Third T20 Versus Afghanistan: Two Super Overs And A Super Match
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
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By Linus Garg
First publised on 2024-01-18 06:44:38
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
It was a blockbuster match at Bengaluru on Wednesday which went to the wire as it first ended in a tie and then the first Super Over was also tied. India won in the second Super Over and swept the series 3-0.
When India played Afghanistan in the third and final T20 match, they were looking to sweep the series 3-0 while the Afghans were looking to salvage some pride by winning their first match against the formidable opponents. The Afghans started well and reduced India to 4 for 22 even before the power play was done. Yashasvi Jaiswal (4), Virat Kohli (0), Shivam Dube (1) and Sanju Samson (o) were back in the pavilion and Fareed and Omarzai were spitting fire. But that was all the Afghans could do as a special knock from Rohit Sharma (121 n.o.), ably supported by Rinku Singh (69 n.o. and who is fast emerging as the best finisher in the world) took the team to a challenging 212. Sharma and Singh clobbered 36 runs in the 20th over. It was raining fours and sixes as the duo hit 13 fours and 14 sixes.
If India thought it had the match wrapped up, the Afghans had different ideas. They were not over-awed by the large total and came out all guns blazing. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (50), Ibrahim Zardan (50) and Gulbadin Naib (55) showed scant respect for the Indian bowling and all bowlers, except Washington Sundar, leaked runs. With a little bit of luck, the Afghans would have won but they ended at 212, taking the match into the Super Over.
The Afghans scored 16 for 1 in the first Super Over which was again tied as India could also manage 16 without loss. In the second Super Over, India managed to score just 11. It seemed as if the Afghans would win. But in a masterstroke, Rohit Sharma handed the ball to Ravi Bishnoi (and not Avesh Khan who had gone for 55 runs in his 4 overs in the main match). Bishnoi enticed the Afghan batters to go for their strokes and had two of them caught in the deep, ending the match. Hats off to the Afghans who fought till the end to show how fast and well they have improved.
While Rohit Sharma finally came into his own in this match, Virat Kohli, with ducks in the first and last match, was not successful. But the running catch Virat took to dismiss Ibrahim Zardan was spectacular. With Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav and maybe Rishabh Pant available for selection for the T20 World Cup, it will be a headache for the selectors to choose the right combination for the tournament.
