The ninth match of the ICC ODI World Cup was played between Afghanistan and India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Hashmatullah Shahidi chose to bat first after making the decision immediately after the toss. Afghanistan scored 272 on a respectable Delhi surface. After all the drama and tense exchanges during the IPL, Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq hugged and smiled at each other during the chase.
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In addition, Virat Kohli advised the boisterous Delhi audience not to make fun of Naveen-ul-Haq when India was pursuing.
Virat Kohli asking the Delhi crowd to stop mocking Naveen Ul Haq.pic.twitter.com/Dq482rPsFU
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 11, 2023
When the game began, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran opened the innings after winning the toss, and they got things going with a flurry of boundaries. After Jasprit Bumrah used a peach to set up Ibrahim Zadran, he scored the first goal.
Rahmat Shah batted at No. 3 and shown some promise, but he was eliminated after only 16 pitches. Afghanistan’s captain Shahidi rotated the blow slowly and deliberately. Shardul Thakur captured Gurbaz, who was moving freely, at the fine leg. With the help of his captain and a strong relationship, Azmatullah Omarzai brought Afghanistan back into the contest. With a slower delivery, birthday boy Hardik Pandya ended the partnership, and the wickets continued to fall after that.
Afghanistan reached 272 for the cost of eight runs in their 50 overs after Rashid added 16. Ishan Kishan appeared hesitant, but after crossing a few borders, he looked in the zone. On the other side, Rohit Sharma appeared to be batting on a different world. The Indian skipper surpassed Sachin Tendulkar, who had six, by scoring his seventh century in a World Cup.
Virat Kohli, a local boy, stroked his way to yet another fifty after Rohit’s heroics, and Shreyas Iyer hit 25* to send India home in Delhi. With a Net Run Rate of 1.500 and four points currently, India will likely score many runs against Pakistan.
On October 14, a match between India and Pakistan will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.