India vs Afghanistan Highlights, 2023 World Cup: 3 moments that generated buzz among fans in Match 9
It was another dominant performance from Team India in the 2023 World Cup as they won their second game of the campaign against Afghanistan in Delhi on Wednesday, October 11.
At one stage, Afghanistan looked good to post a total in excess of 300, but it was Jasprit Bumrah's sensational spell of 4/39 that helped India restrict Afghanistan to just 272/8 in their 50 overs.
Captain Rohit Sharma then broke multiple records, including becoming the highest six-hitter in international cricket and the fastest Indian to 1000 World Cup runs. He also scored the fastest hundred for India in ODI World Cups (63 balls) and went past Sachin Tendulkar to have the most number of centuries in the showpiece event (7).
On that note, let's take a look at three moments from the game that grabbed the attention of fans:
#3 Kuldeep Yadav's brilliant catch off Jasprit Bumrah's bowling
Jasprit Bumrah once again proved why he is among the best bowlers in the world, if not the best, by producing a sensational bowling effort on what was a belter of a wicket for batters.
In his spell of 4/39, one of the wickets was of the dangerous Rashid Khan, who was looking to cut loose at the backend of the Afghanistan innings. However, Bumrah foxed him as he mistimed a shot towards the point region.
Kuldeep Yadav came running in and while the ball popped out of his hand at the first attempt, he managed to stretch and grab it again, making it a sensational effort. That wicket at that juncture probably made a difference of 15-20 runs to the final total.
#2 Rohit Sharma going past Sachin Tendulkar's record
After getting dismissed on a duck against Australia, Rohit Sharma would have been determined to come good, and boy, did he flex his muscles against Afghanistan! The Indian captain scored a blazing 131 off just 84 balls in which he broke multiple records.
However, the most special one among them arguably has to be when he went past the great Sachin Tendulkar in terms of most hundreds in World Cups. Rohit had scored one in the 2015 edition and a staggering five centuries in the 2019 edition, going level with Tendulkar.
But the moment he crossed the great man on that list and got that seventh hundred was certainly an emotional moment for fans. He just didn't give the Afghanistan bowlers any chance of competing in the game and when he was dismissed, the result just seemed a formality.
#1 Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq sorting their differences
Arguably the most heartwarming moment of the game was when Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq and Indian star Virat Kohli got together in the middle and exchanged a few smiles.
The duo had a heated argument during IPL 2023 and things did get a bit ugly. However, it's just the class of Kohli as well as sportsmanship from Naveen that the duo decided to let bygones be bygones.
Virat Kohli was also seen urging the crowd not to chant 'Kohli, Kohli!' and mock Naveen. He had asked the crowd to respect Steve Smith as well in the previous World Cup. That really shows that apart from being a world-class batter, Kohli is also a true gentleman of the sport.
To watch the highlights of the match, click here.