The Indian cricket team completed a comprehensive 3-0 ODI series whitewash against Afghanistan with a dominant 9-wicket victory in the third and final match at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium. Aside from the series win, the match entered the history books as Team India shattered a 22-year-old international record by scoring the highest number of runs ever recorded in the opening over of an ODI innings.
Before India even faced their first official delivery of the 219-run chase, they were awarded 5 penalty runs because Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi ran on the dangerous area of the pitch during his batting stint. Starting the innings at 5/0, opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal then went on a rampant boundary-hitting spree off Azmatullah Omarzai’s opening over. Complemented by a series of wides and no-balls from the bowler, India accumulated a staggering total of 23 runs from the first over, erasing India’s previous record of 22 runs set against Bangladesh in 2004.
This explosive start paved the way for a swift chase, as Team India comfortably tracked down the target to finish at 224/1 in just 28.4 overs. Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (110*), Rohit Sharma (79), and Shreyas Iyer (20*) systematically dismantled the visitor’s bowling attack. Earlier in the day, after winning the toss and electing to bat, Afghanistan was bundled out for 218 in 44.2 overs due to a career-best spell from Indian pacer Prasidh Krishna, who claimed 5/23. Despite a fighting maiden ODI century from skipper Shahidi (102) and a solid half-century from Omarzai (50), Afghanistan’s lower order collapsed under pressure, sealing their series defeat.
