Indian skipper Rohit Sharma made a short work of the target of 273 set by Afghanistan on a batting paradise of a wicket at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. Rohit’s 131-run knock helped India chase down the target with eight wickets in hand and 15 overs to spare. In doing so, India broke South Africa's record of least overs taken to chase down a total in excess of 270 in ODIs.
South Africa took 36.2 overs against Australia in 2016 in Centurion to chase down 295 from 36.2 overs. It was followed by New Zealand chasing down 283 from 36.2 overs against England in 2003 in Ahmedabad. In 2012 in Hobart, India chased down 321 from 36.4 overs against Sri Lanka.
Rohit broke several records on his way to 131. He broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most centuries in the World Cup with his seventh ODI century. With five sixes, Rohit broke Chris Gayle’s record for most sixes in international cricket. He reached his century from just 63 balls breaking Kapil Dev’s record for fastest century in World Cup history.
“Was a good win for us, very important to get that momentum at the start of the tournament. It is about absorbing pressure and taking the right decision on the field. There will be a spell from the opposition where you will have to absorb pressure,” the 36-year-old said in the post-match presentation after India's seventh 250-plus run chase in World Cups.
“Leading up to the tournament we had played such games. You have got players with different skill sets in our team. They bring different attributes of the game to the team and it puts you in good positions as a team when you have that. We have got guys who can play fearless cricket with bat and guys who can absorb like the last game.”
Rohit was asked about the upcoming high-voltage clash against Pakistan in Ahmedabad on October 14 to which he replied, “For us it's crucial that we don't worry about external factors and just look at things we can control. We just need to show up and do well. Things like what the pitch is like, what combo we can play is what we can control. What happens outside we won't be worried about it. It's just about focusing on what we can do as players and how we can perform.”
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