Veteran India opener Rohit Sharma broke multiple records during the side’s third and final ODI match against Afghanistan in Chennai on Saturday. The right-handed batter smashed a dominant 79 off just 69 deliveries. His innings was laced with nine fours and three sixes. India were chasing a paltry target of 219 runs to complete a clean sweep over Afghanistan in the three-match series, and Rohit’s knock helped the side comfortably hunt down the total. Yashasvi Jaiswal also utilised the opportunity he got with an unbeaten century (110 off 86).
At the age of 39 years and 51 days, Rohit became the oldest India player to hit a half-century in ODI cricket. He surpassed Mohinder Amarnath’s previous record of 39 years and 21 days. Amarnath had smashed 88 off 80 against Pakistan in Sharjah on October 15, 1989.
Rohit also broke another big record. While he had already surpassed the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar among India openers with the most runs in international cricket, he left behind Virender Sehwag on Saturday to take the top spot.
Most international runs by Indian openers:
Rohit Sharma: 16,137 Runs
Virender Sehwag: 16,119 Runs
Sachin Tendulkar: 15,335 Runs
Sunil Gavaskar: 12,258 Runs
Shikhar Dhawan: 10,867 Runs
India completed a clean sweep of the three-match ODI series with a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Afghanistan in the final match, as Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed an unbeaten century and combined with Rohit Sharma for a 170-run opening stand to make the chase a mere formality on Saturday.
Chasing a modest 219-run target, India raced to victory in just 28.4 overs, losing one wicket.
Earlier, pacer Prasidh Krishna ripped through Afghanistan’s top order, claiming four early wickets to finish with outstanding figures of 5/23 as the visitors were bowled out for 218 in 44.2 overs.
However, despite Krishna’s destructive spell, Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi stood firm with his maiden ODI century, leading a remarkable recovery after the visitors were reduced to 36 for 4 in the 10th over.
Shahidi, who had endured a quiet series until then, struck 13 boundaries and a six in his 131-ball 102, while Azmatullah Omarzai provided valuable support with a brisk 56-ball 50.
(With PTI Inputs)
Featured Video Of The Day
IPL 2026 News | RCB Outplay CSK For 2nd Win On Trot, Ruturaj Gaikwad & Co Suffer 3rd Loss
Topics mentioned in this article
