Image Credit- BCCI
In the opening game in frigid Mohali, Rohit Sharma had
a low-key comeback to Twenty20 Internationals by being run out for a duck, but
India easily defeated Afghanistan.
Shivam Dube, however, had a more fruitful return than
his captain, capping India’s victorious chase of 159 with a sharp, undefeated
half-century after taking 1 for 9 in two overs.
At his home field, Arshdeep Singh began with a maiden,
but later in the powerplay, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim found their rhythm
with ramped fours. Ibrahim reminded me of his ramp off Pat Cummins at the ODI
World Cup last year with his stroke off the final ball of the sixth over.
In the third over, off Arshdeep, Dube dropped a low
catch at mid-off that would have dismissed Ibrahim for 1. Before Dube made
amends by having Ibrahim caught at short cover in the ninth over, he had added
24 runs to his total. Axar Patel got Gurbaz to smash 23 off 28 balls just as he
was about to get into a higher gear.
Axar was like a popgun, launching darts towards the
stumps or slightly off. Additionally, he had Afghanistan’s 30-year-old T20I
rookie, Rahmat Shah, chopping on, for three off five balls. With Ravindra
Jadeja not present, Axar won 4-0-23-2.
Mohammad Nabi (42), Azmatullah Omarzai (29) and
Najibullah Zadran (19*) provided some much-needed momentum to Afghanistan’s
waning innings over the enduring overs.
This month, Nabi turned 39. His kid recently made his
Afghanistan Under-19 debut. Even if there are other spinners and all-rounders
from Afghanistan making their way up through franchise T20 cricket, Nabi
demonstrated once more that he is still capable of competing at the highest
level.
Both Omarzai and Nabi left in the same over, but
Afghanistan was dragged to a competitive total by Najibullah.
When Rohit was dismissed for a duck in India’s opening
over of the chase following a mix-up with Shubman Gill, it appeared even more
competitive. Jaiswal’s groyne injury led India to deviate from their original
strategy, even though Gill wasn’t even supposed to play in this match. Virat
Kohli, who was unable to play in this match due to personal reasons, was also
absent for India.
In the IPL, Dube is the designated spin hitter for the
Chennai Super Kings. Mujeeb was spinning the ball both ways and even finding a
semblance of swing in the first exchanges on Thursday in Mohali. Dube
controlled his emotions and skillfully dismissed the mystery spinner, scoring
just one off eight balls.