CHENNAI: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma activated their free-flowing mode while making an unbeaten 110 and 79 respectively, backing up Prasidh Krishna’s career-best 5 for 23 as India flayed Afghanistan by nine wickets in the third and final ODI here on Saturday.
The victory helped India sweep the three-match ODI series 3-0.
The target of 219 was never really going to test the Indians, and they completed the chase in a mere 28.4 overs, leaving a valiant 102 by Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi as a mere footnote. India finished with 224 for one, laced by Jaiswal's second ODI hundred.
Realistically, neither Rohit nor Jaiswal, who could not have timed his second ODI hundred no better, have nothing to prove but their immediate situation made it mandatory for them to make this outing count.
Rohit needed a substantial innings to keep the swelling competition for his place at bay for the time being, and Jaiswal needed a big score to keep himself in contention for India’s thickly populated top-order.
They merged their personal goals in a stunning exhibition of one-day batting for the team’s cause on this night.
Rohit was a tad slow to begin his innings, but soon discovered the kind of shots that earned him the sobriquet— Hitman.
The Mumbai batter took a liking for Afghanistan’s premier spinner Rashid Khan, clobbering him for flicked four and a swept six in succession.
The enviable timing of Rohit was on full view when he smashed Rashid inside out over the covers for a six, eliciting a wistful smile from the bowler.
Jaiswal, on the other hand, was at ease from ball one, careening pacer Azmatullah Omarzai for three boundaries, as a 9-ball first over produced 23 runs, including five penalty runs which India acquired after Shahidi was found guilty of repeatedly running on the danger area.
There was a pulled six off pacer Fareed Ahmed and some velvety drives off spinner AM Ghazanfar as he reached his fifty in 38 balls, and his partner went past the milestone in 47 balls.
Together, they amassed 170 runs in just 22.5 overs for the first wicket as India cruised past the target without batting an eyelid.
A minor aberration was the departure of Rohit, who could not impart distance to his pet pull shot off Mohammad Nabi and was caught at deep mid-wicket by substitute Sediqullah Atal.
But that did not stop Jaiswal, as the left-hander fetched a composed hundred in 83 balls, with a six off Nabi, and celebrated the moment with a signature raising of the bat and soon, fittingly, fetched the winnings runs through a six off Nabi
Earlier, pacer Prasidh tore apart Afghanistan’s top-order with a wonderful spell before the visitors scampered to 218 all out.
Opting to bat first, Afghanistan were in all sorts of trouble at 36 for four after Prasidh discovered the perfect length at the Chepauk pitch with a four-wicket burst in his opening spell.
But Shahidi, who took 131 balls for his maiden ODI hundred, marshalled the remaining resources well to save Afghanistan some blushes.
The left-hander first milked 105 runs off 117 balls for the fifth wicket with Azmatullah Omarzai (50, 56b) and then a 57 runs off 53 balls for the sixth wicket with Nabi.
Before the Afghans mounted a rescue act, Prasidh hogged the limelight with a very fine spell, hitting the fuller length and tempting the batters to drive.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah, all attempted drove Prasidh outside the off-stump, giving regulation catches to Rohit at first slip.
Darwish Rasooli tried to pull the pacer, but Shreyas Iyer ran from mid-off to take a fine catch that gave Prasidh his fourth wicket inside the first 10 overs.
The Karnataka man thus joined an elite list of pacers like Jasprit Bumrah, Javagal Srinath and Mohammed Siraj etc to have achieved that feat.
At 36 for four, a capitulation seemed imminent. But Shahidi and Omarzai resisted the Indian bowlers bravely.
Shahidi played the anchor role to perfection, and often used late cuts and little dabs to the gaps to collect runs and raised his fifty in 64 balls.
In contrast, Omarzai was more aggressive and brought up his half-century in 55 balls which contained sixes off left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey and off-spinner Washington Sundar.
But a feeble pull off Prince Yadav ended in the hands of Prasidh at long leg.
However, Shahidi, who battled cramps after reaching 80, continued unfazed and scored his first one-day international century off 128 balls.
But once Nabi was departed wickets began to fall quickly around Shahidi, who conjured his last ounce of energy to bat through the pain barrier, taking Afghanistan past the 200-run mark.
The tourists' otherwise modest day was amplified by the five-run penalty imposed on them after Shahidi ran on the pitch's danger zone in the last ball of the 39th over.