Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul hit half centuries as the team posted 210 for 2 against Afghanistan in their Super 12 match of the T20 World Cup in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Rohit (74) and Rahul (69) stitched 140 runs from 14.4 overs for the opening wicket to set up the big total after being invited to bat.
Skipper Virat Kohli did not come to bat. Instead, he sent power-hitter Rishabh Pant to help the team cross the 200-run mark.
Hardik Pandya and Pant remained not out on 35 and 27 respectively.
This is India's second-highest total in a T20 World Cup match. The highest score remains 218/4 against England in 2007 when Yuvraj Singh hit six sixes off Stuart Broad in Durban.
After India's innings, opener KL Rahul said it's the best wicket they've batted on in this tournament. "It's the best wicket we've batted on. It starts looking better if you get off to a good start and the openers lay a solid foundation. Very happy with the batting performance," he said.
Speaking about his partnership with Rohit Sharma, Rahul said,"(We) don't really chat much to be honest. Have batted together for a long time. Know what is expected out of each other. If Rohit feels the situation is slightly different and maybe he needs to hold me back, he sometimes does that. But otherwise it's just freedom to go out there and play our game. I obviously don't need to tell him much as he's a world class player."
Meanwhile, Twitter users are not optimistic about India's qualification chances.
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