Another World Cup season beckons and every series before that is just a litmus test of character, talent and hunger for success. It’s the India vs Afghanistan T20I series, and we bring you a consolidated coverage of all the action and updates of the three-match series.

3rd T20I | Bengaluru

The Hitman RO-ars!

The tricky surface of the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium proved an easy puzzle for Rohit Sharma, who crafted one of the most iconic individual innings in white-ball cricket. Striking at a breakneck pace, the Hitman initially got India out of troubled waters (22/4) with a 41-ball 50, and later, it would take just 23 balls for Ro-HIT to become the first-ever cricketer to five T20I hundreds.

If it wasn’t poetic enough, it was almost 100 days since Rohit Sharma notched a century in white-ball cricket, and that too was against Afghanistan (131 vs AFG, October 11, 2023).

Rinku dazzles in middle-order

Always ready to step up and execute his ‘finisher’ capabilities, Rinku Singh not only played a good supporting role to Rohit Sharma amidst his dream innings but also took the Afghanistan bowlers for a ride with his unbeaten 39-ball 69. This knock was packaged with two fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 176.92.

Afghanistan stand toe-to-toe with India

Although a target of 213 seemed a distant destination from the outside, Afghanistan gave a visual exhibition that they have the potential to chase big totals. The opening pairing of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran scored fifties to catapult the visitors to a score of 107 inside 13 overs.

A committed cameo from Mohammed Nabi (34 runs off 16 balls) and a fighting half-century from Gulbadin Naib (55 not out in 23 balls) upstaged the atmosphere at Bengaluru and took the game into the Super Over(s).

Super Over #1 - TIED

Afghanistan batted first and would put on 16 runs on the board, thanks to Mohammed Nabi (1, 6, 3b). Then came India. To everyone’s surprise, the visitors managed to restrict the hosts to get another Super Over.

The highlights of India’s first Super Over:

0.1 - 1lb (Rohit Sharma)
0.2 - 1 (Yashasvi Jaiswal)
0.3 - 6 (Rohit Sharma)
0.4 - 6 (Rohit Sharma)
0.5 - 1 retired out (Rohit Sharma)
0.6 - 1 (Yashasvi Jaiswal)

Super Over #2 - INDIA WIN

This time around, India batted first. And once again, Rohit Sharma airlifted the emotions in the stadium with a six and boundary off the first two balls. Despite a run out later, the Indian captain helped set a target of 12 for AFG.

The highlights of India’s second Super Over:

0.1 - 4 (Rohit Sharma)
0.2 - 6 (Rohit Sharma)
0.3 - 1 (Rohit Sharma)
0.4 - Wicket (Rinku Sharma)
0.5 - Run Out (Rohit Sharma)

But wait, something was brewing….

Ravi Bishnoi was handed the ball, and the spinner did what he does best: put on a magic show. In his three deliveries, he dismissed the Afghanistan batters and won India the game and the series (3-0).

Brief scores: India 212/4 (Rohit Sharma 121*, Rinku Singh 69*; Fareed Ahmed 3/20) BEAT Afghanistan 212/6 (Gulbadin Naib 55*, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 50, Ibrahim Zadran 50; Washington Sundar 3/18) via second Super Over.

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2nd T20I | Indore

Confident powerplay comes crumbling down

Afghanistan, like in the first T20I, were put to bat first. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (14 runs off nine balls) opened the floodgates and set the tone for the visitors to rack up a score of 58/2 in the powerplay. However, they would be reduced to 60/3 in the following over.

Middle order resuscitates AFG batting

Gulbadin Naib took the responsibility on his shoulders and injected confidence in the batting with his 35-ball 57. He took 28 balls to reach his T20I half-century in a knock, operating at a strike rate of 162.85. Alongside him was Mohammad Nabi, who chipped in 14 runs.

Arshdeep cleansweeps lower order

Come the death overs, the Afghanistan batters had some runs queued en route to a score of 173. However, their respective stays would be cut short by India’s Arshdeep Singh. The left-arm pacer was involved in the final six wickets, starting with the dismissal of Najibullah Zadran in the 18th over.

The last over of the first innings saw as many as four dismissals. While Arshdeep pocketed the wicket of Karim Janat off the initial ball in the 20th over, the last two deliveries would have a caught dismissal and two run-outs.

Early bumps but chase successful

With a target of 174, India got off the powerplay with a score of 69/2. But post this stage, it was just a sheer exhibition of talents championing the cause.

An enterprising third-wicket partnership (92 runs) between Yashasvi Jaiswal (68 runs off 34 balls) and Shivam Dube (63 runs off 32 balls) ensured the hosts had the chase in the bag with ease.

Rinku Singh remained unbeaten on a run-a-ball nine runs as India clinched the game (six wickets) and the T20I series (2-0) inside ​​15.4 overs.

The victory also meant that the Men in Blue extended their unbeaten run in T20I bilaterals at home to 15, since the defeat to Australia in 2019.

Brief scores: India 174/4 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 68, Shivam Dube 63*; Karim Janat 2/13) BEAT Afghanistan 173 (Gulbadin Naib 57, Najibullah Zadran 23; Arshdeep Singh 3/32) by six wickets.

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1st T20I | Mohali

AFG start patiently but Axar strikes twice

Put in to bat first, Afghanistan rallied through the powerplay calmly, scoring 33 runs without losing a wicket. But the Indian fans in Mohali could sense that a breakthrough was coming.

Considering the chilly weather, there was little room for spin bowlers to exercise their attacking prowess with the ball. However, the experienced Axar Patel managed to decode the puzzle. The spinner first outfoxed Rahmanullah Gurbaz and got him stumped out, before cutting short debutant Rahmat Shah’s stay at the crease.

Shivam Dube had a moment of redemption. After dropping the opportunity to dismiss Ibrahim Zadran in the early overs, the all-rounder managed to close the deal by grabbing his wicket as captain Rohit Sharma assisted with a catch.

Nabi comes to the rescue

Every difficult situation needs an experienced helping hand, and for Afghanistan, the answer was Mohammad Nabi. The seasoned all-rounder pitched in a valuable 42 off 27 balls that was packaged with two fours and three sixes at a strike rate of 155.56, thus setting the tone for the visitors to set a target for India in excess of 150 runs. Oh we cannot wait for him to do this in the Blue and Gold!

India start run chase in topsy-turvy manner

Hosts India were handed a target of 159 runs, but their start to the chase had a flat tire experience. The Men in Blue were reduced to 28/2 inside the first four overs, a mild shock to the home support.

TV’s cameo and middle-order outburst

Tilak Varma, batting at number three, lit the flames of the comeback. A committed innings of 26 runs in 22 balls set the stage for the middle order of Dube, Jitesh Sharma and Rinku Singh to go all guns blazing.

Dube smashed five fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 60 off 40 balls whilst being supported by Jitesh’s 20-ball 31 and Rinku’s nine-ball 16 that catapulted India to 159/4 in 17.3 overs.

Brief scores: India 159/4 (Shivam Dube 60*, Jitesh Sharma 31; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2/21) BEAT Afghanistan 158/5 (Mohammad Nabi 42, Azmatullah Omarzai 29; Axar Patel 2/23) by six wickets.