IND vs AFG Scorecard, 1st T20I Highlights: Shivam Dube’s Brutal Fifty Takes India Home With 15 Balls To Spare

India and Afghanistan clashed with each other in the first game of the three-match T20I series on Thursday (11th January). The game between the teams took place at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and put Afghanistan into bat first. The visitors had a great start to their innings as Rahmanullah Gurbaz (23) and Ibrahim Zadran (25) batted well against the new ball and took timely risks.

The duo added 50 runs for the opening partnership but Axar Patel brought his team back into the game. He removed Gurbaz and then debutant Rahmat Shah for just 3 runs. Shivam Dube chipped in right after that and removed the Afghanistan skipper to leave the opposition tumbling at 57/3.

Azmatullah Omarzai (29) and Mohammad Nabi (42) then joined hands together and bailed the team out of trouble. The duo took calculated risks. They added 68 runs for the partnership which gave much-needed momentum to the Afghanistan side.

They looked threatening but Mukesh Kumar brought India back in the game as they removed both the set batters. Najibullah Zadran (19*) played a vital cameo in the end and his innings made sure that Afghanistan went past 150 runs. They ended with a total of 158/5.

For India, Axar Patel was the pick of the bowlers with his figures of 2/23. Mukesh Kumar also chipped in two wickets whereas Shivam Dube also picked one wicket. Arshdeep Singh was impressive with the ball as well but was unfortunate as he didn’t get any wickets. He bowled one maiden over as well and had two dropped catches off his bowling.

IND vs AFG Scorecard, 1st T20I Highlights: India comfortably chase the target with 6 wickets in hand

In the chase, India had a torrid start with the bat as they lost Rohit Sharma for a two-ball duck. He had a horrible mixup with his opening partner Shubman Gill and was back in the hut on the second ball of the innings. Gill tried to get going and played some gorgeous shots, looking set for a big knock.

But he gave away his wicket after scoring 23 runs. He tried to take Mujeeb ur Rahman to the cleaners but missed the ball to get stumped. Following that, Tilak Varma (26) and Shivam Dube made sure that they took the team out of trouble with their attacking approach. The duo added 44 runs that put pressure on the opposition and brought the hosts back into the game.

After Varma got out, Jitesh Sharma (31) came out all guns blazing and played a brutal cameo that almost sealed the game for his team in Mohali. But the hero of the innings for India was Shivam Dube. The left-hander slammed a magnificent half-century and ended with a knock of unbeaten 60 runs. He looked settled at the crease right from the start. Rinku Singh (14*) played a vital hand as well as India chased the target with 15 balls to spare. India took a 1-0 lead in the series.

Brief scores

Afghanistan: 158/5 (Mohammad Nabi 42; Axar Patel 2/23)

India: 159/4 (Shivam Dube 60*; Mujeeb ur Rahman 2/21)