IND vs AFG, 1st T20I: Shivam Dube's all-round show helps India down Afghanistan by 6 wickets in Mohali

India emerged victorious in their first home game of 2024 after the Men in Blue put Afghanistan to the mat in a one-sided contest at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Thursday (Jan 11). A fifty from Shivam Dube coupled with Jitesh Sharma’s 35 saw Rohit Sharma’s men home as they won by six wickets and 15balls to spare. The win also sees India take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with an opportunity to seal itin Indore on Sunday with Virat Kohli set to return to T20I setup after 14 months.

India start on winning note

Chasing 159 runs to win, the Indian team did not have the best start after they lost Rohit Sharma on the second ball of the innings. Rohit’s dismissal was a big talking moment as he was seen furious at Shubman Gill who refused to take a run while the Indian skipper called for one. Rohit had to depart for a duck on his return to the T20I setup for the first time in 14 months. India then lostGill (23) on the fifth ball of the fourth over after Rahmanullah Gurbaz stumped him.

The Men in Blue then recovered with Tilak Varma (26) and Shivam Dube scoring valuable runs before the former was scalped by Azmatullah Omarzai. Dube’s impressive stint though continued at the other end as he helped India to win the game. He remained unbeaten on 60 off 40 deliveries which consisted of 5 fours and 2 sixes. He was helped by the impressive Jitesh Sharma who scored31 off 20 balls.

For his impressive show, Dube was adjourned Player of the Match while he also scalped one wicket with the ball.

Afghanistan’s innings

Asked to bat first, the visitors had a good start but Indian bowlers then produced their goods to restrict the opposition. Despite starts frommultiple players, there were no big innings played by Afghanistan batters. Mohammad Nabi top scored with 42 while Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran contributed with 23 and25 runs, respectively.In 20 overs Afghanistan managed to score 158/5 with Mukesh Kumar and Axar Patel scalping two wickets each.

Both theteams will next meet on Sunday with India standing an opportunity to win the series. The contest in Indore will also see Virat Kohli return to the T20I setup for the first time in 14 months like Rohit Sharma.