India settled for a last over tie with spirited Afghanistan in their last Super Four match of the Asia Cup at Dubai on Tuesday.
Needing seven off the final over, India had the match almost in the bag when Ravindra Jadeja (25 off 34) hit a four on the second ball. A couple of singles followed with India needing a run off two balls for a win.
Jadeja, however, ended up scooping the ball for a regulation catch at midwicket, cutting short India's joy and sending Afghanistan players into ecstasy.
This is India's eighth tied in ODIs, with MS Dhoni leading in five of those matches. India have played two tied matches with Zimbabwe and England, and one each with West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
The result was also a huge morale booster for Afghanistan, who could have easily been in the final if not for the last over losses against Pakistan and Bangladesh earlier in Super Four.
The 253-run target was a tricky one for India. India, who have already qualified for the final on Friday, remained unbeaten in the competition though they were left disappointed with the tie.
Afghanistan players, on the other hand, can go back home with their heads held high, having competed hard in the tournament.
India made as many as five changes in the eleven to give an opportunity to the reserves and rest key players including captain Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Earlier, opener Mohammad Shahzad's entertaining century and sensible innings from Mohammad Nabi helped Afghanistan post 252/8.
Right from the start Shahzad (124) played freely and punished Indian bowlers all around the park. The way he was playing can be judged that his partner Javed Ahmadi played 30 balls and scored five runs in the 65 run partnership for the first wicket.
Unperturbed by the fall of the wicket in the 13th over, Shahzad kept on playing fiercely. With 81 runs on the board, Rahmat Shah (3) was dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja in the 15th over.
In the very next over, Hashmatullah Shahidi (0) and captain Asghar Afghan (0) were dismissed by chinaman Kuldeep Yadav to make the scoreboard read 82/4.
Shahzad and Gulbadin Naib (15) then joined in the middle and Naib just gave the strike to his partner, who was smashing all over the park. In the process, Shahzad completed his century.
But while trying to increase the scoring rate, Naib was also dismissed by Deepak Chahar in the 29th over.
New batsman Nabi and Najibullah Zadran then joined in the middle and added a few runs before Zadran was sent back to the pavilion by Jadeja.
Towards the end, Khaleel Ahmed packed up in-form Nabi and Afghanistan finished the innings at 252/8.
For India, Jadeja picked up three wickets while Kuldeep took two wickets.
Brief scores
Man of the match: Mohammad Shahzad
Afghanistan: 252/8 in 50 overs (Mohammad Shahzad 124, Mohammad Nabi 64; Ravindra Jadeja 3/46)
India: 252 all out 49.5 overs (Lokesh Rahul 60, Ambati Rayudu 57; Aftab Alam 2/53, Mohammad Nabi 2/41, Rashid Khan 241)
