"Easily the 2nd best Asian team"- Fans hail Afghanistan team for their spirited performance after their narrow defeat vs India in 3rd T20I
Afghanistan cricket team won the hearts of fans after their spirited fight against India in the third T20I on Wednesday (January 17) in Bangalore. Team India narrowly escaped with the win in a cliffhanger after two Super Overs in the contest to win the series 3-0.
India batted first in the contest and notched up a massive total of 212/4 in 20 overs on the back of blistering knocks from Rohit Sharma (121*) and Rinku Singh (69*). Fareed Ahmad (3/20) starred for the visitors with a fine spell with the ball.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (50) and Ibrahim Zadran (50) set up a great platform in the chase with a 93-run opening partnership in 11 overs. Gulbadin Naib (55) and Mohammad Nabi (34) took over in the second half of the innings and helped Afghanistan level the scores with India.
The first Super Over also ended in a tie after both teams scored 16 runs. Rohit Sharma scored 11 runs in the second Super Over before India lost two wickets. Ravi Bishnoi then successfully defended 12 runs by taking two wickets while conceding only one run to seal the game for India.
Fans empathized with the Afghanistan team after they marginally fell short of recording their maiden T20I win against India. They praised the team's fighting spirit through their reactions on X after the conclusion of the match on Wednesday. One fan wrote:
"Thank you Afghanistan for this blockbuster cricket match. They are easily the 2nd best Asian team."
Here are some of the top reactions:
"I am very happy with the overall performance"- Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Afghan skipper Ibrahim Zadran expressed satisfaction with his team's performance in the series, saying:
"To be honest I am very happy with the overall performance. We put up a good performance but lost the super over. We have got lots of positives from the series. It will be a great help when we go down for the T20 World Cup."
Shedding light on the positives for them from the tour, Zadran continued:
"We never played this kind of cricket against India before especially in T20s and in batting department so really happy with the performances. In the batting department we were very good. We will try to take the positives from this series and focus on improving from here in the T20 World Cup."
Do you think the Ibrahim Zadran-led team will be a strong contender during the 2024 T20 World Cup? Let us know your opinions in the comments section below.