Virat Kohli returned to the India T20 team after 430 days, but it was the youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal who grabbed all the headlines with a bombastic innings to guide India to another series victory. Shivam Dube displayed his all-round brilliance with another fifty. Earlier in the day, Axar Patel bowled beautifully to restrict Afghanistan within 180. India were lacklustre at times, but managed to secure a comfortable win in the end. It was a chilly night in Indore and Rahul would be happy with the showing from the youngsters.
Team Lineups
India welcomed their talismanic batsman Virat Kohli into their T20 team after a year of absence. The last time Kohli played for India in this format was back in 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final against England. Tilas Varma was the man to go out of the team to accommodate Kohli. India made another change in the form of opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal. According to the team management, Jaiswal is the preferred opener to partner Rohit in the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup. Jaiswal missed out on the first game due to the a groin injury. Shubman Gill was benched for the 22 year old opener. There was still no place for left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, pacer Avesh Khan or wicketkeeper batsman Sanju Samson.
Afghanistan made one change to the team that was comprehensively beaten in the first game at Mohali. Afghanistan wanted to add more firepower to their spin attack. So young spinner Noor Ahmed came in for Rahmat Shah. The 19 year old has performed magnificently at the 2023 World Cup. Afghanistan is still without their inspirational captain Rashid Khan who is travelling with the team.
India
- Rohit Sharma (Cap.) 2. Yashasvi Jaiswal 3. Virat Kohli 4. Shivam Dube 5. Jitesh Sharma (WK) 6. Rinku Singh 7. Axar Patel 8. Washington Sundar 9. Ravi Bishnoi 10. Arshdeep Singh 11. Mukesh Kumar
Afghanistan
- Rahamnullah Gurbaz (WK) 2. Ibrahim Zadran (Cap.) 3. Azmatullah Omarzai 4. Mohmmad Nabi 5. Najibullah Zadran 6. Karim Janat 7. Gulbadin Naib 8. Noor Ahmed 9. Fazalhaq Farooqi 10. Naveen-ul-Haq 11. Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the coin toss and decided to bat first on a fiat looking pitch. The Holkar Stadium has been known as a batting paradise with short boundaries and flat surface. Among the three previous T20 matches that took place at this stadium, the team batting first emerged victorious on two occasions. In the last match at this ground, South Africa accumulated a huge total of 227 runs.
Fixture
India and Afghanistan have met each other on 6 occasions before this match. India clinched five victories against their fellow Asians whereas Afghans are yet to win a match against Team India in any format. One game ended without any result due to rain. After the one-off test in 2018, this was the second time the two sides met in a bilateral series. Afghanistan had shown glimpses of their ability over the last few years in this format with a mix of majestic spin bowling and aggressive batting.
| Venue | The second T20 international between India and Afghanistan was held at Holikar Stadium at Indore, Madhya Pradesh. |
| Date | The game started at 7:30 p.m. ISt on Sunday, November 14. |
Captaincy & Tactics
Afghanistan started off their innings in a flamboyant fashion with Rahmannullah Gurbaz finding the boundary regularly. The Indian bowlers were errant with their lines during the early exchanges. Gulbadin Naib came after that and started swinging the bat. Naib was offered help from Ravi Bishnoy who was tossing it up. He was hit for three boundaries in an over. Shivam Dube was also punished for offering juicy half volleys to the right hander.
Axar Patel came and started putting the ball into right channels to keep the run rate in check. The left armer pitched 73% of deliveries on the good length zone, not allowing the batter enough room to manoeuvre, The mixing of pace was the most impressive trait of the spinner who made batting difficult even on a flat track. Afghanistan reached to 170+ score thanks to the boundaries hit by Mujeeb, Najibullah and Janat.
Despite losing Rohit Sharma on the second ball of the innings, India’s chased never looked to losing pace. Yashasvi Jaiswal was eye pleasing with his flawless pick up shots. Virat Kohli also displayed his attacking instincts by hitting 4 boundaries in 16 deliveries.
