IND Vs AFG, 1st T20I: Shivam Dube's Fifty Ensures India's 6-Wicket Win Over Afghanistan, Lead Series 1-0 - As It Happened

Hello and welcome to the India vs Afghanistan, 1st T20I at Mohali, Afghanistan's Tour of India 2024, Match Blog. As the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup inches closer, India will play Afghanistan in three T20 internationals in what is, at the time of writing, their final T20 bilateral series scheduled for before the summer's mega event. India asked Afghanistan to bat first after winning the toss and due to the Afghan openers' slow run rate, India dominated the game instead of the duo putting up an opening stand of 50 runs in Mohali. Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi and Azmatullah Omarzai added 68 runs for the fourth wicket. Afghanistan posted a respectable total of 158 runs on the board after cameos of Najibullah Zadran and Karim Janat. Mukesh Kumar and Axar Patel took a brace and Shivam Dube also took a wicket. In response, India chased down the target with six wickets and 15 balls remaining. Player of the match, Shivam Dube played a match-winning knock of 60 runs in just 40 balls. With this win, India lead the series 1-0. Catch the highlights of the IND Vs AFG, 1st T20I match here (Match Report | Scorecard)

That's all from our side!

Player Of The Match | Shivam Dube: It was quite chilly. I liked playing on this pitch. There was some pressure, but I had one thing on my mind: I had to play my game. I feel some pressure for the first 2-3 balls, but then I focus on the ball because I know I can hit massive sixes. I had the opportunity to bowl and took advantage of it.

Rohit Sharma | India Captain: It was quite chilly. Now I am Okay. When the ball strikes the tip of the finger, it hurts. In the end, it was all good. Lots of positives; we learned a lot from this game, especially with the ball. Our spinners bowled quite effectively, and the seamers were as effective. These things happen (on the run-out), and you want to be out there scoring runs for the team. Everything won't go your way. I wanted Gill to carry on. Lots of pros. Dube and Jitesh batted brilliantly, as did Tilak, and Rinku is also in fine form. We want to push ourselves in areas where we are a little uncomfortable. We want to ensure that we come out on top.

Ibrahim Zadran | Afghanistan Captain: We fell short by 30-40 runs. Unfortunately, we lost the toss, but the guys fought until the finish. We were attempting to have a strong start in the powerplay. We lost wickets, and one of us had to bat till the 14th or 15th over, which placed us under some strain. In the second inning, there was dew. Gripping proved difficult for the bowlers. We need to improve our fielding; we were a little lazy. We will also strive to enhance our hitting. In bowling, there is no problem.

India chasing targets 160 or below in home T20Is
Instances 17
Matches won 16*
Matches lost 1 (vs NZ, Nagpur, 2016)

Brief Score: IND - 159/4 (17.3)
Shivam Dube - 60* (40),  Jitesh Sharma - 31 (20)  |  Mujee Ur Rahman: (4-1-21-2)

India Lead Series 1-0

10:12 PM: India Win Bt 6 Wickets!
Shivam Dube hit the winning runs to help India win the first T20I match of the series with six wickets. He smashed a six and a four on consecutive balls to finish the match with 15 balls remaining.

10:02 PM: Shivam Dube Completes 50
Shivam Dube completed his fifty and along with Rinku Singh are on the verge of winning the first T20I match for India. Rinku Singh has also played the role of supporter as Shivam scored most of his runs in the boundaries. India now need 12 runs in 18 balls.

IND - 148/ 4 (17)

9:50 PM: Jitesh Sharma Departs
Jitesh Sharma who has played a 31-run knock in just 20 balls holed out to Ibrahim Zadran on Mujeeb Ur Rahman's bowling. Indian team need 38 runs in 36 balls now and Rinku Singh is at the crease. 

IND - 121/4 (14)

9:26 PM: Tilak Varma Falls
Tilak Varma smashed Naveen Ul Haq for a massive six then also hit a four on Azmatullah Omarzai's next over. But Omarzai did a comeback as GulbadinNaib took a screamer at deep backward square leg. Jitesh Sharma came to the crease.

IND - 83/3 (10)

9:15 PM: Mujeeb Bowls Maiden Over!
Mujeeb Ur Rahman bowled a maiden over against Shivam Dube and that too in a powerplay. But Dube smashed Nabi for a massive six in the next over and Varma hit a four on the last delivery to extract 16 runs off his over. India have lost two wickets and Tilak Varma and Dube are playing cautiously. 

IND - 52/2 (7)

8:59 PM: Shubman Gill Falls!
Tilak Varma and Shubman Gill carry on the game after the horrible run-out show of Rohit Sharma. Shubman Gill hit two fours for Fazalhaq Farooqi and then hit two boundaries to Mujeeb Ur Rahman before he stumped out him on the fifth delivery. India lost their second wicket in the chase. 

