New Delhi: Rohit Sharma added another remarkable chapter to his illustrious career with a record-breaking performance against Afghanistan in the third and final ODI in Chennai. The Indian captain scored a fluent 79 off 69 balls, helping India secure a convincing nine-wicket victory and complete a 3-0 clean sweep in the series.
The innings saw Rohit become the highest-scoring Indian opener in international cricket, overtaking former explosive opener Virender Sehwag. Rohit now sits atop the list with 16,137 international runs as an opener, moving ahead of Sehwag’s tally of 16,119. He had already surpassed legends Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar earlier in his career.
The knock also earned Rohit another milestone. At 39 years and 51 days, he became the oldest Indian cricketer to score a half-century in One-Day Internationals, eclipsing the previous record held by Mohinder Amarnath, who was 39 years and 21 days old when he scored 88 against Pakistan in 1989.
India’s chase of 219 never looked challenging as Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal dominated from the outset. The pair stitched together a commanding 170-run opening partnership that effectively sealed the contest. While Rohit departed after his entertaining innings, Jaiswal carried on to register an unbeaten 110 off 86 deliveries, guiding India home in just 28.4 overs.
Earlier, Afghanistan recovered admirably after a disastrous start. Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna tore through the top order, reducing the visitors to 36 for 4 and finishing with exceptional figures of 5 for 23.
Despite the early collapse, captain Hashmatullah Shahidi produced a captain’s innings, scoring his maiden ODI century. The left-hander struck 102 from 131 balls, including 13 boundaries and a six, while Azmatullah Omarzai contributed a valuable half-century as Afghanistan reached 218 in 44.2 overs.
However, India’s dominant batting display ensured the target was comfortably chased down, with Rohit’s latest milestone providing another memorable highlight in a career already filled with records.
