Captain Rohit Sharma donned the glittering cap of saviour thrice within the night time, first with a situation-defying hundred in regulation time after which with two mini assaults to assist India struggle previous a feisty Afghanistan in a dramatic double Tremendous Over end within the third and ultimate T20 in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The consequence meant that India gained their ultimate sequence earlier than the T20 World Cup with a satisfying 3-0 margin.
Earlier than Tremendous Overs kicked in, Rohit (121 not out, 69b, 11×4, 8×6) and his excellent sidekick Rinku Singh (69 n.o, 39b, 2×4, 6×6) shared 190 runs for a stellar unbeaten fifth-wicket stand as India got here again from a flaky 22 for 4 to publish an enormous 212 for 4 after opting to bat first.
The Afghans began gamely by openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (50, 32b) and Ibrahim Zadran (50, 41 balls) as they added 93 runs in 11 overs, constructing a strong basis for the chase.
Their departure noticed spinners Washington Sundar (3/18) and Kuldeep Yadav (1/31) tightening issues a bit however the skilled Gulbadin Naib (55 not out off 23 balls) performed some twinkling pictures to maintain his aspect within the hunt.
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Naib knocked off 18 runs of the required 19 off the ultimate over bowled by pacer Mukesh Kumar, dragging the match right into a Tremendous Over.
The guests made 16 for 1 within the first Tremendous Over bowled by Mukesh and India equalled the rating with Rohit making 13, and it stretched the sport to the second Tremendous Over.
On this part, India made 11 and Rohit made all these runs earlier than getting run out.
Afghanistan misplaced each Mohammad Nabi and Gurbaz to leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi as they failed to attain any runs within the second Tremendous Over, signalling the tip of a winding match.
Rohit remained the star of the night time amongst all that commotion, additionally silencing those that doubted his suitability to be in India’s T20 scheme of issues.
A strike fee of 175 typically will give the image of manic hitting however his innings was something however that.
His top-order colleagues’ callousness whereas enjoying the pull shot meant that Rohit needed to restrain himself within the preliminary a part of his keep.
Even Rinku displayed his damaging instincts judiciously and that gradually-building crescendo was the trademark of their alliance.
The Afghanistan spinners discovered a touch of grip from the floor, and Rohit needed to convey out a fairly uncommon shot from his arsenal, reverse sweep to unsettle opposition spinners.
In reality, a reverse sweep off leg-spinner Qais Ahmad fetched him a T20 fifty off 41 balls, a primary since October 2022.
However even a restraint Rohit is usually a sight for sore eyes.
There have been these inevitable and archetypal pulls that make a Rohit innings such a compelling watch. Maybe, a message for different top-order batters on the secure execution of that shot.
The Mumbaikar’s on-one-leg pull off pacer Mohammed Saleem that sailed into second tier was an astounding shot.
However as soon as he felt that India had reached a safer shore, Rohit unleashed himself on the Afghans as 71 runs flowed from the subsequent 28 balls he confronted.
The fifty quickly blossomed into 100 off 63 balls, Rohit’s first in T20 since his 111 in opposition to the West Indies at Lucknow in 2018.
This was additionally Rohit’s highest rating in T20s, surpassing his 118 in opposition to Sri Lanka at Indore in 2017.
On the different finish, Rinku had the easy job of preserving his find yourself and the left-hander did that job with maturity.
Rinku, although, vented his belligerence when the chance introduced itself, resembling a flicked six off Saleem over sq. leg and carried on to register his second T20 fifty because the Afghans wilted below steady onslaught.
Nonetheless, it was not solely a clean experience for the Indians as their top-order caved in in opposition to a sprightly Afghan new-ball bowlers.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was the primary to depart as left-arm pacer Fareed Ahmad cramped him for room, and the opener’s top-edged pull was snaffled by Mohammed Nabi within the deep.
Virat Kohli lasted only one ball. Coming into the sector to a rapturous welcome from a packed stadium, Kohli couldn’t negate a climbing supply from Ahmad, slicing the pull to Zadran simply contained in the circle.
Sanju Samson too lasted only a ball, a mistimed pull off Azmatullah Omarzai ending within the fingers of Nabi.
Amidst the pulling frenzy of his top-order colleagues, in-form Shivam Dube needed to push one right down to the vacant third man area, however all he may do was to nurdle the ball to Gurbaz behind the stumps.
Ahmad ended his first spell with spectacular figures of 3-0-10-3 as India ended the ability play at a vastly underwhelming 30 for 4.