India took on Afghanistan in their last Asia Cup 2022 encounter in Dubai on Thursday (September 8). India, batting first after losing the toss, saw Virat Kohli (122* off 61 balls) scoring his long-awaited 71st international century, a wait that lasted for 1020 days, taking the team’s total to a mammoth 212/2.
The second innings began with Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowling one of the most extraordinary 4-over spells the game has ever witnessed that effectively took the match away from Afghanistan’s grab.
With a 5-wicket haul, his second in T20Is, and only 4 runs given away, Kumar silenced those who had criticized him for conceding runs in the death overs of India's back-to-back losses that caused their exit from the race for finals.
He remarked after the match that he tried to make use of the swing that was on offer from the conditions.
“It was my day as I was getting the wickets (in the powerplay). If you look at the white ball it doesn’t swing much, but it did swing a lot today. I think wherever I was bowling, I was getting wickets,” he said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
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India’s losses to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Super 4 stage saw them getting knocked out of the tournament.
When asked about what went wrong in those games, the right-arm seamer claimed that the conditions weren’t favorable for bowlers.
“If you look at those two matches – one against Pakistan and the other one against Sri Lanka, there wasn’t much swing. It’s quite unpredictable with the white ball,” he said.
Deepak Chahar made a comeback to the national team after several months as a replacement for Avesh Khan.
In addition to stating that it was a nice tournament leading up to the T20 World Cup next month, the 32-year-old stated that Chahar will need some time to regain his rhythm.
“Chahar is coming off an injury, but he can also swing the ball both ways, he will need some time. It has been a good tournament, it’s good for us leading into the World Cup,” Kumar said.
(STAR SPORTS INPUTS)
