An engaging rivalry that highlights the diversity and tactical subtleties of cricket. From aggressive batting to tactical bowling, each side employs its own tactics in an attempt to gain an advantage in this match-up.
Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai are performing admirably against India’s spin attack. Both batted at least once for every ball pitched, smashing boundaries to increase Afghanistan’s run rate and raise its run rate significantly. In this article, we will discuss about India National Cricket Team Vs Afghanistan National Cricket Team Timeline.
India vs Afghanistan 1st T20I
India kicked off their T20I series against Afghanistan with a comfortable six-wicket win at Mohali on Monday night. All-rounder Shivam Dube’s brilliant cricket was instrumental in their victory – scoring his second T20I half century and leading them to victory. Now India and Afghanistan will compete in three more T20Is before meeting once more for five Test matches later on this summer.
India may have an excellent chance at winning their series against Afghanistan after learning of Rashid Khan’s injury-related absence from their roster. India have some great players on their side such as Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli but will miss out on having Ravi Bishnoi, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson and Axar Patel in their final squad.
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill are trying to set India off the mark early, but Mujeeb Ur Rahman has so far managed to put a dampener on India’s efforts.
The opening over of the match saw eight runs come off with both openers scoring four fours each in their powerplay overs – but unfortunately Rohit was dismissed without scoring and Gill was stumped by Mujeeb to end it on an unhappy note.
Washington Sundar bowled the second over, conceding only one run off his first ball – an upper cut shot by Ibrahim Zadran off Washington Sundar was hit for a boundary.
Mujeeb’s return has proven decisive as he quickly struck with his first delivery – bowling Yashasvi Jaiswal out by catching him in the ring and having him caught at short third man. India’s run rate began slipping as batsmen found it difficult to score runs on this pitch; Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube must stop this slide now, having added 24 runs from 14 balls so far.
India vs Afghanistan 2nd T20I
India will play their second Twenty20 International against Afghanistan at Indore’s Holkar Cricket Stadium on Sunday, following their comfortable win against Ibrahim Zadran’s side in Mohali. Rohit Sharma will aim to extend their lead and secure another win – Shivam Dube was notable in Mohali with a 60 off 40 balls performance which made an impressionful statement of intent from India in their T20I debut against Zadran’s side.
Indore pitch is known for favouring batsmen and shorter boundaries present ample opportunities for scoring runs. Therefore, teams winning the toss generally opt to bat first; Indians did just that!
Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal will open up for India against Afghanistan. Both players have been impressive performers for India in previous outings and should maintain this form in this match as well.
India will miss injured bowling duo Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav who played an integral part in India’s victory in the first T20I, so their absence is sure to be felt by hosts India.
With both teams possessing similar batting and bowling lineups, it will be interesting to witness which side can gain early control in the match.
First two overs were slow as both teams struggled to score any runs. But in the third over, Rahmanullah Gurbaz was trapped leg before wicket by Ravi Bishnoi – this wicket helped reduce their deficit to three runs and was crucial in keeping them competitive.
Afghanistan started to accelerate in the fourth over, increasing their run rate a little before Nabi hit Mukesh for six over extra cover for an impressive six.
The fifth over was relatively uneventful as both teams struggled to score any runs on the board, until Nabi hit an unthinkable six in the final ball of this over. Indians will now look to close out victory in their remaining three overs.
India vs Afghanistan 3rd T20I
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli made a highly anticipated comeback to India’s T20 team during the three-match series against Afghanistan, making their first appearance since their World Cup semifinal defeat by England back in November 2022. India knew they must win this series as it marks five months until the next World T20, yet their performances in their opening two matches left much to be desired.
But in the third match at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India was back on course as Jadeja and Kohli combined for an extraordinary 190-run partnership in only eight overs to even up the scores and help their side secure victory.
The hosts won the toss and decided to bat first on a wicket conducive to big hitting in shorter formats, and achieved an impressive total of 212/4 through their innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal hitting 34 balls for 68 and Shivam Dube making unbeaten 63 off 32 deliveries respectively.
Afghanistan was led by Gulbadin Naib who scored an unbeaten 35-ball 57 including four hits to the boundary and six sixes off just 35 balls. Najibullah Zadran (23), Karim Janat (23) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (21) also made important contributions as Afghanistan reached 172 all out in their innings.
India’s reply was slow but ultimately they reached their target with 10 overs left – however in the second super over, Ravi Bishnoi struck a major blow to them by dismissing Mohammad Nabi and Rahmanullah Gurbaz to give the visitors an unlikely victory.
On the opening ball of the second over, Nabi attempted to go over the bowler’s head but was caught by Sanju Samson at long-off for a duck. Gurbaz tried hitting a pull shot but it was taken by Kohli at short third for another wicket.
Rohit attempted to take a single off a full delivery wide outside off, only for Gulbadin to catch and run him out – effectively ending an exciting game and series with India having lost their perfect record but taking an edge in T20Is against Afghanistan.
India vs Afghanistan 4th T20I
India are strong favorites to take out Afghanistan in a three-match T20 series, but Afghanistan have not given up hope of challenging India in the shortest format of cricket. Their side is led by former India cricketer Rahul Dravid and features numerous dangerous batsmen such as Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rehman as threats.
On January 11th, both teams will face each other for the inaugural T20 match of this series in Mohali; Indore will then play host before Bengaluru hosts their match as final preparation for 2024 T20 World Cup being hosted in both Americas.
India was dealt a blow when they announced that Hardik Pandya will be unavailable due to an ankle injury. Pandya had been considered one of the next big things in Indian T20 squad, having scored numerous runs during IPL play for Mumbai Indians this year and was poised to play an integral part in T20 World Cup as well.
With news of his injury rocking the selection committee, they now face the daunting task of picking an effective squad to face Afghanistan – particularly given that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli both look set to make comebacks after missing out in England ODIs.
India Selectors have held lengthy discussions with both captains and head coach ahead of announcing a final squad for Afghanistan tour. Ajit Agarkar will lead an anxious selection committee who must reach a decision.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will likely be included by India’s selection committee for their three-match T20 series against Afghanistan, along with Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi who made an impressionful showing during IPL, to earn themselves spots on Team World Cup squad.
