India and Afghanistan had the third T20I on 17th January 2024 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The match turned out to be spectacular that was tied, and thus India triumphed in the 2nd Super Over to make it 3-nil in the series. What made the match interesting was the apparent pressure applied to each group, and the level of skill exhibited by each of the groups. Here is a summary of the match; the great moments, players’ performances and the scorecard at the end of the match.
Match Summary
The match was the third and the last one of the T20I series between India and Afghanistan comprising three matches in total. India as the hosts side won the toss and decided to bat first. India lost early wickets and looked in deep trouble, but Rohit Sharma’s breathtaking unbeaten hundred helped India to score a competitive 212 for four in their 20 overs. Afghanistan, in turn, responded with the same score resulting in a tied match and the match had to move to the Super Over. The final played the magnificent India wins after two Super Overs
India National Cricket Team vs Afghanistan National Cricket Team Match Scorecard in Detail
India Innings
| Batsman | Run | Ball | 4s | 6s | SR |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 66.66 |
| Rohit Sharma (c) | 121* | 69 | 11 | 8 | 175.36 |
| Virat Kohli | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Shivam Dube | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16.66 |
| Sanju Samson † | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Rinku Singh | 69* | 39 | 2 | 6 | 176.92 |
| Extras | 17 | ||||
| Total | 212/4 | ||||
| Fall of Wickets | 1-18 (Jaiswal), 2-18 (Kohli), 3-21 (Dube), 4-22 (Samson) |
Afghanistan Bowling
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | ECON |
| Fareed Ahmad | 4 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 5.00 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | 4 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 8.25 |
| Qais Ahmad | 4 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 7.00 |
| Mohammad Saleem | 3 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 14.33 |
| Sharafuddin Ashraf | 2 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 12.50 |
| Karim Janat | 3 | 0 | 54 | 0 | 18.00 |
Afghanistan Innings
| Batsman | Run | Ball | 4s | 6s | SR |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz † | 50 | 32 | 3 | 4 | 156.25 |
| Ibrahim Zadran (c) | 50 | 41 | 4 | 1 | 121.95 |
| Gulbadin Naib | 55* | 23 | 4 | 4 | 239.13 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Mohammad Nabi | 34 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 212.50 |
| Karim Janat | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Najibullah Zadran | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 166.66 |
| Sharafuddin Ashraf | 5* | 2 | 1 | 0 | 250.00 |
| Extras | 11 | ||||
| Total | 212/6 | ||||
| Fall of Wickets | 1-93 (Gurbaz), 2-107 (Zadran), 3-107 (Omarzai), 4-163 (Nabi), 5-167 (Janat), 6-182 (Najibullah) |
India Bowling
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | ECON |
| Mukesh Kumar | 4 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 11.00 |
| Avesh Khan | 4 | 0 | 55 | 1 | 13.75 |
| Ravi Bishnoi | 4 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 9.50 |
| Washington Sundar | 3 | 0 | 18 | 3 | 6.00 |
| Shivam Dube | 2 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 12.50 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 3 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 10.33 |
Super Over Details
The match was concluded with the scores of two teams equal to 212 for each team, for their individual Innings. In the first Super Over, Afghanistan made 16/1; India also making the same and not losing a wicket. There then followed second Super Over, in which India was able to score 11/2 in 0. 5 overs only, Afghanistan got to bowl only 1/2 in 0. This gifted India the victory, 3 overs still remaining.
Player of the Match
Most of the batsmen got starts but failed to build on it except Rohit Sharma who top scored for the team with an unbeaten 69- ball 121. He played a brilliant knock which included 11 fours and 8 sixes and was rightly the hero of the night. Without him indeed India could not have posted a courageous total after being set back in early overs.
Player of the Series
Player of the Series was awarded to Shivam Dube for his splendid performances in all the three matches of the series. His approach with the bat and the ball was bar none when it came to being a driving force behind India’s series win.
Match Highlights
- Rohit Sharma’s Century: The upper order failed to fire but Rohit Sharma’s 121* were instrumental in building the total. His hostile but planned bowling ensured that India was still in the contest even when slides were falling cheaply.
- Rinku Singh’s Support: Rinku Singh was a star with his knock of 69 off 39. It came in at a time when Rohit Sharma was going strong
- Gulbadin Naib’s Heroics: Gulbadin Naib played a very aggressive knock as he scored 55* off just 23 balls.
- Super Over Drama: The match tied twice in Super Overs and India won the final Super Over to become the winner of the match.
Conclusion
The single T20I match between India and Afghani was a thriller of a contest that had all that is required in an ideal T20 game. Even in Super Over India came out on the raw power and not only won the match which made it a clean sweep of the series but also showed the nerves of steel for coming out of such pressure situations. Rohit Sharma gave a finishing MasterClass and along with it, India as a team played very good cricket to complete the series on quite a high note.
FAQs
Ans: The match ended in a tie, and India won in the second Super Over.
Ans: Rohit Sharma was awarded the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 121 off 69 balls.
Ans: India scored 212/4, and Afghanistan matched it with 212/6, leading to a tie.
Ans: Shivam Dube won the Player of the Series award for his overall performance.
Ans: Two Super Overs were played, with India emerging victorious in the second one.
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