X (formerly,Twitter) reactions are buzzing with excitement as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma smashed quick half-centuries to lead India's chase against Afghanistan in Chennai. Cricket fans are praising
Jaiswal for hitting a rapid half-century off just 38 balls. The former Indian captain has won hearts on Twitter by reaching his 62nd ODI fifty off 47 balls.
Before his batting show, cricket enthusiasts on X went crazy over Rohit's fielding. Rohit created history by taking three consecutive catches in the slips off Prasidh Krishna's bowling. Fans are hailing his quick reflexes. Before India even faced a single ball, the scoreboard read 5/0. Afghanistan was slapped with a 5-run penalty because their batters ran on the danger area of the pitch during their innings.
Fans had a lot of fun joking that India is so dominant they score runs without even picking up the bat. It also sparked plenty of memes and explanations on Twitter timelines. Twitter users are amazed at how Jaiswal is treating world-class bowlers like Rashid Khan. He raced to his fifty in just 38 deliveries, peppering the boundaries with 11 fours.
Fans are comparing his aggressive style to legendary openers. The general consensus on Twitter is that the Jaiswal-Rohit duo is currently the most entertaining opening pair in the world. Afghanistan’s star spinner, Rashid Khan, has received a lot of stick from Indian fans, giving away 49 runs in his first 5.3 overs.
Rohit Sharma misses out on century, scores 79 runs against Afghanistan
Chasing a modest target of 219 runs, the Indian openers adopted an aggressive mindset right from the first over. The pitch at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium historically slows down and grips for spinners. Knowing this, Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal chose to attack the pace bowlers early to get ahead of the required run rate.
The duo put on a massive 170-run opening stand. They balanced caution with aggression perfectly. Jaiswal punished anything wide of the off-stump, playing comfortably on the back foot. Afghanistan's premier spinner, Rashid Khan, was brought into the attack late. Both batsmen used their feet beautifully to counter his turn, forcing him into an expensive spell.
Rohit Sharma played a vintage knock of 79 runs off 69 balls, featuring 9 fours and 3 sixes, before missing out on a century. Experienced off-spinner Mohammad Nabi noticed Rohit looking to play big shots over the leg side. Nabi deliberately slowed down his pace and bowled an undercutter that gripped slightly on the surface. Rohit tried to clear the mid-wicket boundary but did not get the required elevation or distance due to the ball holding in the pitch. He mistimed it completely and was caught comfortably in the deep. This breakthrough left India at 170/1, needing less than 50 runs to secure a clean sweep in the series.
