- Prasidh Krishna claimed five wickets, restricting Afghanistan’s top order.
- Hashmatullah Shahidi’s century rebuilt Afghanistan’s innings total.
- Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal scored half-centuries.
- India swiftly pursued target, taking control of the match.
IND vs AFG 3rd ODI: India opened the innings with distinct aggression as senior batsman Rohit Sharma smashed a fluent half-century to put the hosts in firm control against Afghanistan during the third One-Day International at Chennai. The dominant home side quickly dealt with the modest running target on a good red-soil pitch surface at Chepauk this Saturday afternoon.
Aggressive Opening Stand Sustained
The opening batting pair engineered a highly authoritative response during the secondary phase of the multi-match international dead rubber. The dynamic left-handed prospect Yashasvi Jaiswal matchingly crossed his own fifty milestone with a series of crisp boundary strokes across the outfield areas.
The young left-hander played with complete freedom, striking eight individual fours and a solitary six during his highly impressive stay at the crease. His fluent performance provided massive structural support to the central tracking effort.
ALSO READ | Afghan Cricketer Battling For Life In Gurgaon Hospital, In Urgent Need Of A+ Platelet
Rohit Capitalises on Reprieves
The senior international captain initially survived two early aerial chances when the chasing innings commenced. However, the experienced batsman soon found his rhythm to punish the visiting bowling attack through classic pulling shots.
He brought up his half-century by dispatching a boundary on the second delivery of the sixteenth over. The landmark highlighted an opening partnership that effectively broke the tourist resistance.
ALSO READ | Tilak Varma Breaks Silence On Super Over Controversy In Sri Lanka
Prasidh Breaks National Record
Earlier in the day, the visitor batting order collapsed completely under intense pressure from the Indian pace attack. Leading seam bowler Prasidh Krishna delivered a remarkable spell to claim his maiden five-wicket haul.
The tall fast bowler tore through the top order, reducing the opposition to a paltry thirty-six runs for four wickets. His final figures of five for twenty-three restricted the visiting team significantly.
Shahidi Hits Fighting Century
Despite the initial damage, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi produced a resilient defensive display to rebuild the innings. The visiting leader compiled an excellent century to keep his side competitive.
Shahidi scored one hundred and two runs alongside Azmatullah Omarzai, who contributed a valuable half-century. However, the total remained well within reach for the confident Indian openers.
