Rahmanullah Gurbaz Drives Afghanistan Into the 90s With Six

rahmanullah gurbaz kept Afghanistan alive in the first ODI against India and pushed himself into the 90s with a six over long off off Washington Sundar. Afghanistan had already lost early wickets, and at 131/3 in 14.1 overs the innings still had a live platform through Gurbaz and Hashmatullah Shahidi.

Gurbaz Puts India Under Pressure

That strike came after a passage in which Nitish Kumar Reddy and Arshdeep Singh had both bowled to Gurbaz, but Washington Sundar ended up on the receiving end of the cleaner blow. The shot cleared long off and sent Gurbaz into the 90s, leaving Afghanistan with one batter set and three wickets down.

“SIX! That's a shot and a half from Rahmanullah Gurbaz.” The delivery before it had been described as “A regulation length ball, targeting the top of the stumps.”

Afghanistan At 131/3

The scoreline gave Afghanistan a platform, but it also showed how narrow the margin was after the early wickets. Shahidi was still batting with Gurbaz in the passage shown, and that partnership was doing the work of keeping India from turning the first ODI into a quick squeeze.

That 20-run over changed the shape of the innings without ending the pressure. India still had wickets in hand to attack, while Afghanistan had one set batter inside the 90s and a skipper alongside him, a combination that kept the chase or total-building phase from slipping away immediately.

First ODI Against India

This was the first ODI between India and Afghanistan in the series, and the live update showed why Afghanistan needed Gurbaz’s innings to hold. When a side is 131/3 after 14.1 overs, the next few overs decide whether the start becomes a total or just a recovery.

For Afghanistan, the immediate task was simple: protect Gurbaz long enough to turn the innings into something more than a rescue act. For India, the wicket chase had already created early leverage, but Sundar’s over showed that one clean hit could still pull the match back toward Afghanistan’s side for the moment.