India returned to white-ball cricket with an emphatic seven-wicket victory over Afghanistan in a rain-affected game in Dharamshala in the first ODI on Saturday, June 13. The Men in Blue have taken a 1-0 lead in this three-match series and can seal the trophy when they play the second match in Lucknow on Wednesday, June 17.
Talking Points:
1. Rahmanullah Gurbaz shows his white-ball prowess in Dharamshala
Despite his struggles in the only Test match, Rahmanullah Gurbaz showed why he is one of Afghanistan‘s best batters in white-ball cricket. In a game that was virtually a T20, Gurbaz scored an excellent 102 off just 51 deliveries, striking at 200. The right-handed batter scored eight fours and the same number of sixes in his amazing innings.
2. Indian debutants bring sunshine on a damp day
India gave caps to two bowlers in Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey, and both had an excellent day out on an overcast day in Himachal Pradesh. Both Brar and Dubey ended the game with three wickets each, with the former ending with much better figures of 3 for 27.
3. Shubman Gill brings his IPL form to Indian colours
Shubman Gill had an excellent IPL season with the Gujarat Titans, scoring upwards of 700 runs. The right-handed batter brought that outstanding form to international cricket, ending up as the Men in Blue’s best performer. The skipper scored an unbeaten 84 at a strike-rate of 127.27 to see his side through.
Who said what?
Hashmatullah Shahidi – Afghanistan Captain:
“Yeah, it was a tough game. I think back-to-back wickets was the reason. I was feeling that when Gurbaz was playing, I was feeling that if we scored 220, 230, that might be a good target, but we gave some back-to-back wickets and after that, we were short of almost 30 runs, I think. (What was the thinking when you were batting?) I think in my mind, I was trying to target the left-arm spinner because the boundary was also shorter that side. But I think Gurbaz played really well, but after that, we did some mistakes. It started for me and then other batsmen. That’s why we were like 30 runs short. (Anything with the ball you could have done differently?) Well, the wicket was also, to be honest, a little bit flatter, but we were not that much disciplined in our bowling as well. So hopefully we learn from this and we come back stronger into the next match.”
Shubman Gill – India Captain and Player of the Match:
“I mean, it was kind of a T20 game, I think the way we started and then they pulled the game away from us. Gurbaz batted brilliantly, the way he got his century was brilliant. But I think the way we pulled back in the middle overs and the death overs was brilliant. Honestly, I think it was a brilliant wicket to bat on. It was, as the match went on, even when we were bowling, there was a little bit of grip for the spinners. When they were bowling, the ball was coming on pretty nicely. (Talks about the slip catch) No, I definitely caught the ball, practicing a lot, taking a lot of slip catches and even, you know, before the match, I was talking to a friend, he was that I haven’t really taken like a really brilliant catch in my international career so far, one-handed and very happy to get that catch. (Talking about the run-out) He saw the replay, he said it’s fine. Even in the last match that we played against Afghanistan, T20s, he got run out there as well. (What do you think about the debutants today) Very impressive, upfront, how Gurnoor bowled, brilliant pace and the way he was swinging the ball, the kind of length he bowled consistently and even Harsh as well, after I think in the first over, he went for 16-17 runs and the way he pulled the game back, trusted himself and kept tossing the ball up. It was very impressive. I think the middle overs in one-day games is very crucial, if you can keep, as a bowling group, if we can keep building pressure in the middle overs and keep creating opportunities and same when we are batting, if we can keep rotating the strike, keep batting at a healthy run rate, 6-6.5, without losing too many wickets, then you can really set up the game in the death. So these are the key points that we discuss in team meetings, how can we keep creating opportunities in the middle overs as a bowling group and when we are batting, how can we, keep really pumping on the runs.”
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