IND - 28/2 (4)

8:50 PM: India Start Batting!
India opened the innings with captain Rohit Sharma taking the strike with Shubman Gill on the other side. Fazalhaq Farooqi opened the bowling attack. Rohit Sharma got involved in a horrific run-out incident which sent the Indian captain for a duck on his T20I comeback. Tilak Varma replaced him at the crease.

IND - 5/1 (1)

Innings Break!

Target Set For India - 159 Runs In 120 Balls

Brief Score: AFG - 159/5 (20)
Mohammad Nabi - 42 (27),  Azmatullah Omarzai - 29 (22)  |  Axar Patel: (4-0-23-2)

8:24 PM: Mukesh Kumar Strikes Twice!
Mukesh Kumar's double blow gave a setback to Afghanistan's hope of setting a big target. He first bowled Azmatullah Omarzai who made crucial 29 runs in 22 balls and then he dismissed Mohammad Nabi on the final delivery to provide Afghanistan with their fifth wicket loss.

AFG - 143/5 (19)

8:15 PM: Azmat, Nabi Rebuild Inning!
Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi rebuilt Afghanistan's innings and have also completed their 50-run stand. Both batters have looked good and are playing with a positive intent. Indian bowlers search for new ways to get another breakthrough.

AFG - 125/3 (17)

8:03 PM: Axar Finishes Spell!
Axar Patel has been economical and accurate in his lengths. Apart from a six from Ibrahim Zadran, he has not conceded boundaries. He finished his spell in figures (4-0-23-2). 

AFG - 89/3 (14)

7:50 PM: Axar Strikes Again!
Axar Patel removed Rahmat Shah who is the oldest batter for Afghanistan who made his debut in T20Is. The 30-year-old Rahmat was bowled by Axar Patel on the final delivery of the 10th over.

AFG - 65/3 (11)

7:43 PM: Axar, Dube Remove Openers!
Axar Patel first got the wicket of dangerous batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz by trapping him in stumping. Sivam Dube was introduced into the attack in the 9th over and he removed the Afghanistan captain on just his second delivery.

AFG - 53/2 (9)

7:32 PM: 11 Runs From Sundar's Over
Washington Sundar was brought back into the attack in the seventh over and Ibrahim Zadran targetted him. The first three deliveries were singles and the fourth delivery was smacked for a six. He took a double on the last delivery. 11 Runs came from his second over.

AFG - 44/0 (7)

7:20 PM: Dube Drops Catch!
India started well with a maiden over and Mukesh Kumar also delivered a good second over and conceded just six runs. Arshdeep continued his attack and Shivam Dube dropped Ibrahim Zadran's catch on the fifth delivery at mid-off. Axar Patel was introduced in the fourth over. Afghan batters are playing cautiously.

AFG - 21/0 (4)

7:05 PM: Afghanistan Start Batting
Afghanistan's captain Ibrahim Zadran along with star batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz opened the innings and Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh opened the bowling attack. Gurbaz played all six balls carefully. India started with a maiden over.

AFG - 0/0 (1)

6:45 PM: Yashasvi Jaiswal Out Due To Sore Groin
Yashashvi Jaiswal has missed out on tonight's game with a sore right groin. Rohit Sharma will open the innings with Shubman Gill. According to a recent release from BCCI, Jaiswal couldn't make it to the final XI because of pain in the right groin and the team combination had to be changed at the final moment.

6:35 PM: Toss Update

India have won the toss and have opted to field

Teams:

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran(c), Rahmat Shah, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar

6:30 PM: Pitch Report
The pitch has a nice tinge of green grass, which will be beneficial for the quicker bowlers at the beginning. However, after some time, the pitch will slide on nicely. The faster bowlers have struggled here, while the spinners have been doing quite well. The surface is not very favourable for the spinners, but they bowl quick deliveries, which gives less time for the decision-making process for the batter. They tend to rush the batter a bit. There is a possibility that there won't be any dew tonight, as there wasn't any last night.

6:10 PM: Weather Report
There is little to no chance of rain. However, dew is another aspect that both teams will have an eye on, and on the eve of the match, there was not much of it. Dew is an unpredictable element, however, and things may change on match day. The chilly conditions could present a challenge to both sides when fielding, in particular.

6:00 PM: Head-to-Head Record
India have played against Afghanistan on five occasions and the Men In Blue have emerged victorious four times while one match ended with no result. Afghanistan are still searching for their maiden victory in the shortest format.

Total matches played - 5
India won - 4
Afghanistan won - 0
No results - 1

5:30 PM: Preview! 

Squads

India T20I squad vs AFG: Rohit Sharma (C), S Gill, Y Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, W Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar

Afghanistan T20I squad vs IND: Ibrahim Zadran (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK). Ikram Alikhil (WK), Hazratullah Zazai. Rahmat Shah. Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Jana. Azmaullah Omarzai. Sharafuddin Ashraf. Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem. Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan.