In an exhilarating Super-8 match at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, Team India secured a spectacular victory against Afghanistan by 47 runs. Chasing a daunting target of 182 runs set by Rohit Sharma’s squad, Afghanistan collapsed at 134 runs.
India won the toss and elected to bat first, posting 181 runs for 8 wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Mr. 360, Suryakumar Yadav, led the charge with a stellar half-century, scoring 53 runs off 28 balls, including 5 boundaries and 3 sixes. Hardik Pandya provided crucial support with 32 runs off 24 balls, featuring 3 fours and 2 sixes. Contributions from Kohli (24) and Pant (20) were decent, while Axar Patel (12), Shivam Dube (10), and Rohit Sharma (8) fell short of expectations. Afghanistan’s bowlers Rashid Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi each took 3 wickets, with Naveen-ul-Haq claiming 1.
In reply, Afghanistan’s batting lineup struggled from the start, losing 3 key wickets for just 23 runs. Despite a brief resistance from Gulbadin Naib and Azmatullah, who put up a 44-run partnership, the rest of the batsmen couldn’t withstand the Indian bowlers. Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh were exceptional, each taking 3 wickets, while Kuldeep Yadav claimed 2, and Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja took 1 each. Afghanistan managed to score only 134 runs in their 20 overs.
Azmatullah top-scored for Afghanistan with 26 runs, followed by Zadran (19), Naib (17), and Nabi (14). Suryakumar Yadav was named 'Player of the Match' for his vital innings of 53 runs off 28 balls.
Rohit Sharma Sets an Unwanted Record
Indian captain Rohit Sharma set an undesirable record in T20 World Cup history. With his score of 8 runs against Afghanistan, he now holds the record for the most single-digit scores (11) by an Indian batter in T20 World Cup matches, surpassing Yuvraj Singh (8), Suresh Raina (7), Gautam Gambhir (5), Virat Kohli (5), and KL Rahul (5).
