Gill’s 84 Leads India Past Afghanistan, 1-0 in Ind Vs Afg
India beat Afghanistan by seven wickets in ind vs afg on Saturday, chasing 195 in a rain-reduced 25-overs-a-side ODI in Dharamsala with 13 balls to spare. Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 84 anchored the chase and put India 1-0 up in the three-match series.
Gill and Rahul close it out
Gill faced 66 balls for his 84 and finished as player of the match. KL Rahul made 19-ball 39, and the pair added an unbeaten 53 to finish the chase after India had already lost Rohit Sharma for 16, run out before he became the oldest Indian men’s player to play an ODI at 39 years and 44 days.
India needed only a controlled finish once the target came into view. Gill and Rahul kept the asking rate under control and turned Afghanistan’s 194 all out into a short pursuit rather than a long grind.
Gurbaz’s 102 sets the target
Afghanistan had put up the only score above 100 in the innings when Rahmanullah Gurbaz made 102 from 51 balls. He reached his hundred off 48 balls, hit eight fours and eight sixes, and shared 118 runs for the fourth wicket with Hashmatullah Shahidi, who made 27.
That burst was the sharpest resistance India faced. Once Gurbaz fell, Afghanistan were still left with 194 all out, a total that gave India room to absorb the stop-start rhythm created by the weather delay.
Brar and Dubey debut well
India’s newer bowlers turned the first innings into a debut showcase. Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey took three wickets each on their ODI debuts, and Brar removed Ibrahim Zadran for one in his first over.
India had already been pushed into a shorter contest after persistent rain delayed the start by four hours and 15 minutes, and the reduction to 25 overs a side meant every opening burst carried extra weight. Gill called it “It was kind of a T20 game,” and added, “The way we started, Gurbaz was brilliant and took the game away from us, but we fought back well.”
The series is now 1-0 to India after the first 50-over bilateral meeting between the two sides. Rohit Sharma’s 16 and the pair of debut three-fors gave the win shape at both ends, while Gill left the ground with a result that settled the opener and set up the rest of the three-match series.
