‌IND vs AFG | Twitter goes berserk after India seals dramatic double Super Over to whitewash Afghanistan

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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What was anticipated to be a dead rubber caved into an epic cliffhanger as Rohit Sharma’s ton and Rinku Singh’s fifty were numerically matched by the fifties from the Afghan top three. One Super Over was not enough to decide the outcome of the game as the second one bore the result the hosts' favor.

Rohit Sharma’s decision to bat first on a chasing-friendly surface did backfire after the Afghan pacers struck early with the new ball. Fareed Ahmad ran riot with assistance from Azmatullah Omarzai, curtailing the hosts to 22/4 after 4.3 overs. India registered two golden ducks in this phase of play as Virat Kohli and Sanju Samson fell prey to Fareed’s disciplined bowling. As the visitors grabbed control of the game, the Indian captain had other plans with support from Rinku Singh. Right after the fourth wicket, Rohit cut a length delivery on the first ball of the succeeding over, making his intentions clear to deny defensive approach. With proper rotation of strike and periodic boundaries, the right and left-hand pair kept the scoreboard ticking and reached the 100-run mark after 13.2 overs. The pair switched gears and smacked the Atalans left, right, and center with the tag team reaching the 100-run partnership during the slog overs. The Mumbaikar (69-ball 121*) went on to stockpile his fifth T20I ton with a boundary and continued the attacking approach with Rinku (39-ball 69*) joining the party. The pair avoided any further hiccups and went berserk in the ultimate over, accumulating 36 runs to take the tally to 212 runs at the end of the innings. 

In reply, the Afghanistan openers - Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran gave a rollicking start, unlike their counterparts, galloping 51 runs inside the mandatory powerplay. Both batters ensured a calculative approach in the chase and did not miss on the opportunities to capitalize on the looseners. They orchestrated 85 runs halfway through the chase and soon Gurbaz raced to his fifty. With India in a quest for the breakthrough, Washington Sundar’s reflexive catch off Kuldeep Yadav drew the first blood for the home side. Ibrahim followed suit his opening partner in a space of nine balls and Azmutullah fell for a golden duck. Although the Indian bowlers pegged back with wickets at the visitors, Gulbadin Naib who arrived to bat at No. 3 clobbered the Indian bowlers from the other end. Mohammad Nabi glued a 56-run stand for the fourth wicket, blazing 16-ball 34 before Sundar outsmarted him to claim his third scalp. With the next set of three batters adding just 12 runs on the board, Gulbadin ensured that his 23-ball 55 steered Afghanistan to a super over by gathering 18 runs when 19 were needed off the final over. 

As per the rules of the Super Over, Afghanistan had to bat first and they got off to a dramatic start after Virat Kohli enforced a run-out on the first ball. However, the Afghans managed to get 16 runs with the help of six, four, and three byes with the latter coming in the form of a deflection from Nabi’s legs. In an attempt to chase down 17 runs, Rohit Sharma and Yashavi Jaiswal strolled in to bat and could earn just a couple in as many balls. The experienced Indian followed it up with consecutive sixes but failed to get three runs off the final two deliveries, managing just two singles to pave the way for yet another super over.

This time, India had to bat first and they managed to get 11 runs after Rohit smacked a six and four to kick off the first innings. However, it ended up with two back-to-back dismissals in the fourth and fifth delivery leaving Afghanistan in quest for 12 runs in six balls. After a dilemma between Avesh Khan and Ravi Bishnoi for the second Super Over, the wrist-spinner ended up outfoxing Mohammad Nabi in the first ball as the veteran holed to Rinku Singh at long-on. Subsequentially, a single was taken on the second ball followed up by Gurbaz getting out to help India with the victory and a 3-0 series triumph.

Moyyeee Moyeee!!

Thta's an absolute thriller!

He was so good to bring this game so close!

Agreed! What an effort overall!

That's cheeku for you!

That was tough!

Yeah! But Sharma bought it close again!

What would you say on this?

Surprised now!

Hahaha! True!

That was some move but didn't help!

 

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