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And we leave you with the moment of the day that grabbed headlines - an embrace between the frenemies, Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq as we bring the curtains down on our coverage of what was another one-sided contest at this World Cup. Tell you what though - we could be in for something riveting tomorrow as Australia face South Africa in Lucknow. With the surface at the Ekana Cricket Stadium re-laid, will it play better from a batter's perspective or will it be a spinner's paradise again? Do join us to find out as we bring you all the action from that game on this very platform. For the moment though, this is the duo of Arya Sekhar Chakraborty and Sooryanarayanan Sesha taking your leave. Thank you so much for joining us as we hope you enjoyed our coverage. See you tomorrow - good night and take care!
Another comprehensive victory and India are showing just why they remain the team to beat at this World Cup. A fabulous display led by the skipper himself and ahead of that marquee clash against Pakistan, this is exactly what the team would have wanted. They're chugging along really well and will want to continue with this winning habit. As for Afghanistan, it's two hammerings they've suffered now and life is getting tough for them. They next face England at this very venue and if the pitch continues to remain a flat one, they've got plenty of work to do against a power-packed batting unit.
Rohit Sharma (India captain): It was a good win for us. Very important at the start of the tournament that you get that momentum and have that winning streak continue. There will be times you will be put under pressure as a team but it's about absorbing that pressure and taking the right decisions as a team. When you're batting there will be a spell from the opposition where you have to absorb that pressure. And that will happen as we move along. The games we played before the World Cup, we've tried ourselves under pressure and have responded really well to those moments under pressure. That is what makes the team what you want it to be. We've got different skillsets in players who bring a different attitude to the team. That puts you in good positions. In the batting as well we've got batters who can play freely and fearless. And we've got guys who can absorb pressure as we saw in the last game. During the game it's just about absorbing that pressure and taking the right decisions. That is what is important. In the World Cup, you come up against different oppositions who will put you under different sorts of pressure. (How will the team look into the Pakistan game?) Just as we looked into this game. It's quite crucial that we don't worry about the external factors. We need to come and show up on the ground pretty well. Every game for us, we're going to treat it like that. We want to focus on what we need to do on that particular day, what the pitch is like and what we need to do. It's about focusing on what we need to as players.
Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan captain): Yeah we had the target above 300. We had it in mind that the Indian batting line-up is very strong. Unfortunately back to back wickets hurt us. Our thinking was that the surface was good and we wanted to put pressure on them (on winning the toss and batting first). We lost back to back wickets which didn't allow us to get to the score. After losing two wickets we were discussing about building a partnership (On his stand with Azmatullah Omarzai). Our aim was to remain positive. We have sen more games and try to learn from the mistakes and try to come up with a positive approach.
Rohit Sharma is the Player of the Match: I mean it was a good pitch to bat. Just backing myself to play my natural game. Once you get your eyes in, the wicket was always going to get easier and easier. I am glad that I could go big today and score the hundred. Very happy for another World Cup hundred. I just not want to think about that stuff to be much. I know it's a long way to go ahead and I don't want to lose my focus. Focus on what the team requires of me and then make it count. I mean some of them are premeditated. You just cant keep playing those shots. I allow my instincts to take over and sometimes it works out very well. Batting at the top of the order, it's my duty to get off to the start and put the team in a comfortable position as much as possible, especially in a run chase. I love doing that. It looks good when it comes off but sometimes it doesn't.
Match Summary: India beat Afghanistan by 8 wickets.
They came, they saw and they absolutely bossed it. This was an Indian top-order that was absolutely possessed and they have decimated the Afghan bowling unit with absolutely no half-measures. A fighting total is what Hashmatullah Shahidi and Co. put up but one always reckoned that it wasn't going to be enough.
And Rohit Sharma was determined to prove just why. The Indian skipper was at his elegant and attacking best, clearing the infield at will as he went on a record-breaking spree. Afghanistan's bowlers were a clueless lot with Fazalhaq Farooqi bowling all over the place and Mujeeb Ur Rahman doing no better. India whipped up 50 and then 100 within no time as Ishan Kishan had the best seat in the house, watching his skipper set the stage alight with jaw-dropping strokeplay of the highest order.
For some reason, Rashid Khan was held back by Shahidi and by the time the wizard came on, it was a lost cause. Rohit just sauntered along to a record-breaking seventh ODI World Cup century, leaving the great Sachin Tendulkar behind on the list. His exploits it rubbed off on Kishan too as the southpaw also flicked a switch and made it look too easy. It was just a formality thereafter even as both openers perished on either side of Virat Kohli bringing the roof down by his sheer presence.
There was no contest between bat and ball with the first of those absolutely dominating proceedings on a belter of a track. But the moment of the match came when Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq turned pals as they exchanged a hug which was followed by a rapturous cheer. And of course, the only thing left to see was the Delhi lad please his fans with a pristine knock of his own. He did not disappoint them at all, notching up yet another half-century before sealing the deal with a handsome boundary. It was that easy a deal in the end for the hosts who have now won both their opening encounters in the 2023 World Cup!
And he's done it in style! The hometown hero has the final say in this contest and this has been an annihilation of some kind dished out by the Men in Blue. India win by 8 wickets with a whopping 90 deliveries to spare!
35
overs
273/2score
4
0
1
1
2
4
runs
Virat Kohli*
55(56)
Shreyas Iyer
25(23)
Azmatullah Omarzai
0/34
34.6 Azmatullah Omarzai to Virat Kohli, FOUR! Lovely way to finish off the chase in style. Kohli takes a few strides forward and launches this down the ground, shows the full face of the bat and off it goes away to the straight boundary. A massive win for India by 8 wickets.
68th ODI half-century for Virat Kohli! He just makes batting look too easy in this format in particular and the Kotla rises in appreciation of the son of the soil. India are just 4 runs away now...
34.5 Azmatullah Omarzai to Virat Kohli, that's well fielded by the backward square leg fielder but enough to give Virat Kohli yet another ODI half-century. Gets a toppish edge on that short one but in the gap and a couple taken.
Six to win. Kohli on 49. Will he?
34.4 Azmatullah Omarzai to Shreyas Iyer, Iyer rides the bounce and glides it away towards the third man region. Was a short delivery yet again from Omarzai.
34.3 Azmatullah Omarzai to Virat Kohli, that was a slower back of a length delivery a tad outside off, punched away down the ground towards the mid-on region and takes a single.
34.2 Azmatullah Omarzai to Virat Kohli, banged in short from Omarzai, Kohli sways away.
The ball is just making a crack off the middle of the bat!
34.1 Azmatullah Omarzai to Virat Kohli, FOUR! Poor piece of fielding by the cover fielder, Kohli playing it on the rise, was a good-length delivery and that has been punched through the cover region, the fielder dives over it and off it goes away to the fence.
Azmatullah Omarzai [3.0-0-22-0] is back into the attack
Shreyas Iyer's looking confident out there. It's been the hallmark of his batting over time and since his return from injury as well, that aspect of his game was never in doubt. India are just two big hits away now!
Video
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Virat Kohli
*
Azmatullah Omarzai
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
![[Watch] Virat Kohli & Naveen-ul-Haq embrace each other as fans go crazy during IND vs AFG 2023 World Cup match](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/10/70628-16970367735502-1920.jpg)