Shivam Dube came and started hitting the ball with brute force. The 30 year old all-rounder is excelling in his new found role up the order. Dube was especially lethal against spin, scoring at an astounding strike rate 265.75. The two left handers were hitting the ball through the line on a surface that was becoming better for batting. The Afghan bowlers simply had no answer to this onslaught.
Batting Analysis
During India’s chase, Fazalhaq Farooqi bowled out Rohit Sharma on the very first ball, resulting in a disappointing first-ball duck for Rohit. This was not the first time he failed to score, as he was also run out in the first T20I. On the other hand, Virat Kohli, playing his first T20I since the 2022 T20 World Cup, had an aggressive approach, scoring 29 runs off 16 balls.
However, the standout performers of the match were Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube, who seemed to be in a competition of their own, disregarding the Afghan bowlers. Jaiswal reached his fifty off 27 balls, while Dube achieved his fifty in just 22 balls. Both batsmen relentlessly tried to hit boundaries, which resulted in India comfortably reaching the target in just 15.4 overs. Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz provided a quick start to their innings by hitting a boundary and a six off the first two legal deliveries. However, his promising innings was short-lived as he fell to Ravi Bishnoi for 14 runs off nine balls.
Gulbadin Naib, batting at number three, played a crucial role in maintaining Afghanistan’s momentum. He struck consecutive fours off Mukesh Kumar and followed it up with an impressive display of power hitting, hitting 6, 4, 4 off Bishnoi in the next over. Naib finished the powerplay with yet another boundary, taking Afghanistan to 58 runs for the loss of two wickets after six overs.
Shivam Dube managed to dismiss Azmatullah Omarzai with a well-executed back-of-the-hand slower ball. However, Naib targeted Dube, hitting him for two sixes in the ninth over. In a stroke of luck, Naib was dropped by Kohli on a difficult low chance when he was on 41 runs. He soon reached his fifty off just 28 balls, contributing significantly to Afghanistan’s total.
Axar Patel showcased his improved bowling skills after returning from a quadriceps strain that had sidelined him during the 2023 ODI World Cup. Patel worked on reducing his pace during his forced break and reaped the rewards in this match. He dismissed Ibrahim Zadran and Naib, taking two crucial wickets for just 17 runs in his four-over spell. Naib’s wicket slowed down Afghanistan’s scoring rate, as they managed to score only 27 runs in the following five overs.
Bowling Analysis
Najibullah Zadran struggled initially, scoring only six runs off 15 balls. However, he found his rhythm against Ravi Bishnoi in the 17th over, hitting him for two sixes and a four. After Zadran’s departure, Karim Janat and Mujeeb Ur Rahman took charge and smashed Shivam Dube for 20 runs in the penultimate over. Despite a tight final over by Arshdeep Singh, Afghanistan scored 55 runs in the last four overs.
Rohit Sharma faced a similar fate as the previous T20I as he was run out due to a lack of coordination with Shubman Gill. In his 150th T20I match, Rohit’s dismissal was not down to misfortune. He could not replicate his heroic performance from the game at the World Cup 2023. On the other hand, Virat Kohli, who missed the first game due to personal reasons, started his innings by smashing Mujeeb for boundaries. He hit five fours in his short innings of 16 balls before being caught at mid-off off Naveen-ul-Haq.
Yashasvi Jaiswal provided a strong start to India’s chase by playing aggressive shots and finding the boundaries. He hit a six and a four off Farooqi and continued his onslaught against Mujeeb, hitting three consecutive fours in the fifth over. At the end of the powerplay, India had raced to 69 runs for the loss of two wickets.
Shivam Dube took some time to settle in but soon picked up the pace. He hit a six off Noor Ahmad and followed it with three successive sixes off Mohammad Nabi. After ten overs, India’s required run rate had dropped to 5.70.
Jaiswal and Dube formed a formidable partnership, adding 92 runs in just seven overs. By the time Jaiswal was dismissed for 68 runs off 34 balls, India needed only 19 runs off 45 balls. Jitesh Sharma fell for a second-ball duck, but Dube remained unbeaten with 63 runs off 32 balls, guiding India to victory alongside Rinku Singh.
