Abu Dhabi: After two major flop shows, Indian openers came to the party in the T20 World Cup on Wednesday evening. Afghanistan bowlers, including crafty leg-spinner Rashid Khan, suffered as India amassed 210 for 2 in 20 overs.
Asked to bat first after Virat Kohli lost his third straight toss in the tournament, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul went all guns blazing from the word go to post a record opening partnership of 140 in just 14.4 overs.
Rohit, who was demoted to No. 3 in the previous game against New Zealand to let Ishan Kishan open, was in vintage form as he smashed 74 off 47 balls with 8 fours and 3 sixes.
Rahul was not too far behind and raced to 69 off 48 balls, hitting 6 fours and 2 sixes.
Once the openers were dismissed, Rishabh Pant (27 not out off 13 balls) and Hardik Pandya (35 not out off 13) maintained the great momentum to easily take India past the 200-run mark.
India, having lost to Pakistan and New Zealand, may not qualify for the semifinals even if they win their remaining three group games including today’s.
Kohli’s men will need New Zealand to lose against Afghanistan and, possibly, Namibia also to have a slim chance of advancing to the knockout rounds.
