The Indian Cricket Team has defeated Afghanistan fairly comfortably in the first ODI between the two sides, starting the series off in dominant fashion.
The first of the three India vs Afghanistan ODIs was played today at the serene HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala. The home side won the toss and decided to bowl first on a fresh batting pitch. The match was supposed to start at 1:30 in the afternoon. However, rain delayed the start of the game to 5:45. As a result, it was just a 25-over-a-side affair.
India Beats Afghanistan In The 1st ODI
Rahmanullah Gurbaz showed his dominance right from the first over, hitting Arshdeep Singh for a six and a four. Although the Afghans would lose their first wicket early, with Ibrahim Zadran becoming debutant Gurnoor Brar’s first international wicket, getting out for just one run.
Arshdeep would then take his first in the third over, catching Sediqullah Atal in front of the stumps, dismissing him for a duck. And then, a third in the fifth over, Arshdeep’s second wicket on the night. This time, it was Rahmat Shah being caught for three off eight.
The pair of Gurbaz and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi had to stabilise the innings from this point. While the wicketkeeper/batter played a sensational knock, the skipper played a supporting role. The two batted for 11 overs together and made 116 runs.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz reached his half-century in the 10th over, taking just 25 balls to reach the milestone. He would not take too much time to reach three figures. As in the 15th over, he would reach his ninth ODI century in just 48 deliveries. This was the second-fastest ton ever scored in an ODI in India.
Gurbaz would be bowled by Nitish Kumar Reddy in the very next over for 102 off 51, having carried his team to near the 150-run mark. And in the very next over, Shahidi would fall for 27 off 30.
Azmatullah Omarzai played a quickfire knock of 26 off 16, while veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi made just nine in 14. The second half of Afghanistan’s batting, like their top order, would collapse, as the team would be dismissed for 194 runs one ball before the 25-over cap.
In response, the Indian opening duo of Rohit Sharma and captain Shubman Gill got off to a flying start. In five overs, the score had run up to 40/0. But then, in the sixth over, a mix-up resulted in Rohit being run out for a run-a-ball 16.
Gill would be joined on the crease by Ishan Kishan. The two batted for seven overs together and formed a 70-run partnership for the second wicket before, in the 13th over, Kishan was bowled by Rashid Khan.
A couple of overs before that, Gill had reached his half-century in 37 balls. He would be the anchor of these innings while wickets fell on the other end.
It would not be a memorable game for the new Indian Cricket Team T20I captain, Shreyas Iyer, who would be dismissed by Ziaur Rahman for 12 off 15 in the 18th over.
By this point, India was 142/3 and was comfortably heading towards a victory. The fifth incoming batter was KL Rahul, who played a blistering knock of 39 runs off 19 balls. He, along with Shubman, with his unbeaten 84 off 66, finished the game off with 13 balls to spare as India won the match by seven wickets.
For his match-winning knock, Shubman Gill was named the Player of the Match. Another candidate for the award, apart from centurion Rahmanullah Gurbaz, would have been Gurnoor Brar, who bowled a solid 4.5-over spell of 3/27 on his international debut.
After a thorough victory in the first ODI for the hosts, the second India vs Afghanistan one-day will be played on Wednesday, June 17, at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.
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