On This Day, October 11, 2023: Rohit Sharma played a brilliant innings against Afghanistan in the ODI World Cup in Delhi. Chasing 273, the Indian captain scored 131 runs off just 84 balls and helped India win the match by eight wickets. He hit 16 fours and five sixes, while India completed the chase in only 35 overs.

Afghanistan won the toss and decided to bat first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Their innings did not start as planned, but captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai brought the team back into the game. Shahidi scored 80 runs off 88 balls, while Omarzai made 62 off 69 deliveries. The two added 121 runs for the fourth wicket, helping Afghanistan reach 272/8 in 50 overs.

Jasprit Bumrah was India's best bowler on the day, taking four wickets for 39 runs. His spell stopped Afghanistan from adding more runs in the final overs. Still, 272 was a reasonable total, and Afghanistan needed a few early wickets to put pressure on India's batting line-up.

Rohit Sharma started attacking from the beginning of the chase. He and Ishan Kishan added 156 runs for the opening wicket before Kishan was dismissed for 47 off 47 balls. Rohit continued to find boundaries against both pace and spin and reached his century in just 63 balls. It was the fastest century by an Indian batter in men's ODI World Cup history at that time, breaking Kapil Dev's record of 72 balls against Zimbabwe in 1983.

Rohit eventually scored 131 off 84 balls before Rashid Khan dismissed him. His innings included 16 fours and five sixes. It was also his seventh century in men's ODI World Cups, taking him past Sachin Tendulkar's record of six centuries in the tournament. During the innings, Rohit also went past Chris Gayle's record for the most sixes in international cricket across formats.

After Rohit's dismissal, Virat Kohli made sure India finished the chase without further trouble. He scored an unbeaten 55, while Shreyas Iyer remained not out on 25. India reached 273/2 in 35 overs and won the match by eight wickets, with 15 overs remaining. It was India's second win in the 2023 World Cup, following their opening victory over Australia.

Rohit's innings was the biggest talking point of the match, but India's bowlers had also played an important role. Bumrah's four wickets restricted Afghanistan to a total India could chase, and the batters made the most of that opportunity. For Afghanistan, the partnership between Shahidi and Omarzai was a positive, but they could not find a way to stop Rohit once he got going.

Match result: India 273/2 beat Afghanistan 272/8 by eight wickets.