India registered a convincing win in the first match of the three-match series against Afghanistan, which got underway at Mohali on January 11, 2024. This is the first time the two sides are playing a bilateral international series.
India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bowl first. India had some changes as Yashasvi Jaiswal was ruled out due to a groin injury. Shubman Gill was slotted as an opener, with Tilak Varma in the XI and Jitesh Sharma preferred as a keeper over Sanju Samson. India also went in with only two main pacers and three spinners.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan batters struggled a bit but contributed well to take the team to a decent total of 158/5 in 20 overs. Mohammad Nabi top-scored with 42 runs, while Azmatullah Omarzai (29), Ibrahim Zadran made (25) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz made 23 runs.
For India, Mukesh Kumar and Akshar Patel took two wickets each, while Shivam Dube took one.
India set 159 runs to win and lost captain Rohit Sharma to a needless runout on the second ball itself. Shubman Gill hit 5 fours in 23 before he was stumped by Gurbaz off Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Tilak Varma, coming in at no.3 made 26 runs and added 44 runs with Shivam Dube.
After Tilak fell to a brilliant catch by Gulbadin Naib, Dube added 45 runs with Jitesh Sharma, who made 31 in 20 balls with 5 fours. Dube remained unbeaten on 60 in 40 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes, while Rinku Singh aided him in finishing the game with 16* in 9 balls.
India won the match by 6 wickets and 15 balls remaining in the match and went 1-0 up in the series. Shivam Dube was named the Player of the match for his 60* and one wicket.
Rohit Sharma, in the post-match presentation, talked about the cold, his unfortunate dismissal, and the team’s performance.
“It was extremely cold. Now I am okay. When the ball hits the tip of the finger, it's sore. In the end, it was good. Lot of positives, we got a lot from this game, especially with the ball. Our spinners bowled really well and the seamers did the job as well. These things happen (on the run-out), you want to be out there and score runs for the team. Everything will not go your way. I wanted Gill to carry on. Lot of positives. Dube and Jitesh batted well, Tilak as well and then Rinku was in good form as well. We want to challenge ourselves in areas we are slightly uncomfortable with. We want to make sure that we come out on top,” he said as per Cricbuzz.
The second T20I will be played in Indore on Sunday, January 14.
