Top 5 Performances of Team India Against Afghanistan in ODI World Cup

Virat Kohli scored a half-century vs Afghanistan in the ODI World Cup 2019 (Source: X.com)

The ODI World Cup 2023 is here. After years of waiting, the highly-anticipated tournament is just about to start with the opening clash between England and New Zealand on October 5 in Ahmedabad.

The tournament will be played in a round-robin format, where all the 10 participating teams will face each of their opposition once in the first round to begin with.

India, who will commence their campaign with the fixture against Australia on October 8 in Chennai, also have to feature in the final game of the initial stage versus the Netherlands on November 12, as scheduled.

In between, they will face seven other sides with Afghanistan being one of them. This match will take place on October 11 in Delhi.

Notably, the two teams have met in an ODI World Cup only once, excluding a warm-up match in 2015. In the 2019 edition of the competition, India and Afghanistan fought hard in a topsy-turvy affair. The Men in Blue eventually won by 11 runs.

Let us look back at that encounter and list the top five best individual performances from the Indian camp.

5. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli [Twitter]

Batting first, Team India was in a pickle as they lost their in-form batter Rohit Sharma early. Then came Virat Kohli, who joined hands with KL Rahul to steady the ship.

On a Southampton pitch, where most of the batters struggled to even score at a strike rate of around 80, Kohli looked dexterous in his stroke play as he notched up 67 runs in 63 deliveries during his stay at the crease, ending up as the top-scorer for India in the innings.

4. Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav [Twitter]

The MS Dhoni-Kedar Jadhav partnership from this game is not very fondly remembered. While Dhoni struck at a rate of 53.85 for his 28 runs, Jadhav's innings too was moving at a similar pace or even slower than the former's as at one stage, he was batting on 23 runs off 43 deliveries.

But considering the complexity of the situation, Jadhav ended up scoring a helpful 68-ball 52, making up for the lost balls in the end overs and taking India to a fighting total of 224 runs.

---

ALSO READ

Which Team Can Win Cricket World Cup 2023?

---

3. Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal [Twitter]

As India's score was on the lower side, they had to continuously chip in with wickets without leaking too many runs. And looking at how the Afghan spinners performed, the role of Indian tweakers, including Yuzvendra Chahal became all the more important.

Chahal lived up to the team's expectations, crafting a victory for India with his decisive 10-over spell that saw him giving away only 36 runs, which was the lowest among all Indian bowlers. He claimed two important wickets in the form of Asghar Afghan and Rashid Khan at crucial junctures when Afghanistan were threatening to take the game away from India.

4. Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah [Twitter]

Jasprit Bumrah's spell accounted for 39 runs and also included the wickets of Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi.

Rahmat and Hashmatullah had started to pile up on India's woes with their 42-run stand for the third wicket. However, Bumrah got India back into the game with his double-wicket maiden. He was declared the Player of the Match.

5. Mohammad Shami

Mohammad Shami [Twitter]

Mohammad Shami had provided India with the first breakthrough in the form of Hazratullah Zazai. But, his job was not over yet!

The fast-bowler was tasked to bowl the final over of the match as Afghanistan required 12 runs in six balls to win with three wickets in their hands. We were set for a last-ball finish. Right?

Shami did not let that happen as he spilled water on Afghanistan's dreams with his hat-trick. He dismissed Mohammad Nabi, Aftab Alam and Mujeeb Ur Rahman on three consecutive deliveries, becoming only the second Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in an ODI World Cup.

---

ALSO READ

[Watch] Ravindra Jadeja Cuts Cake As Team India Departs For Chennai For World Cup Opener

---