Indian skipper Rohit Sharma highlighted the positives after India secured an easy win over Afghanistan in the first match of the three-match T20I series in Mohali on Thursday, November 11.
After opting to bowl first, the Indian bowlers performed exceptionally well, especially Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar, to restrict Afghanistan’s long batting lineup to a modest total of 158 on a wicket that looked ideal for batting.
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“Lot of positives, we got a lot from this game, especially with the ball,” said Rohit, acknowledging the efforts of his bowlers. “Our spinners bowled really well and the seamers did the job as well.”
Rohit, on his return, departed in the first over after a terrible mix-up with Shubman Gill. He was run out at the non-striker’s end. He was livid with Gill, who did not respond to his call on the second ball of the chase.
“These things happen (on the run-out), you want to be out there and score runs for the team,” said Rohit, discussing the incident later. “Everything will not go your way. I wanted Gill to carry on.”
India chased down the target with Shivam Dube leading the way with a fifty. He was supported by cameos from Tilak Varma (26), Jitesh Sharma (31), and Rinku Singh (16*).
“Lot of positives,” said Rohit of the run chase. “Dube, Jitesh batted well, Tilak as well, and then Rinku is in good form as well. We want to challenge ourselves in areas we are slightly uncomfortable with. We want to make sure that we come out on top.”
Reflecting on his match-winning innings of 60* (40), Dube said: “I think it was really cold, but I enjoyed playing here. Batting at No. 4, the pressure was on but then I knew I had to play my game. Probably from my side, I felt the pressure initially but then I carried on. I know I have the potential to hit sixes and change the game. Spoke to Rohit, and he said that I played well, and will discuss more about the innings.”
This was Afghanistan’s first bilateral series match against India. The visitors fought well but couldn’t really put a complete team performance to upset India. “We were short by 30-40 runs,” said Ibrahim Zadran, their captain.
“Unfortunately, we lost the toss but the boys fought till the end. We were trying to have a good start in the powerplay.
“We lost wickets, one of us had to bat till the 14-15th over and that put us under a bit of pressure. In the second innings, there was dew. Gripping was hard for the bowlers. We have to improve our fielding. We were a bit lazy. We’ll try to improve our batting as well. In bowling, there’s no issue.”
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