Abu Dhabi [UAE] : Power-packed batting display from Indian openers was followed by spirited bowling performance as Men in Blue thrashed Afghanistan by 66 runs in the Group 2 match of the Super 12 stage of the ongoing ICC men’s T20 World Cup here at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Wednesday. Men in Blue lit up Abu Dhabi with a stunning display of power-hitting to post 210/2 as Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul played innings of 74 and 69, respectively. And in reply, Afghanistan never looked like chasing it down, finishing on 144/7, still 66 runs short. Mohammad Shami scalped three wickets while Ravichandran Ashwin took two. Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja returned with apiece for India. Chasing 211, Afghanistan were 47/2 after the powerplay as they stared down the barrel of a heavy defeat. Indian bowlers clawed further deep as Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Gulbadin Naib were removed before halfway point of their chase. Ravichandran Ashwin struck again as he clean bowled Najibullah Zadran in the 11th over. With runs in scarcity, Mohammad Nabi and Raashid Khan feel were sent back to the dressing room by Mohammad Shami in the penultimate over of the match. In the end, Afghanistan fell short 66 runs short of the target. Earlier, put in to bat first, a selection reshuffle saw Rohit Sharma moving back up to opener alongside KL Rahul, and the pair more than justified the move with a brilliant century stand. After that Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant finished the innings in style by scoring 35* and 27* respectively. Brief score: India 210/2 (Rohit Sharma 74, KL Rahul 69; Karim Janat 1-7, Gulbadin Naib 1-39) vs Afghanistan 144/7 (Karim Janat 42*, Mohammad Nabi 35; Mohammad Shami 3-32, Ravichandran Ashwin 2-14).
T20 WC: Return of Ashwin is the biggest positive, says Virat Kohli
Abu Dhabi [UAE] : Indian captain Virat Kohli said that return of Ravichandran Ashwin in the side was a huge positive as the team gained control in the middle overs against Afghanistan on Wednesday. A power-packed batting display from Indian openers was followed by a spirited bowling performance as Men in Blue thrashed Afghanistan by 66 runs in the Group 2 match of the Super 12 stage of the ongoing ICC men’s T20 World Cup at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. Veteran Indian spinner Ashwin scalped the wickets of Gulbadin Naib and Najibullah Zadran and gave just 14 runs in his entire spell. “Much better wicket to be fair. We spoke about the fact that in the other games, if we just had two overs of free-flowing batting, then that sends a message to the opposition that we are going to put you under the pump. When we do that, we know how we can play. Sometimes, you do fall to pressure and have to accept that. T20 cricket is a very instinctive game, in batting, bowling and decision-making. We do make decisions on the go,” said Virat Kohli in the post-match presentation. Men in Blue lit up Abu Dhabi with a stunning display of power-hitting to post 210/2 as Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul played innings of 74 and 69, respectively. And in reply, Afghanistan never looked like chasing it down, finishing on 144/7, still 66 runs short. “Top three is mostly settled unless situations like today when the openers batted all the way through and the power-hitters were ready. We don’t always decide early to go hard, but we do back ourselves and when we do get going, we know what we can do.” “Well, yes that is the plan (to keep playing this way) but as I said, sometimes you just give in to the pressure. The other teams bowled really well to us. Yes, it (net run rate) was to be honest. We are always positive, and so were thinking about it,” the Indian skipper explained. Mohammad Shami scalped three wickets while Ravichandran Ashwin took two. Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja returned with apiece for India. “The return of Ash (is the biggest positive), we saw him doing well in the IPL and when he does this, we get control in the middle overs. That’s what I’m most pleased about (today),” he added. India will next clash with Scotland on Friday while Afghanistan will square off New Zealand on Sunday.
