What happened the last time India played an ODI World Cup match in Delhi? 

After their emphatic win over Australia, team India will look to continue their winning momentum when they face Afghanistan in match number nine of the ongoing 2023 ODI World Cup. The upcoming game is scheduled to take place at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday.

A fantastic 165-run partnership between Virat Kohli and KL Rahul sailed India to the finish line after a horrendous start with the bat. The Men in Blue were in dire straits at 2/3 when both Kohli and Rahul dragged India out of trouble and guided the team to a resounding six-wicket win.

The caravan now moves to Delhi, where India have featured across 21 ODIs, winning 13 of those encounters while losing seven.

The Men in Blue have also played three ODI World Cup matches at the venue, winning two of those and losing only once.

The last time India played an ODI World Cup match in Delhi was during the 2011 edition when they hosted the Netherlands for a group-stage game.

After opting to bat first, the Dutch made 189 while batting first. They enjoyed a great start, with an opening partnership of 56 runs before Piyush Chawla (2/47) provided the breakthrough.

This led to a collapse for the Netherlands as they lost all 10 of their wickets for more 133 runs. Yuvraj Singh (2/43) also accounted for two wickets, while Zaheer Khan proved to be the pick of the bowlers with his 3/20.

As a result, the Netherlands could only get to 189 runs before getting bundled out in 46.4 overs.

In what should've been a plain sailing chase for India, they lost their way in the middle. After Sachin Tendulkar (27) and Virender Sehwag (39) made an opening stand of 66 runs, India found themselves at 99/4 inside the first 15 overs.

Yuvraj Singh then came to the rescue with the bat as he amassed 51* runs and led India to a five-wicket victory. The southpaw smashed seven boundaries during his 73-ball half-century.

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The first 2023 ODI World Cup game in Delhi saw a run-fest between South Africa and Sri Lanka

Aiden Markram celebrating his hundred [Getty Images]

Despite being a slow-paced track traditionally, the surface at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi surprised everyone when it hosted a high-scoring match between South Africa and Sri Lanka on Saturday, October 7.

The pitch offered nothing for the bowlers as batters made merry. The match witnessed a total of 754 runs getting scored - the highest aggregate total in an ODI World Cup game.

Batting first, South Africa recorded the highest team total when they posted 428/5.

While Quinton de Kock (100) and Rassie van der Dussen (108) laid down a perfect platform with their brilliant hundreds, Aiden Markram took the Lankan bowlers to the cleaners in the death overs.

Markram took just 49 balls to complete his superlative century and became the player with the fastest ODI World Cup ton.

In reply, the Sri Lankan batters also utilized the great batting conditions on offer. Kusal Mendis hit a blazing 42-ball 76, while Charith Asalanka also made 79. However, the Protea bowlers kept ticking away with wickets regularly and took all ten wickets in 44.5 overs. Sri Lanka made 326 runs as South Africa won the encounter by 102 runs.

It remains to be seen if the surface in Delhi continues to be batting-friendly or if spinners will get some offer off the deck in the upcoming fixture between India and Afghanistan.

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