England captain Eoin Morgan slammed 17 sixes on his way to the knock of 148 against Afghanistan as he created a new record for most sixes in an ODI innings.
Eoin Morgan was forced to leave the field against West Indies in England's last game with a back spasm but his blitzkrieg with the bat on Tuesday would have given the Afghanistan's bowlers a similar problem.
Morgan who came out to bat with England at 164/2 in 29.5 overs after the fall of Jonny Bairstow, took Afghanistan's bowlers to the cleaners with this brutal counter-attack.
The Ireland-born England captain produced the fastest hundred of the ongoing World Cup with an innings that witnessed sixes being hit at a will as he broke the record for most maximums hit during an ODI innings.
The record was earlier jointly held by three stalwarts of the game: Rohit Sharma, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle, each of whom slammed 16 sixes during their respective innings. But Morgan now stands over them with 17 sixes, eventually getting dismissed for 148 off 71 deliveries.
Morgan who had come out to bat after Joe Root, left his partner way behind racing to the three-figure mark by getting there in just 57 balls. Morgan's century is now the fourth fastest in World Cup history. The record for the fastest World Cup ton belongs to Ireland's Kevin O'Brien, who brought it up in just 50 deliveries in the 2011 edition.
The blistering innings also enabled England to put up 397/6 in 50 overs — the highest score so far in this World Cup while Rashid Khan finished with match figures of 110/0 in nine overs, the worst in, again, the World Cup history.
His fiery innings at the Old Trafford in Manchester also put the Twitter abuzz with astonishment and praise:
New World Record: Eoin Morgan becomes the first batsman in ODI history to hit 17 sixes in an innings. #CWC19
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) June 18, 2019
Do as I do and not as I say. Morgan is leading this dangerous batting pack by example. Most dangerous batting line-up in the #CWC19. Especially while batting first. #EngvAfg — Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) June 18, 2019
Afghanistan ravaged by Hurricane Morgan
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) June 18, 2019
Eoin Morgan the first player to hit a century of sixes (102) in an ODI. Wow. — Ben Rumsby (@ben_rumsby) June 18, 2019
Eoin Morgan with more runs in that innings than he managed in the 2007, 2011 or 2015 tournaments.
— Tim (@timwig) June 18, 2019
Two World Cup records tell the story of day: Eoin Morgan scores 102 only with sixes, and Rashid Khan goes for 110 runs in nine overs — Sambit Bal (@sambitbal) June 18, 2019
England fans stand up and applaud their skipper #EoinMorgan 👏 🙌
This has been a breathtaking display of hitting.#CWC19 | #ENGvAFG pic.twitter.com/HpZvkTTUjo
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 18, 2019
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