NEW DELHI: India made a stunning start to their run chase against Afghanistan in the third ODI at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday, scoring a record 23 runs in the first over.Chasing 219 for victory, India began their innings at 5/0 after Afghanistan were penalized for five runs during their innings when captain Hashmatullah Shahidi repeatedly ran into the protected area of ​​the pitch.The unusual start helped India enter the record books for the highest number of runs scored in the opening part of an ODI innings by an Indian team.
Most runs by India in the first over of an ODI innings
- 23 vs Afghanistan, Chennai, 2026
- 22 v Bangladesh, Colombo SSC, 2004
- 20 v Australia, Sydney, 2020
The record over was bowled by Azmatullah Omarzai and turned into a nightmare for Afghanistan.After India started with 5/0, Yashasvi Jaiswal started quickly. The left-hander picked up two runs before smashing a boundary over the side. Omarzai then lost control of the over, bowled the ball wide and overstepped twice to receive two no-balls.Jaiswal took full advantage of the free kick opportunities. He hit a boundary over long-off and followed it up with another four in a row after mid-off. The mis-pull that was caught at mid-wicket did not count as it came after a no-ball.The over ended with Jaiswal cutting another short delivery for four, taking India’s tally to 23 runs after just six legal deliveries.Earlier, Afghanistan recovered from a disastrous start to post a total of 218.Prasidh Krishna was India’s star with the ball, scoring a career-best spell of 5/23. The fast bowler tore through Afghanistan’s top order, reducing them to 36/4 inside the first 10 overs.Afghanistan captain Shahidi then led the fightback with a determined 102 off 131 balls, his maiden ODI century. He shared a 105-run partnership with Omarzai, who made 50, and later added 57 runs with Mohammad Nabi.Despite Shahidi’s efforts, Afghanistan lost their last five wickets for just 20 runs and were bowled out for 218.