Fielding Analysis
Virat Kohli did not enjoy his best day out in the field. Kolhi was presented with a tough chance by Gulbadin Naib who lofted the ball towards the long on region. Kohli came running in and dived forward to grab the ball. Despite putting both hands to it, the ball did not stick. Gulbadin was given an early reprieve and he went to score a fine fifty. The catching and ground fielding from India was fabulous with all of the chances taken by the Indian fielders. Jaiswal, Dube and later Kohli himself held on to good catches to restrict the Afghanistan innings to a chaseable target.
Afghanistan put a lot of application to their fielding. They were quick through the ground and completed several saves. Fazalhaq Farooqi was given an opportunity to send the dangerous Jaiswal back to the pavilion early. However, the left hander could not hold on to the ball. Dube and Jaiwal later resorted to hitting sixes, turning the fielders to mere spectators.
Key Performances
Gulbadin Naib scored a fantastic half century to give Afghanistan a good total to defend. The experienced all rounder got a promotion due to the absence of Rahmat Shah from the team and made the most out of the opportunity with a stroke-filled innings of 57 runs from 35 balls. Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat and Mujeeb Ur Rahman all played 20+ runs in their respective innings to make sure Afghanistan finished strongly. Rahmanullah Gurbaz got off to a good start, but couldn’t make his innings longer. Axar Patel was the pick of the bowlers for team India, finishing his spell with 2 wickets for 17. Arshdeep Singh also bowled well with 3 wickets for 32 runs. Ravi Bishnoi was expensive with 39 runs conceded from 4 overs. The leg spinner claimed two scalps.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was a joy to watch during the second innings. The 22 year old opener scored 68 runs from 34 balls. Virat Kohli started in a typical fashion with flowing drives. The master of chasing got out after 29 runs from 16 balls. Shivam Dube scored the second fifty in a row. The left hander is making the most of the opportunity in the absence of Hardik Pandya. Fazalhaq Farooqi claimed one wicket, dismissing Rohit Sharma for a golden duck. Karim Janat made things interesting for a brief period after dismissing Jaiswal and Jitesh Sharma within a space of four balls.
Turning Point
The turning point came at the seventh over of the Indian innings. The Indian innings was perfectly poised at 62 runs from 5.3 overs. Shivam Dube came to the crease to replace the veteran batter. After that the Afghanistan team was quickly thrown out of the game. The left-handed pair hit ten sixes between them in a carnage of epic proportions. They hit 10 sixed between them in a partnership that accumulated 92 runs from just seven overs. Both players reached to fifty in quick time, not slowing down throughout the whole innings. They scored 92 runs from just seven overs before Jaiswal returned to the pavilion. It was a testament to the players’ wonderful hitting ability.
Match Result
India comfortably won the second match of series by 6 wickets with 26 balls left and took an unassailable lead.
Player of the Match
For his economic bowling in a high scoring game, all-rounder Axar Patel was adjudged as the man of the match. The Gujarati left arm spinner bagged two wickets including the Afghan top scorer Gulbadin Naib and cost only 17 runs from his four overs.
Brief Scorecard
| Afghanistan Total: (20 overs) | India Total: 173/4 (15.4 overs) |
| Gulbadin Naib 57 (35) | Yashasvi Jaiswal 68 (34) |
| Najibullah Zadran 23 (21) | Shivam Dube 63 (32) |
| Arshdeep Singh 3/32 | Karim Janat 2/13 (2 overs) |
| Axar Patel 2/17 | Fazalhaq Farooqi 1/28 (3.4 overs) |
Match Highlights
https://youtu.be/Tvn3yMHO9uc?si=Tndtm3DirZM3jy3j
Match Wrap-Up
It was another regulation victory for Team India who secured another T20 series victory at home. Afghanistan played well in spells, but the Indian might was too much for them on the night. Rahul Dravid would be happy to see his young players showcase their talent on the international stage. It was another frustrating outing for Rohit Sharma though, with another duck at the start of the Indian innings. Now, the attention turns to Bengaluru where these two sides will play for the final time in this series at the iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
