Rohit Sharma century powers India to eight-wicket win over Afghanistan

Rohit Sharma scored a record seventh World Cup century as India hammered Afghanistan by eight wickets in New Delhi on Wednesday. Chasing 273 for victory, the hosts rode on Rohit's 131 to achieve their target in 35 overs for a second straight win.

Highlights of the match:

• Afghanistan got off to a good start with the bat, thanks to half-centuries from Rahmanullah Gurbaz (60) and Ibrahim Zadran (65). However, they lost wickets at regular intervals in the middle overs and were eventually bowled out for 272 in 49.4 overs.
• India's bowlers were disciplined and didn't give away any easy runs. Shardul Thakur was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah picked up two wickets each.
• In reply, India got off to a flying start with Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul putting on a 140-run opening partnership. Rohit was particularly aggressive, hitting 13 fours and four sixes in his innings.
• Rahul was dismissed for 41, but Rohit continued to dominate the Afghan bowlers. He reached his century in just 83 balls and eventually fell for 131, caught at long-on off the bowling of Rashid Khan.
• Virat Kohli, who was playing his first match of the tournament, then joined Rohit, and the two of them put on a 124-run partnership for the second wicket. Kohli scored a fluent 50 but fell to Naveen-ul-Haq with just 10 runs needed for victory.
• Shreyas Iyer (12*) and Suryakumar Yadav (8*) then took India over the line with eight wickets in hand.

Rohit Sharma's record-breaking century

Rohit Sharma's century was his seventh in World Cups, which is the most by any player in the history of the tournament. He also became the first player to score centuries in three consecutive World Cups.

India's dominant performance

India's win over Afghanistan was a dominant one. They bowled out Afghanistan for a relatively low total and then chased it down with ease. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were in particularly good form and the two of them together scored 255 runs.

Conclusion

India's win over Afghanistan was a morale-booster for the team. They had lost their opening match of the tournament to Pakistan, but they have since bounced back with two consecutive wins. They will now be looking to continue their winning run when they take on Bangladesh in their next match.

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