On a difficult surface, Suryakumar Yadav played bravely before India tightened the screws on Afghanistan with a masterful bowling display to win their opening Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup by 47 runs on Thursday. After India elected to bat on a surface where it was tough to knock over the line, Rashid Khan (3/26) improved his average record against India before Suryakumar (53 off 28) batted like he was the only player capable of leading his side to 181 for 8. Afghanistan gave up for 134 runs in precisely 20 overs, never having been in the run chase. The Afghan batsmen’ poor shot selection ultimately led to their demise and prolonged their losing streak against India.
Once more, Jasprit Bumrah (3/7 in four overs) proved to be too strong for the opposition, while Kuldeep Yadav (2/32), in his maiden tournament match, also had an effect.
The next Super 8 match between India and Bangladesh is scheduled for this Saturday in Antigua.
In the second over of the innings, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (11 off 8) was caught behind as he took a reckless shot against Bumrah after declaring his intentions with a six and four against Arshdeep Singh.
The second person Bumrah fell prey to was Hazratullah Zazai, who was called into the team to replace the injured Mujeeb Zadran. His effort to flick off a cutter from the Indian speed spearhead went right into the safe hands of Ravindra Jadeja at backward point.
In the eleventh over, Kuldeep, who had come in for Mohammed Siraj in the playing eleven, returned Gulbadin Naib (17) with an incorrect stroke. Kuldeep worked in the middle overs.
Azmatullah Omarzai led Afghanistan in scoring with 26 points out of 20. The loss of wickets throughout the innings prevented Afghanistan from regaining control of the match.
Earlier, on a track where the other hitters found it difficult to gain momentum, Suryakumar was at his most carefree. Other noteworthy efforts came from Hardik Pandya (32 off 24) and Rishabh Pant (20 off 11), who both discovered the boundaries from the very go.
For the first time in this competition, Virat Kohli (24 off 24) reached double digits, but he was removed just as he was getting settled.
To put pressure on the opposition, Rashid (3/26), who had not yet taken a wicket against India, struck in his opening three overs.
India would probably choose to bat at Kensington Oval, and judging by the way the ball behaved on the field in the first innings, it will be difficult to play down the line.
In the third over of Fazalhaq Farooqi’s (3/33) innings, skipper Rohit Sharma (8) attempted to accelerate the scoring pace but was caught at mid-on after hitting the toe end of his bat.
Rashid entered the game immediately following India’s 47-for-1 Powerplay. In the eighth over, the brilliant spinner dismissed the dangerous Pant. Before succumbing to Rashid, the southpaw was once again unafraid to use the sweep and bold reverse sweep against the spinners.
India felt the heat after Rashid’s second over, when Kohli was caught at far off. Before the spinner claimed his third wicket, Shivam Dube (10), who was stranded in front as the ball twisted back in sharply and crashed into his back leg, Suryarkumar calmed the nerves with a barrage of sweeps against Rashid.
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