Friday 27 / December / 2024
Indore: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube treated the Indore crowd with some thunderous hitting as India wrapped up the three-match T20I series 2-0 with a 6-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the second game at the Holkar Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Dube played an unbeaten knock of 63 off 32 balls with the help of 5 fours and 4 sixes while Jaiswal scored a blistering 68 off 34. For Afghanistan, Karim Janat came on and stalled the end by picking two in his first over. India took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
India got off to a shaky start as opener Rohit Sharma, who was playing his 150th T20I, lost his wicket for a duck to Fazalhaq Farooqi in the first over of the game.
Number three batter Virat Kohli then came out to join hands with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and hammered the Afghanistan bowlers all around the ground. Jaiswal was in magnificent form as the batter smoked both spinners and pacers of visitors.
Jaiswal and Kohli hammered Mujeeb Ur Rahman for 19 runs with the help of four boundaries. Naveen-ul-Haq cut Kohli's 29-run stay at the crease in the 6th over of the game. Shivam Dube then came out to bat. Jaiswal brought his fiery half-century in 27 balls.
Dube with the powerful shots continued the carnage as he slammed back-to-back three maximums off Mohammad Nabi, gathering 21 runs.
Dube also brought up his 22-ball fifty. Jaiswal's fireworks at the Holkar Stadium was cut short as Karim Janat removed India batter for 68 runs. In the same over Janat dismissed Jitesh Sharma for a two-ball duck.
The left-handed batter Rinku Singh then came out to bat. Dube kept his fine form going and led his team to a six-wicket victory over Afghanistan.
Earlier, Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel's fiery bowling performances helped India bundle out Afghanistan for 172.
Gulbadin Naib's fitting half-century and Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Karim Janat's crucial 30-run partnership powered Afghanistan to 172 against India.
Gulbadin played a fabulous knock of 57 runs in 35 deliveries while Mujeeb and Karim's crucial partnership of 30 runs in 12 balls powered their team to a competitive total. For India Ashdeep returned with a three-wicket haul while Axar bagged two.
Put to bat first, Afghanistan openers Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz set a solid tone for their team as they heavily slammed an Indian pacer in the first two overs of the match scoring 9 and 11 in respective overs.
In the third over, Ravi Bishnoi helped India take back control as he removed Gurbaz for 14.
The right-handed batter Gulbadin Naib then handled the charge with the opener and got off to the mark with back-to-back two fours. Gulbadin then single-handedly smoked Bishnoi for 18 runs with the help of one maximum and two boundaries. Axar Patel broke the partnership and removed Zadran for 8.
The new batter Azmatullah Omarzai then lost his wicket to Shivam Dube for 2 in the 7th over of the game. Gulbadin continued his blistering form as he hammered Indian bowlers all around the ground and brought up his half-century in 28 deliveries.
Gulbadin's stay at the crease was cut short as he was removed by Axar after playing a knock of 57 runs in 35 balls.
Veteran Mohammad Nabi lost his wicket to Bishnoi in the 15th over of the game. Najibullah Zadran tried to help his team as he slammed two maximums and two boundaries before losing his wicket to Arshdeep Singh for 23. The right-handed batter Mujeeb Ur Rahman then came out to bat and he opened his tally with a huge six off Arshdeep.
Afghanistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals. In the last over, Arshdeep bagged two wickets while Afghanistan lost two batters to runs out and bundled out for 172 runs.
Brief score: Afghanistan 172 (Gulbadin Naib 57, Najibullah Zadran 23; Arshdeep Singh 3-32) vs India 173/4 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 68, Shivam Dube 63*; Karim Janat 2-13).
