Indian cricket team skipper Rohit Sharma on Wednesday added another massive milestone to his already illustrious career with a scintillating century against Afghanistan in the Cricket World Cup 2023. The veteran batsman looked great as he dominated Afghanistan’s bowlers and in just 63 deliveries were able to complete his ton. It was the fastest century by an Indian batsman in the history of the Cricket World Cup and broke the record of legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev, who hit a 72-ball century against Zimbabwe in a 1983 world match that is etched in the history books.
Fastest hundreds in World Cups (based on balls faced)
49 – Aiden Markram (SA) v SL, Delhi, 2023
50 – Kevin O’Brien (IRE) vs ENG, Bengaluru, 2011
51 – Glenn Maxwell (AUS) vs SL, Sydney, 2015
52 – AB de Villiers (SA) v WI, Sydney, 2015
57 – Eoin Morgan (ENG) v AFG, Manchester, 2019
63 – Rohit Sharma vs AFG, Delhi, 2023
Overall, this was the fifth fastest century by an Indian batsman in ODI history.
Fastest ODI hundreds for India (faced by balls)
52 – Virat Kohli vs AUS, Jaipur, 2013
60 – Virender Sehwag vs NZ, Hamilton, 2009
61 – Virat Kohli vs AUS, Nagpur, 2013
62 – Mohammad Azharuddin vs NZ, Baroda, 1988
63 – Rohit Sharma vs AFG, Delhi, 2023
Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai reached half-centuries as Afghanistan reached 272-8 against hosts India in their World Cup match on Wednesday.
Afghanistan opted to bat first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, which witnessed a World Cup record 754 runs scored in the previous match as South Africa scored 428 runs to defeat Sri Lanka.
The ground was sea blue and almost all the 40,000 seats were filled, many awaiting a big contribution from superstar cricketer and Delhi-born Virat Kohli.
But at the end of the Afghanistan innings, the pace spearhead was Jasprit Bumrah who stood out for the home side with his best World Cup bowling figures of 4-39. Afghanistan fell to 63-3 before Shahidi (80) and Omarzai (62) put on 121 runs to help Afghanistan recover.
(With AFP inputs)
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