Twitter erupted in joy after India captain Rohit Sharma shattered West Indies legend Chris Gayle's long-standing record for most sixes in international cricket. Rohit Sharma's mega feat came in India's Cricket World Cup fixture against Afghanistan in Delhi on Wednesday.

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Universe Boss Chris Gayle smashed 553 maximums in 551 knocks across formats, while Rohit Sharma has hit 556 sixes in only 473 innings.

Most international sixes across formats

Rohit Sharma (India) – 556 sixes*

Chris Gayle (West Indies) – 553 sixes

Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) – 476 sixes

Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) – 398 sixes

Martin Guptill (New Zealand) – 383 sixes

MS Dhoni (India) – 359 sixes

Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) – 352 sixes

Eoin Morgan (England) – 346 sixes

AB de Villiers (South Africa) – 328 sixes

Jos Buttler – 312 sixes*

After Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bat, India restricted them to 272/8 on a belter of a track. Former cricketers, including India's 2011 World Cup hero Gautam Gambhir, criticized the curators for preparing such a pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, which had nothing for the bowlers.

“You can't make such tracks, which have nothing for the bowlers. Such pitches are bad exhibitions for cricket. There has to be something for the pacers and spinners. Scoring 400 runs or 350 runs will not help the future generations who want to make cricket their profession,” Gautam Gambhir said on air during the match.

However, the Indian bowlers, led by pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, kept a tightrope on the Afghan batters throughout their essay. Except for their captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (80) and Azmatullah Omarzai (62), no other Afghanistan batter got going, and in the end, they finished with a below-par score of 272/8.

India's response was all about the Rohit Sharma show. The India captain's blitzkrieg was such that Afghan bowlers were left stunned, as they had no answers to his explosive batting prowess at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, formerly known as the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.

Smoking boundaries and sixes at will, Rohit Sharma completed his fifty in just 30 balls before blasting his 31st ODI hundred in only 63 balls.

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In the process, Rohit Sharma broke former India captain Kapil Dev's milestone for the quickest century in the World Cup.

In the 1983 World Cup, Kapil Dev completed a ton in 72 balls. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma touched the milestone in only 63 deliveries against Afghanistan.

Also, Rohit Sharma overhauled Sachin Tendulkar's mark for the most centuries in ICC ODI World Cups. Rohit Sharma's century against Afghanistan was the 36-year-old's seventh in Cricket World Cup history. Remarkably, Rohit Sharma has scored seven tons in only three World Cups in 2015, 2019, and 2023.

In contrast, Sachin Tendulkar participated in five editions of the World Cup from 1992 to 2011 for his six centuries. His last World Cup hundred came against South Africa in 2011 when he made a quickfire 111 against South Africa in Bengaluru.

Sachin Tendulkar required 41 knocks for his six centuries, while Rohit Sharma accomplished in his 19th World Cup innings.

Eventually, Rohit Sharma was dismissed for 131 off 84 balls, with his scintillating hundred featuring sixteen fours and five sixes.

Following Rohit Sharma's departure, Virat Kohli took centerstage in possibly his last World Cup game at his home ground.

Virat Kohli, who bailed out India from a tricky position in their World Cup opener against Australia, scoring a fighting 85 in Chennai, remained unbeaten on 55 off 56 balls in Delhi.

Rohit Sharma's hundred and Virat Kohli's half-century sealed an 8-wicket triumph for India with 15 overs to spare. The win against Afghanistan took the Men in Blue to the second spot in the table behind New Zealand.

“Was a good pitch to bat. Backing myself to play my natural game. Knew wicket would get easier once I'd get my eye in. It's something I've been working on for a while. Special to get a World Cup 100. Very happy about that. Don't want to think about records too much because I know there's a long way to go ahead and not to lose my focus and what's required,” Rohit Sharma told the tournament's official broadcasters Star Sports after India's comfortable triumph in Delhi.

“Just want to make it count on days like this. Some of my play is premeditated, can't just go out and play big shots. Sometimes, you go by instinct. It's a mixture of both. I know it's my responsibility to give the team a good start and put the team in a good position as much as possible. It's something I've done for a while and love. Looks good when it works out. It doesn't always come off but I want to back myself to keep trying and put pressure on the opposition,” the India captain added.

Rohit Sharma described India's victory against Afghanistan as a “good win.”

“Was a good win for us. Important to get the momentum at the start. You will be put under pressure. There will be a spell from the opposition and we'll have to absorb the pressure. We absorbed it well. For now, it's leaving what's happened aside and move on,” the Nagpur-born cricketer noted.

“You've got players with different skillsets bringing different attributes, which is good for the team. We got batters who play freely and fearlessly. When you have all-round players, things take care of themselves. In WCs, you need to respond with different styles of play,” he pointed out.

“Looking at India Pakistan like we did this game. Don't want to worry about the external factors. We'll treat every game like that: how the pitch plays, conditions and combinations, etc,” Rohit Sharma underlined.

On the other hand, Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi opined that they could not put enough runs on the board.

“We had above 300 as the target in mind, given India's strong line-up. Unfortunately, we lost back-to-back wickets in the middle. Our thinking at the toss was that it was a good pitch and we wanted to put up big runs. After losing three, me and Azmat were talking, told him to keep going and look after each other. Looking forward to the seven more games. Hope to work on the issues and come back positively,” Hashmatullah Shahidi explained.

India next play Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday.