India maintained their dominance over Afghanistan as they posted a stellar win over Rashid Khan & co in Barbados’ Bridgetown on Thursday. Winning their first Super 8 game in the T20 World Cup 2024, Rohit Sharma’s squad showed that despite the top order failing, the middle order can still shore up the side and the bowlers are ready for the exploit on the slow pitch.
After winning the toss and opting to bat, India’s top order struggled against the disciplined Afghan bowlers. Rohit Sharma (8) and Virat Kohli (24) again couldn’t do much with the bat. Rishabh Pant looked promising but didn’t last long on the crease. However, Suryakumar Yadav (53) and Hardik Pandya (32) boosted India to a competitive total of 181/8.
In response, Afghanistan started strong but quickly faltered due to Jasprit Bumrah’s exceptional bowling. Once Bumrah made the breakthrough, the Indian bowlers dominated, preventing Afghanistan from recovering. Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh each took 3 wickets, while Kuldeep Yadav, who replaced Md Siraj in today’s Playing XI, claimed 2 wickets. Suryakumar Yadav was adjudged ‘player of the match.’
