World Cup 2023: Hardik Pandya celebrates 30th birthday after India thrash Afghanistan - WATCH

Team India marked all-rounder Hardik Pandya's 30th birthday with a convincing eight-wicket victory over Afghanistan in their second World Cup match on October 11. The team celebrated in the dressing room, where Hardik cut his birthday cake amidst the warm wishes of his teammates and support staff.

3 things you need to know 

• Hardik Pandya celebrated his birthday with his India teammates 
• On his birthday, Pandya took two crucial wickets in Delhi 
• India beat Afghanistan by eight wickets on October 11

A memorable birthday for Pandya

This was the first time that Hardik Pandya had the opportunity to play in an international match on his birthday. Leading up to the Afghanistan clash, he had a mini cake-cutting session with host broadcaster and former India batter Gautam Gambhir. Hardik had a memorable birthday as he made vital contributions to India's victory. He picked up two crucial wickets, helping restrict Afghanistan to 272/8 on a relatively placid pitch in Delhi.

Hardik Pandya expressed his gratitude to fans, fellow players, and everyone who sent their birthday wishes in a video shared by the BCCI on their social media platforms. Before the match began, he mentioned receiving a special birthday gift from his son Agastya and humorously acknowledged that the realisation of no longer being in his 20s hit him the night before.

On the cricketing front, India secured a second consecutive win in the 2023 World Cup. After a brief early stumble at 2/3 during their chase of 200 against Australia in Chennai, they bounced back with a resounding performance against Afghanistan. A disciplined bowling display limited Afghanistan to 272/8 in their 50 overs on a batting-friendly pitch in Delhi.

Jasprit Bumrah was the star of the show with figures of 4/39 in his 10 overs, and he received support from Hardik Pandya, who claimed two wickets, along with one each from Kuldeep Yadav and Shardul Thakur. In response, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma dazzled with his 31st ODI century. He set multiple records, including the fastest World Cup century by an Indian batter in just 63 deliveries, surpassing Kapil Dev's previous record of 72 balls.

Rohit also became the first cricketer to score seven World Cup centuries, reached 1,000 World Cup runs in the fewest innings, and stands third on the all-time ODI hundreds list, behind Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. With valuable contributions from Ishan Kishan (47) and Virat Kohli (55*), India reached their target in a mere 35 overs with eight wickets to spare.