2 mistakes and 1 masterstroke by India in the 3rd T20I vs Afghanistan
India's final T20I ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup ended in thrilling fashion as Afghanistan pushed them to not one but two Super Overs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, January 17. However, the hosts came out on top to complete a 3-0 clean sweep over the spirited visitors.
Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first. The Indian skipper led the way with a sensational century and had support from Rinku Singh, who remained unbeaten on 69 to take the Men in Blue to an imposing 212.
In response, Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz notched up twin fifties before Gulbadin Naib and Mohammad Nabi fought back with plenty of big hits. Eventually, Naib took the game into the one-over eliminator, but it didn't end in a famous win for Afghanistan.
India, meanwhile, will have months to reflect on the win as only the Indian Premier League (IPL) stands between them and the T20 World Cup. Rohit and Co. will look back on a historic contest with mixed emotions.
Below are two mistakes and one masterstroke made by Team India in the third T20I against Afghanistan.
#3 Mistake - India sent in Yashasvi Jaiswal for the first Super Over
India opened the batting with Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the first Super Over, but the latter shouldn't have been there.
Jaiswal is an explosive T20 batter, but there's no doubt that he's at his most effective within the powerplay. His power-hitting is still a work in progress, and he hadn't got any runs in the game either.
Jaiswal faced just two balls in the Super Over. Off one, he attempted a scoop and scampered a single, and off the other, he miscued a slog across the line for another single as India leveled the scores.
Rinku Singh should've batted ahead of him. It's also arguable if Jaiswal should've been behind Virat Kohli and Sanju Samson in the pecking order.
#2 Masterstroke - Ravi Bishnoi bowled the second Super Over
India made up for their tactical gaffe by taking a smart decision in the second Super Over. With Mukesh Kumar unavailable to bowl, the team management decided to go with Ravi Bishnoi after seeing the batters who came out for Afghanistan.
Bishnoi, on his part, bowled well. He didn't feed anything in the Afghan batters' range and even nailed a yorker off the second delivery. The leg-spinner had Nabi and Gurbaz caught at long-off to finally secure the win for the hosts.
Rohit and the team management must also be applauded for their decision to toss the ball to Bishnoi, who is arguably the best defensive bowler in the side. Avesh Khan, Washington Sundar and maybe even Kuldeep Yadav were options, but they made the right call.
#1 Mistake - India sent in Shivam Dube ahead of Sanju Samson
This is a decision that was made so early in the contest that now, after two Super Overs, it can easily be forgotten. But the progress of the game could've been completely altered had India shuffled their batting order after losing two wickets early.
Shivam Dube isn't the most solid player of pace and swing, even if he seems to be making adjustments on that front. Azmatullah Omarzai was getting the ball to move around, and India should've held Dube back for the spinners by sending in Sanju Samson instead.
Samson didn't do himself any favors by slogging his way back to the pavilion off his first ball, but Dube could've made a serious impact against Qais Ahmad and Sharafuddin Ashraf, who got turn and troubled Rohit and Rinku. Having a player like Dube to take on spin would've disrupted Afghanistan's plans in the middle overs.