With India already 2-0 up in the series, the third ODI at Chepauk was billed as a dead rubber. But for several individuals, the match carried immense personal significance. Yashasvi Jaiswal needed a big knock to cement his place in the ODI setup. Prasidh Krishna was eager to prove his worth after being on the fringes. And Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi was desperate to register his maiden ODI century.

Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first, hoping to put runs on the board against a pace attack that had been dominant in the first two ODIs. The decision would prove disastrous.

Prasidh Krishna produced a devastating spell of fast bowling to claim his maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs, returning sensational figures of 5/23 as India bundled out Afghanistan for 218 in the third and final ODI in Chennai.

The Karnataka pacer tore apart Afghanistan’s top-order with a career-best spell, taking the first four wickets as Afghanistan slumped to 36/4 inside the first 10 overs. He eventually returned to dismiss centurion Hashmatullah Shahidi to complete his five-wicket haul.

Despite the early collapse, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi played a valiant knock, scoring his maiden ODI century — 102 off 131 balls — to lift his side to a respectable total.

Shahidi’s hundred came off 126 balls, making it the second-slowest ODI century for Afghanistan in terms of balls faced, behind only Ibrahim Zadran’s 131-ball ton against Australia in the 2023 World Cup.

His innings was a study in patience and resilience, anchoring the innings as wickets fell around him. He added crucial partnerships with the lower order to push Afghanistan past the 200-run mark.

Chasing 219, India’s openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal produced a breathtaking 170-run partnership off just 139 balls — the fourth-highest opening stand against Afghanistan in ODI history.

India’s chase began in spectacular fashion. Azmatullah Omarzai’s opening over conceded 23 runs — the most by India in the first over of an ODI innings. Rohit Sharma contributed to that over with a bizarre moment when Rahmanullah Gurbaz kicked the ball to the boundary while fielding, gifting India four extra runs.

Yashasvi Jaiswal announced his arrival on the big stage with a magnificent unbeaten 110 off 86 balls, his maiden ODI century, laced with 14 boundaries and 3 sixes. He reached his century in 83 balls, making it the seventh-fastest ODI century against Afghanistan.

Rohit Sharma played a sublime knock of 79 off 69 balls, taking his tally of 50+ scores in ODIs to 95, moving past Rahul Dravid (94) and Sourav Ganguly (93). He also registered his 71st century partnership in ODIs, moving closer to Ricky Ponting’s tally of 72.

India completed the chase in just 33.4 overs, winning by 9 wickets with 128 balls to spare — the fourth-highest margin of victory (by balls remaining) when chasing 200+ targets.