However, they ended up with Rohit Sharma instead of
Virat Kohli. India’s skipper turned a chase of 273 — which Afghanistan
anticipated would prove challenging — into a glorified middle practise,
treating their seamers with the contempt typically reserved for net bowlers.
This was an exhibition of white-ball batting in Delhi.
In his second and final World Cup appearance in the
city of his birth, India’s second game of this competition was dubbed Kohli’s
homecoming. In a low-key victory over the Netherlands twelve years prior, he
made 12 out of 20 balls; now, he was the man whose name appeared on every other
blue jersey in the 32,000-person crowd.
However, Kohli’s undefeated half-century, which
included the decisive runs on a beautiful straight drive off Azmatullah
Omarzai, was only Rohit’s supporting performance. Rohit’s 131 off 84 balls
appeared to make a statement after a six-ball duck against Australia in
Chennai: India are the favourites for this tournament, and they know it.
The majority of opening batters will tell you that
since new batches of white Kookaburra balls starting swinging and nipping more
frequently than they once did, their job has been harder during the past two to
three years. However, Rohit has changed his strategy, with the greatest strike
rates of his ODI career in the first powerplays this year and in 2022 (111.58
and 100.68, respectively).
In addition to the customary leg-side flicks, elegant
late cuts, and drop-kicks over mid-off, Rohit’s innings featured 16 fours.
Although he smashed five sixes on Tuesday night, each one an affirmation of his
– and India’s – supremacy, this hitter will be remembered more for his timing,
authority, and power when hitting sixes.
Numerous other records were also broken by Rohit,
including the fastest century by an Indian batsman in a World Cup, the most
runs (79) scored out of a team’s first 100 in a World Cup, and the most
Powerplay runs by an India batter in an ODI. However, this was neither a game
or a night that the records could adequately capture.
Rohit made it obvious during the preparation for this
competition that he is well aware of the stakes for his team. India, the
greatest and most powerful country in this sport, has not won a men’s ICC event
in ten years despite having a wealth of talent in their ranks. Before their
victory over Australia, he stated, “Pressure is always there: we are
Indian cricketers.
We will find out over the next five-and-a-half weeks
whether things will be any different on home soil, with Pakistan waiting in
Ahmedabad this weekend. But for now at least, Rohit and India are doing all
they can to make this country dream.