Bengaluru: Rohit Sharma fell without scoring in the first two T20 Internationals against Afghanistan, even as Team India won both games.
In the third and final match of the series here on Wednesday evening, the Indian skipper more than made up for his twin failures by smashing a record fifth T20I century (121 not out off 69 balls, 11×4, 8×6), thereby going one-up on fellow-Indian Suryakumar Yadav and Australian Glenn Maxwell (4 hundreds each).
And what a sensational partnership Rohit had with India’s newest white-ball cricket star Rinku Singh (69 not out off 39 balls, 2×4, 6×6).
Afghanistan’s left-arm seamer Fareed Ahmad scythed through the top order as India slumped to 22/4 with Yashasvi Jaiswal (4), Virat Kohli (0), Shivam Dube (1) and Sanju Samson back in the dressing room by the fifth over.
Rohit and Rinku steadied the ship and then went berserk – plundering 103 runs in the last 5 overs. The duo stitched an unbeaten 190-run partnership in just over 15 overs.
The final over, bowled by the inexperienced Karim Janat, went for 36 runs — Rinku smacking 3 sixes, Rohit 2 sixes and a four.
Watch the last-over mayhem, posted on X by BCCI:
Rohit Sharma 🤝 Rinku Singh
OuR’RR’ 😎 💪#TeamIndia | #INDvAFG | @IDFCFIRSTBank | @ImRo45 | @rinkusingh235 pic.twitter.com/SfKSl07JoE
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 17, 2024
This is India’s last T20 International before the T20I World Cup in the West Indies and US.
