NEW DELHI: Prasidh Krishna and Rohit Sharma set a rare ODI record as India got off to a dream start against Afghanistan in the third and final ODI at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday.After Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and elected to bat, Prasidh was bowled with the first ball of the innings. The right-arm pacer dismissed opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 5, while Rohit Sharma took a strong catch at slip.Gurbaz pushed outside off stump and steered straight to Rohit, giving India an early lead.Prasidh continued to trouble the Afghan batsmen with his commanding line and length. In the sixth over, he struck again, this time removing Rahmat Shah for 5. Again, Rohit was the catch.Rahmat tried to deliver a back of length on the leg side but it just looked forward, where Rohit was well protected.The Prasidh-Rohit combination completed the hat-trick of catches in the eighth over. Ibrahim Zadran became the third victim as he tried to run his body and steered the ball for first fall, while Rohit completed his third effort.All three wickets fell in similar fashion, with Prasidh getting an outside boundary and Rohit doing the rest.This feat also created a unique record in Indian ODI history.For the first time in India’s 1,078 ODI matches, the same bowling combination took the first three wickets of the innings. Although there have been previous instances of a bowler taking three wickets in one bowler in ODIs for India, none of them have taken three consecutive wickets, apart from three dismissals in the first innings.
Three catches by a bowler in ODIs for India
- VVS Laxman off Irfan Pathan v Zimbabwe, Perth, 2004
- Shikhar Dhawan on Jasprit Bumrah vs Bangladesh, Dubai, 2018
- Rohit Sharma on Prasidh Krishna vs Afghanistan, Chennai, 2026
India leads the three-match ODI series 2-0.
