So, that ends our coverage of Match 9 of the ICC World Cup 2023 where the hosts India obliterated Afghanistan by 9 wickets with 15 overs to spare. Join us tomorrow for the big Australia vs South Africa game from Lucknow. Stay tuned for more cricketing actions across the globe in our network across formats.
For now, this is Ayan Chatterjee signing off on behalf of my co-commentators AkshayaKrishna Polya, Arijit Kundu and Sidharth Gulati alongside scorer/analysts Raju Khariya and Zeeshan Naiyer. Stay safe, happy, and cool. Goodnight and CHEERS!
Highest Successful Run Chases at Delhi in ODIs:
-278 from India against Sri Lanka in 1982
-273 from India against Afghanistan, Today
-272 from Sri Lanka against India in 1996
Most Runs in the first 10 overs of a World Cup innings:
-Brendon McCullum- 77 for New Zealand against England at Wellington in 2015
-Rohit Sharna- 76 for India against Afghanistan at Delhi, Today
-Kusal Mendis- 72 for Sri Lanka against South Africa at Delhi in 2023
Most Hundreds in successful run chases in World Cups:
-Rohit Sharma: 3
-Gordon Greenidge: 2
-Ramiz Raja: 2
-Stephen Fleming: 2
Rohit Sharma (India Captain): "Yes, I think it was a good win for us. Important to get the win and get the winning momentum. There will be times when you will be under pressure and have to absorb it and we have to come out on top. We have responded to the moments and it's all about carrying this forward.
Yes, this is what the team is made of. Different players bring different attributes and skill sets and play fearless today. When you have all-round players, everything is possible. Different oppositions will put you under pressure. We need to come to the ground and show ourselves well. We need to focus on the combinations.
We are not bothered about what happens outside and the external factors that come with it. We are here to play and win the game for our side. We have to take it game by game."
Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan Captain): "Yeah, we had the target of 300 in our mind batting first as India have a strong line-up. We couldn't achieve 300 as we lost back-to-back wickets.
Our thinking was that the surface was good and put some pressure on them by scoring big. We wanted to put in a massive total and then come and bowl well. But as I said, we lost back-to-back wickets, and we fell short of the target.
After the three wickets, I told Azmat to keep going and keep staying and not to worry about dot balls or what's happening around.
We have seven more games, and hopefully, we do better, learning from the mistakes we have made so far. We will be coming up with positive intents."
Rohit Sharma (POTM): "Yeah, it was a good pitch to bat on. Just backed myself to play my natural game. I knew once I set my eyes in, that the batting would get easier. It is something that I have been working hard for a while. Very special feeling to get a hundred. And a World Cup hundred is a great feeling.
Very happy about the hundred. But don't want to keep thinking about the records. Still, a long way to go in the tournament. I don't want to lose sight of what is ahead.
It was about making it count on days like this. See, the ball was coming on nicely, and I was in a good rhythm. Sometimes you go by instincts, and sometimes, you just play it on merit. Some of them were premeditated as well.
It is my responsibility to give the team a good start. I know it very well. To put my team in a good position as much as possible is my responsibility, and it's something that I have done for a while, and it's something that I love to do.
It looks good when it comes out. I just try to back my abilities and put the opposition on the back foot. I try to back myself and put pressure on the opponents."