Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul notched up India's highest-ever opening partnership in the T20 World Cup as the duo put its side to a commanding position in the all-important 'Super 12' contest against Afghanistan.
In India's bid to stay alive in the T20 showpiece and defeat the unpredictable Afghan side by a heft margin, Rohit and Rahul set the tone with India's highest powerplay score of the tournament. The duo gathered 53 runs in the first six overs before clocking the 140-run mark in the 15th over.
Rohit and Rahul also broke India's 14-year-old partnership in T20 World Cup, which was previously held by Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag. The Delhi batting duo has put up 136-run partnership in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in South Africa.
India put their best foot forward against Afghanistan
The Rohit-Rahul opening combination now has four century stands in T20 Internationals, just one behind Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan's record of five century partnerships. The Indian pair's 140 stand is also the fourth-highest opening partnership in the history of the T20 World Cup. Rizwan-Babar duo (152*) tops the list, with Chris Gayle and Devon Smith (145) and Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt (142) being the next two names.
Rohit also ticked off a personal milestone as he hit his maiden fifty of the tournament. The flamboyant opener is now jointly-tied with Gambhir for most 50-plus scores by Indian openers in men's T20 World Cups. Both have notched up 50-plus scores on four occasions.
The 33-year-old Indian vice-captain is also involved in most century partnerships (3) for India in T20 World Cups. A well-set Rohit could've added a few more runs under his belt but he picked out Mohammad Nabi. He perished after scoring 74 off 47 deliveries. Rahul (69 from 48 balls) also departed soon. He was castled by Gulbadin Naib in an attempt to scoop the delivery over short fine leg.
