Indian skipper Rohit Sharma did not hesitate to take the aerial route in the first over of the Asia Cup 2023 Super Fours clash at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. After getting bowled by Shaheen Afridi in the group stage match, Rohit broke the shackles and hit him for a six in the first over. The opener became the first batter to hit Afridi for a six in the first over of the innings in international cricket (T20Is, ODIs and Tests).
After facing five dot deliveries from the left-arm pacers, Rohit got one on the pads. The full delivery was flicked by Rohit off his pads and it went over deep backward square leg boundary for a maximum.
Later in the powerplay overs, Rohit’s opening partnership Shubman Gill attacked Afridi as well. Gill timed the ball to perfection and made Afridi bowl from around the stumps. He became the first batter to hit Afridi for six boundaries in an ODI innings. He hit Afridi for three boundaries each in the third and fifth over.
As a result, skipper Babar Azam took Afridi off the attack and introduced Faheem Ashraf from his end. Rohit struggled against Naseem Shah early in the innings as the swing got the better of him. After several dot balls, Rohit took on Naseem in the 10th over hitting him for two consecutive fours. After the first powerplay, India were 61/0.
Earlier, Azam won the toss and opted to field first. Rohit made just one change to the playing XI as KL Rahul walked into the side in place of Shreyas Iyer as the latter suffered a back spasm.
“There will be a challenge upfront, but the way we guys batted last time around gives us confidence. Every game is important for us, but one thing at a time to focus on. (On rain delays) That's the nature of the sport, it gave us good time to prepare and now we'll look to play well. Two changes - Bumrah is back and one forced change, Shreyas Iyer just got a back spasm so KL Rahul comes in for him,” the 36-year-old said at the coin toss.
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