World Cup 2019, India vs Afghanistan: 5 Moments that decided the fate of the thriller
India continued their unbeaten streak in the World Cup by overcoming the Afghan challenge at Southampton on Saturday. Considering the form and prowess of both the sides, many regarded the game as a cakewalk for Team India. Though the Men in Blues managed to win the encounter, the efforts required were much more than anticipated prior to the game.
The Afghans gave a stiff challenge to India after restricting them to 224/8. They were in the game right till the end, and it took some hair-raising bowling from Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami to seal the deal for the subcontinental juggernauts by a slender margin of 11 runs.
A One-Day International lasts for about 8 hours, but the game is won in a few moments, moments which could later materialise into radiance or ruination depending upon their conversion rate. It is the conversion of these opportunities in one's favour that turns out to be the difference between the sides at the end of the day.
The Asian Derby in Southampton, too, was a match of a number of incredulous, magical moments, and it was India who snapped these chances and converted them into a victory. Let's dissect the match and have a look at the parts where the match was won and lost:
#5 The Jadhav Jettison in the 46th over
After beating the likes of South Africa, Australia and Pakistan on the back of their immaculate batsmanship, India were expected to wreak havoc on the inexperienced Afghan bowlers. However, they turned out to be a hard nut to crack for Kohli's men, and the side found themselves reeling at 192/5 after 44 overs. To make matters worse, seasoned finisher MS Dhoni was dismissed in the 45th over, which yielded only 2 runs.
Having spent some time in the middle with Dhoni, the onus was on Jadhav to deliver the goods for India. The 34-year old responded in a responsible fashion, unleashing himself against pacer Aftab Alam.
Kedar scored 11 runs in that over, with the help of a one-handed six and a boundary down the leg side. At a time when runs were hard to come by, this over rejuvenated the hopes in the Indian camp and turned out to be the best over for the side in the death overs.
Ironically, India went on to win the match by the same margin, it was those 11 runs which proved to be the difference between the two sides, as Afghanistan failed to make any of their death overs as big as Kedar did.
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