Jaiswal steals Rohit’s thunder as India beat Afghanistan 3-0 in ODI series
This was supposed to be Rohit Sharma’s night. The MA Chidambaram Stadium was buzzing with chants of ‘Rohit, Rohit’ throughout the day in the sweltering Chennai heat, hoping for a knock from the former India captain in this series.
Chasing just 219 runs with the series already in the bag, Rohit Sharma came into bat in the second innings without any pressure to score. He started in a conservative fashion and took his time on the wicket which showed extra bounce with the new ball.
This was his moment and no one was going to take it away from him.
It has become a defining feature of Rohit Sharma’s batting ever since he lost his captaincy to Shubman Gill. He understands that this is no longer his team, and no one would care about this “approach” if he did not support him with a large part of the runs. This method had paid dividends, and it looked set to pay dividends again.
But just as Rohit was taking his time and preparing to attack the opposition, it was the man at the other end who took the thunder from his innings.
IND vs AFG 3rd ODI: Live Updates | Scorecard
Youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal, who remains on the fringes of the Indian team and only got this opportunity thanks to Virat Kohli’s absence, scored a brilliant century in Chepauk and took the spotlight off the legendary former skipper.
Jaiswal put a premium on his wicket and broke through the opposition attack one cut after another. He held the bat face down, played all shots on the ground, knowing full well that very few opportunities would arise.
While Rohit scored a brilliant knock of 79 in a partnership that lasted 23 overs and produced 170 runs for India, it was Yashasvi Jaiswal who led the chase with a blistering 110 off just 86 balls.
Both Jaiswal and Rohit entered the game with the intention of finishing things off.
Rohit is batting well this series; just the big scores weren’t coming.
In the previous match, Rohit scored 48 – one of the smoothest 48s we have seen from his bat in recent times. But it was perfect until it wasn’t. Rohit was clean bowled by Rashid Khan after failing to read his googly.
Today, when Rashid came to bowl, Rohit did not attack a single ball in the first over spinner.
Eyes fixed, Rohit’s first strike against Rashid came in the 14th over – Rashid’s 10th ball of the match.
The first was bowled over mid-wicket for four.
The second was swept for six.
Third, another thunderous four to approach his half-century.
From there, Rohit attacked Rashid, forcing him to give up 7.60 runs per over in his spell of seven.
The batsman finally fell in the 23rd over as he tried to pull Mohammad Nabi for a six.
Rohit bowed his head and pulled away from the pitch.
It was obvious that he wanted the hundred. He wanted such a big score before heading to England for the next ODI series because Rohit of all people knows he needs these milestones to remain bulletproof in front of the selection committee.
Rohit’s dismissal briefly shifted the crowd’s attention back to the former Indian skipper before they again engaged Yashasvi Jaiswal, who completed the chase with a six in the 29th over.
PRASIDH KRISHNA STAKES HIS CLAIM FOR THE WORLD CUP
Earlier in the day, the Indian bowlers made sure that the chase never got complicated.
Prasidh Krishna produced the best spell of his ODI career, picking 5 for 23 and tearing through Afghanistan’s top order with a relentless opening burst.
Bowling fuller than usual and taking advantage of the extra bounce available at Chepauk, Prasidh reduced Afghanistan to 36 for four in the first 10 overs.
Three of those goals came in almost identical fashion.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah all pushed away and edged Rohit Sharma at first slip, while Darwish Rasooli’s attempted counter-attack ended in the hands of Shreyas Iyer.
Afghanistan were heading for collapse before captain Hashmatullah Shahidi slowed things down.
Shahidi batted with remarkable patience for his first ODI hundred, putting together rescue partnerships with Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi to take Afghanistan to 218.
The left-hander, battling cramps late in the innings, took Afghanistan deep before Prasidh came back to dismiss him and complete his maiden ODI five-wicket haul.
India will have a score of 3-0 and will advance to England with no worries. But Saturday may have said something more interesting about where this team is at.
Rohit Sharma looked in control but fell short of his hundred. Prasidh Krishna has finally put together the kind of magic that Indian cricket has been waiting for from him.
But the loudest statement came from the batter at the other end. Yashasvi Jaiswal got the opportunity and made sure no one could ignore him.
This was supposed to be Rohit’s night. Instead, when Chepauk stood up for one of his favorite cricketers, it was Jaiswal who stole the thunder and walked away with the headlines.
– The end
Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
20 Jun 2026 20:50 IST