Suryakumar Yadav, the top batter, contributed an exciting 53 off 28, while bowler Jasprit Bumrah further came up with a brilliant 3-7 to rescue the case of India. This gave them a 47-run win over Afghanistan, keeping their unbeaten record intact at the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup in their first Super Eight match held at the Kensington Oval here on Thursday.
Although others were aggressive, the timing of those shots set Suryakumar apart—five fours and three sixes at 189 as the strike rate. His effective use of sweep shots and his 19th T20I half-century put huge pressure on the bowlers of Afghanistan. The way he brutally timed the ball was really good for India at 181/8.
Suryakumar's 60-run partnership with Hardik Pandya (32) and a late cameo of 12 from Axar Patel boosted India's run rate, with 56 runs coming in the last five overs despite Rashid Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi each claiming three wickets.
In Afghanistan's chase, Bumrah was spectacular, delivering 20 dot balls in his spell. Arshdeep Singh, although occasionally erratic, took 3-36, helping India bowl out Afghanistan for 134.
The pitch conditions made run-scoring difficult, as Farooqi managed to keep Rohit Sharma quiet. Rohit survived an LBW appeal on review but was dismissed in the third over when he miscued an off-cutter to mid-on.
Rishabh Pant started aggressively, hitting Farooqi for four and taking three boundaries off Mohammad Nabi in the Power-play's final over, which yielded 13 runs. However, Pant was trapped lbw for 20 off 12 balls while attempting a reverse sweep against Rashid Khan. Rashid also dismissed Virat Kohli, who lofted a catch to long-off.
Suryakumar maintained India's momentum with his sweep shots, fetching three boundaries. Rashid trapped Shivam Dube lbw with a quicker delivery that hit the flap of the pad first. Suryakumar showcased his skill by whipping a low full toss from Azmatullah Omarzai for four and driving through mid-off for another boundary. With Pandya also finding the boundary regularly, Suryakumar smashed a drive from Omarzai down the ground for six.
Pandya attacked Noor Ahmad, hitting a four over extra cover and a six straight down the ground. Suryakumar reached his fifty in 27 balls with a six off Farooqi before being caught at long-off in the 17th over.
Pandya hit Naveen-ul-Haq for a massive six before being dismissed in the 18th over. India's plans for a big finish were further hindered when Ravindra Jadeja was caught at short third man off Farooqi. Axar Patel hit two boundaries in the final over to push India past 180.
Afghanistan's chase began positively with Rahmanullah Gurbaz hitting Arshdeep for a four and a six in the first over. However, Gurbaz was deceived by a cutter from Bumrah, edging to the keeper. Ibrahim Zadran was dropped by Kohli off Arshdeep but soon hit straight to extra cover off Axar's bowling. Bumrah's off-cutter took a leading edge off Hazratullah Zazai's bat, caught at backward point.
India's triple strikes increased the pressure on Afghanistan, despite Azmatullah Omarzai and Gulbadin Naib hitting five boundaries before the halfway mark. After a drinks break, Kuldeep Yadav broke the 44-run partnership by having Naib caught by the keeper. Ravindra Jadeja then dismissed Omarzai, caught at long-on. Bumrah and Arshdeep finished with three wickets each, while Kuldeep took two on his T20 World Cup debut, securing a comfortable win for India.
Brief scores:
India 181/8 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 53, Hardik Pandya 32; Rashid Khan 3-26, Fazalhaq Farooqi 3-33) beat Afghanistan 134 all out in 20 overs (Azmatullah Omarzai 26; Jasprit Bumrah 3-7, Arshdeep Singh 3-36) by 47 runs
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