Team India registered yet another win in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 as they beat Afghanistan by eight wickets on Wednesday, October 11 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. After opting to bat first, Afghanistan managed to put up 272/8 in their allotted 50 overs with captain Hashmatullah Shahidi top-scoring with 80 (88). In reply, India successfully chased down the target in 35 overs courtesy of a record-breaking hundred from Indian captain Rohit Sharma (131 off 84).
However, following the end of the game, India’s fielding coach T Dilip appreciated all the fielders for their stunning efforts on the field. He applauded the likes of Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan for keeping the pressure on the batters with their stunning fielding. However, it was Shardul who won the medal for the best fielder of the match for his stunning catch of Rahmanullah Gurbaz on the deep square leg boundary as well. And, star India batter Virat Kohli looked shocked at Thakur getting the award and he presented it to Thakur as well.
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“That catch was I think at the crucial period because Hardik took a chance by bowling the bouncer and we needed a wicket a that stage. Very happy to convert that catch,” said Shardul Thakur after receiving the medal in a video uploaded by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India).
𝗗𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗕𝗧𝗦 | 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝘃𝘀 𝗔𝗳𝗴𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻 – By @28anand
The medal baton 🏅 has been passed from Virat Kohli to Shardul Thakur for best fielder of the day 😎 #CWC23 | #TeamIndia | #INDvAFG | #MeninBlue
Check it out 🎥🔽
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 12, 2023
However, after the win, Rohit Sharma, India captain said as quoted by Cricbuzz: “Was a good win for us, very important to get that momentum at the start of the tournament. It is about absorbing pressure and taking the right decision on the field. There will be a spell from the opposition where you will have to absorb pressure. Leading up to the tournament we had played such games. You have got players with different skill sets in our team. They bring different attributes of the game to the team and it puts you in good positions as a team when you have that. We have got guys who can play fearless cricket with bat and guys who can absorb like the last game. (Asked about playing Pakistan and the talk around it) For us it’s crucial that we don’t worry about external factors and just look at things we can control. We just need to show up and do well. Things like what the pitch is like, what combo we can play is what we can control. What happens outside we won’t be worried about it. It’s just about focusing on what we can do as players and how we can perform.”
