Mohali (Punjab) [India], January 11 (ANI): An explosive knock by Mohammed Nabi and cameos by Azmatullah Omarzai and Najibullah Zadran helped Afghanistan reach a solid total of 158/5 at the end of 20 overs in the first T20I against India at Mohali on Thursday.
India needs 159 runs to get a series lead of 1-0.
Put to bat first by India, Afghanistan was off to a decent start. After playing out Arshdeep Singh’s first over as a maiden, openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and skipper Ibrahim Zadran scored atleast a boundary per over.
In the first six overs at the end of first powerplay, Afghanistan was at 33/0, with Zadran (16*) and Gurbaz (15*) unbeaten.
Just when Afghanistan looked to take off with two sixes, Axar Patel’s spin landed India its first wicket, removing Gurbaz for 23 off 28 balls, with two fours and a six. Afghanistan was 50/1 in eight overs.
Shivam Dube took the second wicket at the start of next over, removing Zadran for 25 off 22 balls, after he was caught by skipper Rohit Sharma at covers. Afghanistan was 50/2 in 8.2 overs.
Rahmat Shah’s debut T20I match was not a memorable one, as Axar cleaned up his stumps for just three runs, reducing Afghanistan to 57/3 in 10 overs.
The 15th over by Ravi Bishnoi cost India 16 runs as he was smashed by Mohammed Nabi for two fours and Omarzai also hit a maximum. Afghanistan reached the 100-run mark in 14.3 overs.
At the end of 15 overs, Afghanistan was 105/3, with Azmatullah Omarzai (26*) and Nabi (25*) unbeaten. The duo reached the 50-run partnership in 32 balls. In the next over, Nabi boosted the run-rate further by smoking Mukesh Kumar for two massive sixes, getting 15 runs in total.
Mukesh however, ended the 68-run partnership between Omarzai and Nabi, cleaning up the former for 29 off 22 balls, with two fours and a six. Afghanistan was 125/4 in 17.1 overs. At the last ball of the over, Mukesh got his second wicket as Rinku caught Nabi at sweeper cover for 42 off 27 balls, with two fours and three sixes. Afghanistan was 130/5 in 18 overs.
Afghanistan pair of Karim Janat and Najibullah Zadran kept the run rate steady by gathering 13 runs in the next over, including three fours.
Afghanistan managed to finish well, getting 15 runs in the final over, including three fours, thanks to a dropped catch partially. They ended at 158/5 in 20 overs, with Zadran (19*) and Janat (9*) unbeaten.
Axar (2/23) and Mukesh (2/33) were the picks of the bowlers for India. Dube also got a wicket. (ANI)
