DELHI SPECIAL SHARMA ROLE

India skipper's explosive century takes team home against Afghanistan; Bumrah shines with ball to take four wickets

- GOMESH S

IT was the fourth ball of the final over in the Afghanistan innings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi. The stadium was slowly filling up as dusk started setting in. Rohit Sharma had four fielders inside the ring on the off-side and one more on the leg, trying to attack Afghanistan's No. 9- Naveenul-Haq. The scoreboard read 266 for 8. Mohammed Siraj, who'd conceded just two runs in the first three balls, ran in and delivered a short and wide delivery, which Naveen slashed behind point for a boundary.

Rohit, understandably, was upset, covering his face with his hands. In what is one of the most batting-friendly pitches, Jasprit Bumrah had bowled a sensational spell of 4/39 to restrict Afghanistan from 224/4 to 261/8. The Indian captain knew the significance of the performance and also of every run that was conceded. While the conditions did favour Indian batting, the match-ups were not very conducive. Afghanistan had spinners who could make an early run in. Which is why, despite the target of 273 being chaseable, India needed an explosive start.