Shubman Gill's grace overpowers Gurbaz's blitzkrieg as India beat Afghanistan in 1st ODI

India took a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan with a 7-wicket win in the first ODI on Saturday, June 13 at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala. After being put in to bat first, Afghanistan were bundled out for 194 in 24.5 overs, riding on a breathtaking century from Rahmanullah Gurbaz. 

For India, debutants Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey (3/47, 5 overs) ran through Afghanistan's batting lineup, scalping three wickets each, while Arshdeep Singh (2/27, 5 overs) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (2/31, 4 overs) also contributed with two wickets. In reply, India comfortably chased down the target in 22.5 overs with captain Shubman Gill leading the run chase with a classy innings of 84* (66), while KL Rahul (39* off 19) and Ishan Kishan (34 off 22) also made valuable contributions.

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

Shubman Gill was adjudged Player of the Match for his magnificent innings that saw India through in the run chase. The India captain scored an unbeaten 84* (66), laced with 11 fours and two sixes. He got involved in a 70-run stand off 43 balls with Ishan Kishan for the second wicket. Gill further stitched a crucial 53-run stand off 32 balls with KL Rahul that took India over the line.

Turning Point

Afghanistan were on course of posting a total in excess of 240, following Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s sensational 48-ball hundred as they were on 140/3 after 15 overs. However, Nitish Kumar Reddy shattered Gurbaz’s stumps in the 16^th over, which triggered a collapse in the Afghanistan batting lineup, who lost their last five wickets for 22 runs within 27 balls. 

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Shubman Gill (India):  

It was kind of a T20 game. The way we started, they pulled the game away from us. Gurbaz was brilliant and took the game away from us, but we fought back well. It was a brilliant wicket for batting. When we were bowling, there was a bit of grip, but it came on nicely when we batted. I've practiced a lot taking catches at slip. I haven't taken many brilliant catches in my career, so I'm happy. He saw the replays and said it's fine, he was run out in the last match too. Gurnoor, the way he bowled with the new ball and then came back at the death. Harsh as well, the way he came back after conceding 16 runs in his 1st over. In ODIs, middle overs are crucial, in bowling, you need to keep creating opportunities and maintain pressure. In batting, it's about finding the gaps and rotating the strike.l That's exactly what we discuss in the team meetings as well.

Losing Captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan):

Yeah, it was a tough game. I think back-to-back wickets was the reason. I was feeling that when Gurbaz was playing, I was feeling that if we scored 220, 230, that might be a good target, but we gave some back-to-back wickets and after that, we were short of almost 30 runs, I think. (What was the thinking when you were batting?) I think in my mind, I was trying to target the left-arm spinner because the boundary was also shorter that side. But I think Gurbaz played really well, but after that, we did some mistakes. It started for me and then other batsmen. That’s why we were like 30 runs short. (Anything with the ball you could have done differently?) Well, the wicket was also, to be honest, a little bit flatter, but we were not that much disciplined in our bowling as well. So hopefully we learn from this and we come back stronger into the next match.