India and Afghanistan engaged in one of the most entertaining T20I games in recent memory, as the 'dead rubber' in Bengaluru was anything but dead with the teams giving it their all. In the end it took two Super Overs to decide the winner, which was India, who also sweeped the series 3-0.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first. Fareed Ahmad's triple-strike with the new ball left the hosts reeling at 22/4 in the 5th over, which also included the wicket of Virat Kohli for his first-ever golden duck in T20Is.
Rohit needed someone's support to get the innings back on track, which he got from Rinku Singh, as the duo carefully stitched together a steady partnership before taking off in the final 5 overs, where India scored more than 100 runs to post 212/4 on the board.
Rohit scored a record 5th T20I hundred, and also recorded his career-best of 121* off 69 balls. Rinku wasn't to be left far behind as he made 69* off just 39 balls, with the fifth-wicket partnership remaining unbroken at 190, a new record in Men's T20Is.
Afghanistan's openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (50) and captain Ibrahim Zadran (50) gave their team a strong start, which was then capitalized upon by Gulbadin Naib and Mohammad Nabi (34). Naib smashed an unbeaten 55 off 23 balls, with Afghanistan needing 36 runs off the last two overs. They fell short by just one run to finish at 212/6 and the match was tied and taken into the Super Over.
Afghanistan batted first in the Super Over bowled by Mukesh Kumar and put up 16 runs on the board, which India matched courtesy Rohit Sharma's twin sixes off Azmatullah Omarzai.
With the scores even, there was another Super Over and this time India batted first, scoring 11 runs off Fareed Ahmad, all by Rohit himself. India gambled by handing over the ball to leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, and the move spectacularly paid off with him picking up wickets of Nabi and Gurbaz in three balls to wrap up the game and series.
The cricket fraternity congratulated India for their thrilling victory and also applauded both teams for putting up a magnificent spectacle to enjoy for the fans at the ground and all around the world.
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