Ludhiana/Mohali
By: Sandeep Dhand
12 January.
In the first T20 match between India and Afghanistan at Mohali, India secured a significant victory by defeating Afghanistan by 6 wickets. With this win, India takes a 1-0 lead in the 3-match T20 series. Opting to bowl first after winning the toss, India restricted Afghanistan to a total of 159 runs.
India faced an early setback as captain Rohit Sharma got out in the first over without scoring. Subsequently, Shubman Gill played a commendable innings, scoring 23 runs off 12 balls before being stumped on Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s delivery. Following Gill’s dismissal, Tilak Varma and Shreyas Iyer stabilized India’s innings. Varma contributed 26 runs off 22 balls, and Iyer got out after scoring 60 runs off 40 balls.
Jitesh Sharma played a crucial partnership with Shreyas Iyer, scoring 31 runs off 20 balls, helping India secure a challenging victory. Rinku Singh also contributed with a quick 16 runs off 9 balls. India achieved the target in 17.3 overs, winning the match by 4 wickets.
Earlier, India chose to bowl first and Afghanistan made a solid start, reaching 50 runs for the first wicket. Mohammad Nabi’s aggressive inning of 42 runs pushed Afghanistan to a total of 158 runs. In the end, India’s bowling efforts, combined with effective partnerships in batting, led to a significant victory
Player Of The Match
Shivam Dube ( IND)
1/9(2) & 60*(40)