IND vs AFG 2018: I Would like to Congratulate Afghanistan for Reaching this Level - Shikhar Dhawan

It was a thoroughly entertaining performance by the No 1 Team in the world, as they defeated debutants Afghanistan by an innings and 262 runs inside the 2^nd day of the Test match.

After an impressive performance with the bat, it was the Indian bowlers who bagged all the 20 wickets on the 2^nd day to hand India a massive victory. It also tuned out to be the biggest victory for the hosts.

On an opening day, it was superb knocks from Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay which got them off to a sensational start. They shared a 168-run partnership before the dismissal of Dhawan. He became the 1^st Indian batsmen to smash a Test century within lunch of the opening day of a Test match. He eventually got dismissed on 107 off 96 deliveries, an innings which studded with 19 fours and three sixes.

Hardik Pandya scored a fluent 71 on the 2^nd day morning session, as India managed to score 474 in their 1^st essay. The Indian bowlers were all over Afghanistan from the word go. After the run out of Mohammad Shehzad, wickets kept falling at regular intervals. Ishant Sharma bowled in the perfect areas, and the Afghan batsmen were not able to cope with the pace and swing.

They kept losing wickets on a consistent basis. Ravichandran Ashwin was the pick of the Indian bowlers in the 1^st essay, as he finished with figures of 4/27 in eight overs. Jadeja and Ishant Sharma also chipped in with a couple of wickets each. They were asked to follow on, and their performance was nothing better. Again the Indian bowlers started off with early wickets.

The top scorer from the 1^st innings, Mohammad Nabi, got dismissed without troubling the scorers. While Ashwin bagged four in the 1^st innings, it was the turn of Jadeja to turn the roles in the 2^nd innings. The left-arm spinner scalped out four wickets while Ishant chipped in with a couple.

The visitors were eventually skittled out for a paltry 103 in the 39^th over.

Also Read: IND vs AFG 2018: It was Important for all of Us to Stick to Our Basics – Ajinkya Rahane

Following the historic, this is what Man of the Match Shikhar Dhawan said at the post-match presentation,

“I am really happy with the way I have been batting. It is good that we’ve finished the match early and will have a few days off to get fresh before we go to Ireland. It was a damp pitch, the ball, of course, was swinging and seaming a bit but I was clear in my mind that I wanted to play positive cricket. Things went my way, and I was enjoying it as by the grace of God I became the first Indian to get a century inside a session.”

“First of all, I would like to congratulate Afghanistan for reaching this level. It’s only their first Test, and they’ll keep getting better as they play more. I would also like to wish them Eid Mubarak; it is a big day for them; it is always a learning process, and once they start winning they’ll do really well. Big names are already coming out of their country and doing really well in world cricket. I would also like to thank the audience for coming here and enjoying themselves.”

Also Read: Watch: Team India Wins Hearts With Beautiful Gesture For Afghanistan Players After Thumping Win