Adelaide, Feb 10: India have beaten Afghanistan by 153 runs. India had earlier posted 364 for five courtesy of 150 by Rohit Sharma, unbeaten half-century by Ajinkya Rahane and also a brilliant 75 from Suresh Raina. Afghanistan had a forgettable day on the field but they started the match on a bright note as they got the wickets of Shikhar Dhawan (4) and Virat Kohli (5) in quick succession.
After that Rohit and Raina put on 100-plus runs for the third wicket, which was followed by another bright partnership between Rohit and Rahane that took the game completely away from Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s bowling and fielding were a bit wayward and India were let off on a multiple occasions. India eventually finished with a bang and left Afghanistan a mammoth total to chase.
Afghanistan started the innings on a good note, but their opener Javed Ahmadi fell for 17 after he was looking set to go on and get a decent score. But two 50-run stands for the second and third wicket ensured that Afghanistan gave a good fight, but the pressure of chasing a huge score got to them and they lost wickets in ah hurry. Nawroz Mangal top scored for Afghanistan with 60, but that was never going to be enough as the required run rate went more and more out of control. Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the Indian bowlers with figures of two for 38 in his 10 overs.
India will be satisfied with this victory as they go into the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 with the much needed momentum. They start their campaign against Pakistan at Adelaide on February 15.
Brief scores:
India: 364 for 5 in 50 overs (Rohit Sharma 150, Ajinkya Rahane 88*; Hamid Hassan 1 for 49) beat Afghanistan: 211/8 in 50 overs (Usman Ghani 44, Nawroz Mangal 60; Ravindra Jadeja 2 for 37) by 153 runs
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