INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Standing records never stood a chance in front of Rohit Sharma on Wednesday at the Cricket World Cup, as he led his side to a comfortable
win over Afghanistan in Delhi.Rohit blazed 131 in just 84 balls as his team sauntered past Afghanistan&s 272, eventually winning with 90
balls to spare.In his trademark mix of brash and balance at the crease, the skipper blazed 16 fours and five sixes, completely dictating
terms at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi would have been excused for thinking he was a man short in the
middle, as Sharma toyed with his opposition&s field-sets and bowling.Virat Kohli (55) and Shreyas Iyer (25) finished the chase, earlier set
up by the opening partnership of Rohit and Ishan Kishan (47), who put on 156 in 18.4 overs.Rashid Khan (2/57 off eight overs) was the only
bowler to make any headway for Afghanistan, with four of his teammates going for eight an over or more.Rohit claimed unanimous Player of the
Match honors, as India joined New Zealand and Pakistan as teams to start two from two at the tournament.Reaching his century in just 63
balls, Rohit smashed the fastest century by an India player at a Cricket World Cup, breaking a 40 year record set by the legendary Kapil Dev
40 years ago.Dev reached his hundred in 72 balls against Zimbabwe at the Nevill Ground in Tunbridge Wells, England & the venue&s only ever
Dev eventually made 175* from 138 balls with 22 boundaries.Rohit has gone clear of compatriot Sachin Tendulkar with seven Cricket World Cup
centuries.Incredibly, Rohit has achieved the record in just 19 innings and across in only three World Cup campaigns, in comparison to
Tendulkar&s 44 innings.But it will be tough going to reach Tendulkar&s record for the most runs at Cricket World Cups of 2,278 at an average
56.95, though Rohit boasts a superior average of 65.23 which is also the highest among players to reach four figures across the
tournaments.Rohit joined a fellow tearaway opener in David Warner as the joint-fastest batters to reach 1,000 Cricket World Cup runs, doing
so in just 19 innings.Warner reached the milestone when India and Australia met in Chennai earlier in the tournament.Rohit is the only
Cricket World Cup 2023 captain to score a century to this point of the tournament.Making his 31st ODI hundred, Rohit overtook Ricky Ponting
in third place in the total ODI century list.Only Kohli (47) and Tendulkar (49) stand above Rohit after the Delhi knock.The five sixes Rohit
struck in Delhi moved him to 556 sixes across the three formats of international cricket, passing the previous record-holder in the
category, Chris Gayle.Rohit managed to pass the West Indies opener in almost 80 fewer innings across formats (472).The post All the records
Rohit Sharma broke during astonishing World Cup innings first appeared on Ariana News.
