The under-pressure Indian unit passed the unpredictable Afghanistan test with flying colours as it secured a comprehensive 66-run victory and added two crucial points in their bag. Openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul fired in unison to add 140 runs for the first wicket before the Hardik Pandya-Rishabh Pant pair steered India to an intimidating 210-run total.
A dominant batting display set the tone before the bowlers restricted the Afghan camp to just 144 runs. There still are a lot of permutations in the picture but India is still alive in the contest. Following India's all-round victory, skipper Virat Kohli hailed R Ashwin's return to the set-up as the "biggest" positive, adding that his presence helps the team in controlling middle overs.
Street-smart Ashwin made his presence felt, picking his first T20I scalp after a six-year hiatus. Street-smart Ashwin trapped Gulbadin before castling Najibullah, leaving the opposition tottering at 69/5 in 12th over. He finished with impressive figures of 2/14 in his four overs.
"The return of Ash (is the biggest positive), we saw him doing well in the IPL and when he does this, we get control in the middle overs. That's what I'm most pleased about," he said in the post-match presentation.
Kohli also explained why he demoted himself from the No. 3 spot today, pointing out the T20 format's nature behind the move. It was the first time when Kohli did not come out to bat when India have batted first.
"T20 cricket is a very instinctive game, in batting, bowling and decision-making. We do make decisions on the go. Top three is mostly settled unless situations like today when the openers batted all the way through and the power-hitters were ready. We don't always decide early to go hard, but we do back ourselves and when we do get going," he further said.
With two games still to go against Scotland and Namibia, India have every chance to qualify for the semi-final only if Afghanistan beat New Zealand in their last game of the group stage. If Afghanistan manage to outsmart Kiwis, India would hope that it is a closely fought match as Mohammad Nabi’s side NRR after the big loss is 1.481.
