remainder of the job was undertaken by the middle-order duo of Virat Kohli and Shreyas Rahul. While Kohli had the time and space to register another fifty, Iyer helped his former skipper with 25 off 23 including a six and a four. Kohli, on the other hand, smashed 55 off 56, helped by six fours. India won the game by eight wickets with Rashid Khan claiming both wickets that fell in the Indian innings.

Here’s how fans reacted:  

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India Afghanistan featured ODI World Cup 2023