India secured their first win of the T20 World Cup 2021 by beating Afghanistan with a margin of 66 runs in the Super 12 clash on Wednesday (November 3). Openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul scored half-centuries to help India score the highest total of this tournament, 210/2, after being asked to bat by Afghanistan.
Afghanistan could only post 144/7 in their 20 overs after Mohammad Shami took three wickets and Ravichandran Ashwin got two. Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja also bagged one wicket each to ensure India stay alive in the tournament with a very slim chance of qualifying for the semi-final.
Rohit, who was named the Player of the Match for his 74-run knock, spoke on his 140-run stand with Rahul (69) for the first wicket. “We wanted to get off to a good start which didn’t happen in the first two games. There was a conscious effort to lay a good platform for the other batters to express themselves later. Exceptional batting from Rahul and that partnership was vital," he said at the post-match presentation.
Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi, who were batting first after winning the toss in their previous matches, decided to bowl first, and Rohit admitted that India were also looking to put Afghanistan in to bat if they had won the toss.
“Looking at the trend, they’ve batted first in all their games. We were looking to field first, but it was a good pitch to bat on," he said.
Apart from winning their remaining matches, India's chances depend on other teams' results as well. The win against Afghanistan has helped India better their net run-rate to + 0.073. “A good start and a respectable total were very important from our side. We knew run rate could come into play and we wanted to win by a good margin, glad that we did that."
“Today it was necessary to get off to a good start, and that’s not my natural game - I usually like to get in. So I made an effort to settle in, play cricketing shots, and put up a big total," Rohit concluded.
