Live score for India against Afghanistan, first Twenty20 international: Rohit was caught off guard by Gill, who then went on the attack but was dismissed early.
Live score for India vs. Afghanistan: Rohit Sharma won the toss and declared that his team would bowl first. Arshdeep Singh got off to a maiden start and would have taken a wicket in his second over had Shivam Dube not spilled a catch, giving Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran another opportunity. However, India applied constant pressure, and between the sixth and 10th overs, three wickets fell quickly in succession, with Axar taking two of them and Dube making up for the dropped catch by dismissing Zadran.
After the tenth over, Afghanistan rallied, with Mohammad Nabi and Azmatullah Omarzai putting on a partnership of 68 off 43 balls for the fourth wicket. Nabi Mukesh destroyed the partnership, first by dismissing Omarzai on 29 off 22, and then Nabi on 42 off 27 later in the same over. The match was then well-ended by Najibullah Zadran and Karim Janat. India had a rough start, with Rohit Sharma being run out following a dreadful mix-up with Shubman Gill. Gill appeared determined to make amends, though, as he eventually fell for 23 off 12.
Since November 2022, when India played England in the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final, Hardik Pandya has been India’s de facto captain in the shortest format, leading many to believe that both Virat Kohli and Rohit have unofficially retired from the format. Yashasvi Jaiswal, the young opener, was ruled out due to a groin injury sustained in the final moments of the match. Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, and Avesh Khan are also not playing for India.
Just months before the 2024 T20 World Cup, though, both players are making their comeback to the format. While Rohit is currently the captain of the team, Kohli will play in the second and third T20Is. The Afghanistan series will serve as India’s last warm-up match before the T20I World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States and the West Indies. Similar to Kohli, Rohit’s return has forced India to make a notable change in its opening lineup. Previously, Kohli’s departure resolved a selection conundrum, at least for the first match of the series. Head coach Dravid confirmed that Jaiswal and Rohit are India’s first-choice openers in the first T20I at Mohali.
As the third opener for the Afghanistan T20Is, Shubman Gill, who is ranked third in the Test series, can now replace Kohli in the Indian XI. India will be without middle-order batsman Ishan Kishan, former vice captain KL Rahul, and wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan for the duration of the T20I series against Afghanistan. The visitors, Afghanistan, will also be without superstar Rashid Khan.
- In the opening ten overs, India put pressure on Afghanistan, led by Axar Patel.
- Later, Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi combined for 68 runs to help the visitors fight back.
- Afghanistan also performed well in the end, setting a goal of 159 that India had to pursue.
- After winning the toss, Rohit Sharma was selected to bowl first.
- A last-minute groin injury has forced Yashasvi Jaiswal to miss play.