Sport
All the records Rohit Sharma broke during astonishing World Cup innings
Standing records never stood a chance in front of Rohit Sharma on Wednesday at the Cricket World Cup, as he led his side to a comfortable win over Afghanistan in Delhi.
Rohit blazed 131 in just 84 balls as his team sauntered past Afghanistan’s 272, eventually winning with 90 balls to spare.
In his trademark mix of brash and balance at the crease, the skipper blazed 16 fours and five sixes, completely dictating terms at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi would have been excused for thinking he was a man short in the middle, as Sharma toyed with his opposition’s field-sets and bowling.
Virat Kohli (55) and Shreyas Iyer (25) finished the chase, earlier set up by the opening partnership of Rohit and Ishan Kishan (47), who put on 156 in 18.4 overs.
Rashid Khan (2/57 off eight overs) was the only bowler to make any headway for Afghanistan, with four of his teammates going for eight an over or more.
Rohit claimed unanimous Player of the Match honors, as India joined New Zealand and Pakistan as teams to start two from two at the tournament.
Reaching his century in just 63 balls, Rohit smashed the fastest century by an India player at a Cricket World Cup, breaking a 40 year record set by the legendary Kapil Dev 40 years ago.
Dev reached his hundred in 72 balls against Zimbabwe at the Nevill Ground in Tunbridge Wells, England – the venue’s only ever ODI. Dev eventually made 175* from 138 balls with 22 boundaries.
Rohit has gone clear of compatriot Sachin Tendulkar with seven Cricket World Cup centuries.
Incredibly, Rohit has achieved the record in just 19 innings and across in only three World Cup campaigns, in comparison to Tendulkar’s 44 innings.
But it will be tough going to reach Tendulkar’s record for the most runs at Cricket World Cups of 2,278 at an average 56.95, though Rohit boasts a superior average of 65.23 which is also the highest among players to reach four figures across the tournaments.
Rohit joined a fellow tearaway opener in David Warner as the joint-fastest batters to reach 1,000 Cricket World Cup runs, doing so in just 19 innings.
Warner reached the milestone when India and Australia met in Chennai earlier in the tournament.
Rohit is the only Cricket World Cup 2023 captain to score a century to this point of the tournament.
Making his 31st ODI hundred, Rohit overtook Ricky Ponting in third place in the total ODI century list.
Only Kohli (47) and Tendulkar (49) stand above Rohit after the Delhi knock.
The five sixes Rohit struck in Delhi moved him to 556 sixes across the three formats of international cricket, passing the previous record-holder in the category, Chris Gayle.
Rohit managed to pass the West Indies opener in almost 80 fewer innings across formats (472).
Afghanistan’s national cricket team defeated Ireland by three wickets on Monday in the third ODI of the five-match series in Belfast.
Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Ireland were bowled out for 206 runs in 46.3 overs, setting Afghanistan a target of 207 runs.
Rashid Khan and Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar claimed three wickets each for Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s batters then produced a solid performance in the second innings, chasing down the target for the loss of seven wickets in 44.5 overs.
Afghanistan had also won the second match by 92 runs.
The fourth match between the two teams will be played on Wednesday, August 12, in Belfast, Ireland.
Fans can watch the fourth match live and exclusively in Afghanistan on Ariana Television.
Sorkh Poshan Khawafi are leading the Afghanistan Champions League U17 standings after week six, having collected 15 points from six matches.
According to the latest standings released by the Afghanistan Football Federation, Sorkh Poshan Khawafi have won five of their six matches and suffered one defeat. They have scored 22 goals and conceded just two, giving them a +20 goal difference.
Sarsabz Yashlar sit second with 14 points, following four wins and two draws, while Aino Mina are third, also on 14 points but with an inferior goal difference.
Arman FC are fourth with 12 points, followed by Khurasan Faryab with 10 points and Toofan Herat with eight.
In the lower half of the table, Ettifaq Khanzadah have six points, Abu Muslim FC have five, while Jawanan Perozi and Istiqlal Kabul are yet to earn a point after six matches.
Istiqlal Kabul have conceded 35 goals, the most in the competition so far, while Sorkh Poshan Khawafi have the tournament’s strongest attack with 22 goals.
The Afghanistan Champions League U17 is being contested by 10 teams and is being held at the Afghanistan Football Federation Stadium in Kabul.
Abasin Defenders produced a dominant bowling performance to defeat Kabul Zalmi in the second match of the Kabul Premier League on Saturday, August 8, at the Ayoubi Cricket Ground in Kabul.
Kabul Zalmi won the toss and elected to bat first, but their innings quickly unravelled as Abasin Defenders’ bowlers struck regularly.
Kabul Zalmi were bowled out for 63 in 7.2 overs, leaving Abasin Defenders with a modest target to chase.
Sediqullah Pacha was the standout performer for Abasin Defenders, claiming the Player of the Match award for his match-winning bowling performance.
Abasin Defenders chased down the target comfortably to secure a convincing victory and get their Kabul Premier League campaign off to a winning start.
The result followed the opening match of the tournament earlier on Saturday, when Pamir Stars defeated Shamshad Eagles by 116 runs.
The Kabul Premier League features six teams — Pamir Stars, Shamshad Eagles, Kabul Zalmi, Speenghar Warriors, Abasin Defenders and Band-e-Amir — competing in the 2026 tournament.
All matches are being broadcast live and exclusively on Ariana Television, allowing cricket fans across Afghanistan to follow the competition.
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