After Chris Gayle, it was Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev's turn...
Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma was in no mood to stop after becoming the player to hit the most sixes in international cricket. After having broken the record held by Chris Gayle (553) against Afghanistan during the ICC ODI World Cup encounter, the 'Hit Man' went ahead to score a ton.
As the Indian skipper went past the landmark three-digit mark in New Delhi's Arun Jaitley stadium, two more records, held by two of India's legendary cricketers, become history.
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Rohit Sharma reached the century in 63 balls -- the fastest World Cup century ever scored by an Indian. He made 131 runs from 84 balss before being dismissed by Rashid Khan in the 25th over. Sharma's innings comprised 12 fours and 4 sixes.
The record for the fastest World Cup hundred by an Indian was held to date by Kapil Dev, who had crossed the 100-mark in just 72 balls. The Haryana Hurricane's iconic innings came against Zimbabwe on June 18, 1983, reports said. However, the 1983 World Cup winning captain will now stand second in the list.
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Rohit Sharma was level with Sachin Tendulkar in the tally of those with most World Cup centuries. The two Indian batters had six centuries each till Wednesday. Rohit's whirlwind innings against Afghanistan saw him register his seventh World Cup hundred.
The Master Blaster was part of five World Cup campaigns between 1992 and 2011. The ongoing tournament, meanwhile, is only the third for 36-year-old Rohit Sharma.
Players with most centuries in ODI World Cup:
- Rohit Sharma (India) - 7
- Sachi Tendulkar (India) - 6
- Ricky Ponting (Australia) - 5
- Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) - 5
Earlier, the Indian captain had become the batter to hit the most sixes in international cricket. Rohit Sharma surpassed West Indies great Chris Gayle's record of 553 sixes. By the time Rashid sent him packing, Sharma had hit five monstrous sixes and 16 boundaries.
India vs Afghanistan: As it happened
India cantered to their second successive win of the tournament by beating Afghanistan by eight wickets. India chased down a 273-run victory target with 15 overs to spare at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Virat Kohli was unbeaten on 55, sealing the easy win with a boundary.
Electing to bat, Afghanistan were 63-3 in the 14th over before skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (80) and Azmatullah Omarzai (62) combined in a 121-run stand to frustrate India. A total in the vicinity of 300 looked within their reach but Afghanistan lost a clutch of wickets towards the end to settle for a total which proved inadequate against India's formidable batting lineup.