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Cricket PlayersIndia vs Afghanistan Highlights, T20 World Cup 2021: IND thrash AFG by 66 runs to bag first win of the tournament
IND vs AFG Highlights, T20 World Cup 2021 Updates: India beat Afghanistan by 66 runs in their Super 12 match in Abu Dhabi to bag their first win of the tournament. Rohit Sharma (74) was adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’. Follow India vs Afghanistan highlights and updates on the live blog.
India vs Afghanistan Highlights: At last, after 10 days and 2 matches, the Indian team finally managed to secure their first victory of the showpiece event. They beat Afghanistan by 66 runs. In chase of 211, AFG lost two early wickets at the start of their chase as Jasprit Bumrah removed Zazai (13) and Mohammed Shami got the wicket of Mohammad Shahzad (0). However, Gurbaz and Gulbadin took the attack to the Indian bowlers to take the total to 47/2 after the powerplay. Soon after, Gurbaz was sent packing on 19 by Ravindra Jadeja. Just as Gulbadin Naib threatened to take off, he was trapped LBW plumb in front by R Ashwin. Afghanistan reached 61-4 after 10 overs. R Ashwin, before finishing his spell with figures of 2/14 in 4 overs, cleaned up Najib as Afghanistan reached 98/5 after 16 overs. Eventually, Mohammed Shami bagged two more, en route to three wicket-haul as India restricted Afghanistan to 144/7 in 20 overs. Earlier in the first innings, India posted 210/2 in 20 overs after being asked to bat by Afghanistan. Courtesy of a flurry of boundaries unleashed by openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, India posted 53/0 by the end of the first innings Powerplay. Afghanistan bowlers pulled things back for three overs before a few timely boundaries from KL Rahul helped India post 85/0 at the halfway stage. Soon after, the duo brought up their 4th T20I century stand and Rahul also brought up another half-century. The Indian openers then went on to add 140 runs for the first wicket, a new record for India in T20Is, before Karim Janat dismissed Sharma on 74. Rahul was dismissed on 69 soon after by Gulbadin Naib but that did not deter Hardik Pandya (35*) and Rishabh Pant (27*) to put on a show. The two put on 63 runs off 21 balls to take India to the massive total.
...Read MoreIND vs AFG: 3 things India need to do right to beat AFG ( 3 of 3)
Plan but also be prepared to break the set pattern
Be it batting, bowling or fielding, there seems to be a set pattern in everything that India do in T20Is, which is not the ideal thing in this format, where the game is largely depended on instincts. Teams like England, Pakistan have definite plans against each of their opponents but they are also ready to improvise based on the match situation. This has been missing in India's case. Firstly, their plan A (if their was one) hasn't worked at all against any of the New Zealand or Pakistan players. The same left-armer dismantled their top-order, the same Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi, and Mitchell Santner gave them troubles. And when their first plan failed, they appeared clueless. While defending 110, the idea to start with Varun Chakravarthy was good but the field he got in no way suggested that India were going for wickets.
IND vs AFG: 3 things India need to do right to beat AFG ( 2 of 3)
Stop treating 150 as a safe total even on slow tracks
When you have a top three comprising Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli. Throw in Ishan Kishan there too, the opposition should be on the defensive, not the other way around. But Rahul, Rohit and Kohli have sort of pre-decided a safe total in their minds before even walking out to bat. Their approach of ‘getting their eyes in’ before attempting shots has never allowed India to get off to a start. In 2021, it is a strict no no to have three world-class players whose first instinct is to accumulate and then go for shots in T20 cricket. That seemed to have rubbed off in the rest of the Indian batting unit. The pitches in UAE are not conducive for strokeplay on the up, especially when batting first but that in no way means there won't be intent. If India's batters can bat without the fear of losing wickets then they can be as destructive as anyone, something that they desperately need to bring their campaign back on track.
IND vs AFG Live: 3 things India need to do right to beat AFG (1 of 3)
Get the selection right
India had picked five spinners and only three specialist seam bowling options in their initial 15-member squad. Question marks over Hardik Pandya's bowling forced them to replace Axar Patel with Shardul Thakur. Even then, they were left with four genuine spinners, meaning their thought process before the tournament was to strangle the opposition with spin. And rightly so. The slow nature of the UAE pitches, the bigger boundaries make spinners a match-winning option. But for reasons unknown, there has been no sign of that in their XI in the first two matches. They went with two spinners and decided to bench Ashwin and Rahul Chahar - perhaps their best bets to pick wickets in the middle. The choice of seamers too haven't been that convincing. Yes, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has not been at his best but he provides extra options at the death. With the XI that India went in with against New Zealand, there was no bankable option apart from Bumrah at the death. Even if India had somehow managed to give a 150-plus target, it would have been very difficult to defend.
IND vs AFG Live Score: India's record under Kohli batting first
-Furthermore, under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, India has lost 13 matches while batting first – joint 2nd most in the format.
-Moreover, India has lost 16 T20Is under Virat Kohli’s captaincy with 13 of them coming while batting first.
Most matches lost when batted first in T20Is:
MS Dhoni- 36 matches | 19 wins | 15 defeats | 1 tied game
Virat Kohli- 28 matches | 13 wins | 13 defeats | 2 tied games
Pieter Seelaar (NED) - 24 matches 8 wins |13 defeats | 2 tied games
India vs Afghanistan Live Cricket Score: Can IND break the jinx?
In addition, India has the second-lowest win% in T20Is while batting first in 2021 among the 12 Test playing nations after Sri Lanka (20%).
• Also, this does not seem to be a new problem for India as they have won only 2 matches since 2014 in T20 World Cup matches.
India’s 2 wins in T20 World Cup matches since 2014 came against Australia in 2014 and Bangladesh in 2016
India vs Afghanistan Live Score: India batting first stats
2010 was the last time when India lost 3 back to back games in World T20 matches.
• Moreover, in 2021 India has batted first in 9 matches and won only 3 of them.
o Their 3 wins while batting first came against England (2) and Sri Lanka (1).
IND vs AFG Live Score: India's problem batting first
With the last defeat at the hands of New Zealand in Dubai, India recorded their 3rd consecutive defeat in the T20 World Cup, including their defeat in 2016 against West Indies.
• Notably, all 3 defeats have come for India while batting first.
IND vs AFG: Who would have thought…
Who would have thought that India will find themselves in the position they are in. They began the tournament as favourites but are now on the brink of elimination
India vs Afghanistan Live, T20 World Cup
Hello and welcome the live coverage of India's Super 12 clash against Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup. Virat Kohli's men find themselves in an unprecedented situation and are knocking on exit door. After two successive defeats, they now face an exciting Afghanistan side, which is marshalled by Mohammad Nabi. Can the Afghans ruin the Indians' party or will the "Men in Blue" finally get off the mark? Well, you know what I am going to say next. Strap yourself in, grab your snacks and drinks and relax. Let's take this journey together and find out.
