Rohit Sharma led India were able to whitewash Afghanistan in the three-match T20I series and won the final match in Bengaluru after the second super over. Rohit played in his ‘hitman’ style and smashed the Afghani bowlers to all the parts of the ground. Sharma slammed his 5th ton in T20I cricket and was unbeaten on 121 runs. He also added 190 runs for the fifth wicket along with Rinku Singh (69*).
The series was very special for Rohit Sharma as he was making a comeback in T20I cricket after a long gap of 14 months along with batsman Virat Kohli. Rohit was dismissed for two back-to-back ducks in the first two matches of the series but his comeback was as marvellous as it could have been.
Former Indian spinner Pragyan Ojha lauded Rohit Sharma’s innings in the third IND vs AFG T20I match and he took every step very tactfully. Ojha also lauded the way Rohit took the Indian team out of trouble and stated that he knew that Afghanistan were bowling well.
Pragyan Ojha lauds Rohit Sharma’s century in the 3rd IND vs AFG T20I match
Pragyan Ojha also admitted the importance of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the Indian team. Pragyan Ojha said on Colors Cineplex, “The situation was grim. When he started, he knew they were bowling well, they were bowling good lengths, so he gave them respect. However, after that, the way he kept driving the game, he tactfully took every step.”
“It shows why Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are so valuable for this team. It’s very important not only for you to play in such situations but also to take the youngsters along with you.”
It was not a perfect start for the Indian cricket team as they lost big names such as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Sanju Samson, and Shivam Dube pretty early on in the innings. While Jaiswal and Dube were dismissed for 4 and 1 run, Kohli and Samson had to make their way back to the dressing room after achieving a golden duck.
However, Indian captain Rohit Sharma analyzed the situation and smashed a total of 11 fours and 8 sixes throughout his innings. Rinku Singh also moved with Rohit by matching his shoulders and slammed 6 sixes in his innings of 69* runs.
Afghanistan were also provided a decent start while chasing down 213 runs and their openers added 93 runs for the first wicket. While Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz were dismissed for 50 runs each, Gulbadin Naib played an unbeaten innings of 55 runs from 23 balls, which helped Afghanistan level the score.
The match moved to the super over wherein batting first, Afghanistan scored 16 runs. However, the super over also ended in a tie and for a result, the match moved to another super over.
India were able to able to score 11 runs in 5 balls and lost both their wickets. However, it was Indian leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi who helped India defend 12 runs in the super over and also win the match to whitewash Afghanistan in the T20I series.