After 4 overs,India 35/0 ( KL Rahul 16 , Rohit Sharma 19)
Hamid to bowl his first over. Starts with two singles and a dot. Oh, a little bit of hesitation from Rahul and Rohit, almost resulted in a run-out. This is as good a start as India have had recently. Couple of singles to end.
After 2 overs,India 23/0 ( KL Rahul 13 , Rohit Sharma 10)
Sharafuddin in now. Single to start, and then a delightfully inventive four from Rohit Sharma. Delicately paddled away fine past short fine. single, dot and then SIX!! Rahul came down the pitch and clobbered it over mid-on! KL Rahul then ends with a FOUR! Hit to to long-on again, this was just a little less firmly struck, it’s one bounce and over the crease.
After 1 overs,India 7/0 ( KL Rahul 2 , Rohit Sharma 5)
Alright then, after the experimental duo of KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan in the last match, we’re back to Rahul and Rohit. Nabi will begin the bowling. Dot and two singles to start. It’s a good first over so far. A dot, a single and then FOUR! Nicely done by Rahul! Lifted over extra cover.
No but seriously, what are the odds?
The last time Kohli won a toss in T20I was in March against ENG, in 2nd T20I. Since then, he’s lost 6 tosses in a row. He’s lost his last 3 ODI tosses as well (13 of last 16) & 6 tosses lost in last 7 Tests (11 out of last 14). Can they send someone else just for the toss? ??– Jigar Mehta (@jigsactin) November 3, 2021
Afghanistan Playing XI: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad(w), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi(c), Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Naveen-ul-Haq, Hamid Hassan
India Playing XI: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah
Virat Kohli: “The situation is tricky for us, but there’s still a chance. We’ll focus on that chance, and play as well as we can. We haven’t done that recently, but we need to shrug that off now.
We would have bowled first, tried to restrict the team and then chase it down. For us, it’s an opportunity to come out and put big runs on the board, on what looks like a fresh pitch.
Suryakumar Yadav is back, he’ll bat where he batted in the first match. Varun Chakaravarthy has a niggle, he’ll be replaced by R Ashwin.”
Afghanistan win the toss and opt to bowl first
“The last game there was a lot of dew, so I think we’ll bowl first. Mujeeb isn’t playing. The team is in a good shape, we’ve practised a lot. We’ll play cricket normally and enjoy it.” – Mohammad Nabi
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 Points table, team, venue, schedule
Click here to check out the points table for the T20 World Cup.
From beacons of hope to symbols of pride – Afghanistan’s soul-stirring journey
Last Sunday, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi witnessed the end of an era in Afghanistan cricket. Without warning, in the middle of the T20 World Cup, a former captain announced his retirement from the international stage. Such dramatic calls often point to a discord within the side, a seemingly irrevocable fractious divide.
It might be a while yet before the exact reason behind Asghar Afghan’s premature, abrupt departure is known, but it can be said without equivocation that he wasn’t nudged out because of dressing-room frictions. Afghanistan’s first Test captain is widely loved and revered within the contours of the team and beyond. As the tears flowed copiously and unchecked, Gulbadin Naib hoisted Afghan on his shoulders in scenes reminiscent of Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble’s last days in international cricket.
Click here to read more of R Kaushik’s piece on Afghanistan’s journey.